The White House announced the appointment Friday afternoon of Jeremy Bernard to the position of Special Assistant to the President and Social Secretary. He is the first man and the first openly gay person to hold the position.
According to Jonathan Capehart at the Washington Post, “Bernard and his then-partner Rufus Gifford were early supporters of Obama in California. And they raised a ton of money for him through their company, B&G Associates. Gifford went on to become finance director of the Democratic National Committee. Bernard was the White House liaison at the National Endowment for the Humanities before dashing off to his Paris post in November.”
According to the news release that announced his appointment, Bernard will join the White House from the U.S. Embassy in Paris, where he serves as senior adviser to the ambassador. He previously worked as the White House Liaison to the National Endowment for the Humanities from 2008 to 2010.
Full story: W.H. Names Gay Social Secretary