Dylan Orr - Obama alum leading with PRIDE

June is Pride Month, a time to celebrate the power and progress of the LGBTQIA+ community.

During President Obama’s time in office, our nation saw historic gains in civil rights for LGBTQIA+ Americans, including the passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the end of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, the establishment of marriage equality as the law of the land, and more.

Hundreds of LGBTQIA+ Obama alumni worked to push progress forward during those eight years. When their time in government or on the campaign trail ended, many of these leaders continued to find new ways to serve the LGBTQIA+ community.

We recently spoke to 4 LGBTQIA+ Obama alumni about their experience and how they are carrying forward the work of the Obama years today. Take a look at Dylan Orr.

On August 27, 2009, Dylan Orr received an email from his former law professor, Paul Steven Miller, that changed his life. Dylan, then a legal researcher, was ultimately offered the opportunity to join the Obama administration as special assistant to Assistant Secretary Kathy Martinez in the Office of Disability Employment Policy at the US Department of Labor (DOL). In his role Dylan was tasked with serving as a principal strategic advisor, with the mission to influence disability employment related policies at every level. When he joined the administration, Dylan would also make history as the first transgender person to serve in an appointed position in a U.S. Presidential administration. Dylan stated, “It felt incredibly exciting and humbling.. I took the responsibility very seriously – I saw it as my duty to serve as a role model for people across the country, and the people who would follow me.” 

While at the DOL, Dylan served in a number of roles that focused on policy initiatives supporting some of the country's most marginalized communities. In his role as special assistant, Dylan was able to provide policy contributions toward the development and implementation of historic regulations under Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act, influence the collection of critical disability employment data, contribute to LGBTQ+ protective policies, and serve as the Department of Labor representative on the President’s National HIV Strategy development and implementation. Working in the Obama Administration was not only an important opportunity for Dylan professionally, it was a once-in-a lifetime chance to apply his lived experience to help others.

“...As a young child, I noticed I wasn’t the only one getting teased and bullied for not embodying the ‘norm.’  I saw that young people with disabilities were similarly being shunned and excluded. I saw my Black neighbors and classmates often being treated differently or mistreated. I quickly developed a sense of camaraderie and community with people that were not being accepted and included for who they were, which as I got older expanded from awareness about emotional injuries on the playground and in the classroom to larger institutional injustices and inequities that exist, as well as seeing the intersectionality of marginalization among our communities.” 

Following his time in the Obama Administration, Dylan continued to work on policies that center on our most vulnerable, for the city of Seattle, Washington. In 2015, Dylan became the first director of Seattle’s Office of Labor Standards, leading the charge to implement and enforce Seattle’s labor laws, including minimum wage laws, laws around wage theft, paid sick and safe leave, and fair chance employment. Today he is the current director of Environmental Health Services for King County in Washington State. 

When looking back on his time with the administration, Dylan cites lessons around community centered leadership, transparency, and accountability as foundational to the work he’s continued to do. Beyond his professional endeavors, however, Dylan recognizes that one of his core values is living authentically and unapologetically as himself, which continues now that he is a proud father of two. “I believe that being a trans dad and part of a queer family is its own form of change-making and activism in today’s world and I look forward to the journey we are all on together,” said Dylan.