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As one of the first transgender appointees to the Obama administration, Amanda Simpson will become the Senior Technical Advisor to the Department of Commerce. Simpson's appointment was lost in the news of last year, with the announcement of her position coming on Dec 31st.

This morning ABC's Jake Tapper included the news in his blog citing Simpson as having transitioned druing her 23 yr career at Raytheon. She was "instrumental in convincing the military contractor to add gender identity and expression to its equal employment opportunity policy."

From the press release of the National Center for Transgender Equality:

Dec. 31, 2009 — Amanda Simpson, who has served on NCTE's Board of Directors for the past 3 years, has been appointed by the Obama Administration as a Senior Technical Advisor to the Department of Commerce. She'll be working in the Bureau of Industry and Security.

"I'm truly honored to have received this appointment and am eager and excited about this opportunity that is before me. And at the same time, as one of the first transgender presidential appointees to the federal government, I hope that I will soon be one of hundreds, and that this appointment opens future opportunities for many others."

Simpson brings considerable professional credentials to her new job. For thirty years, she has worked in the aerospace and defense industry, most recently serving as Deputy Director in Advanced Technology Development at Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson, Arizona. She holds degrees in physics, engineering and business administration along with an extensive flight background. She is a certified flight instructor and test pilot with 20 years of experience.

She has also been very active in political and community groups. She has served on the Board of Directors of two national organizations: Out & Equal and NCTE. In Arizona, she has been on the board of Wingspan, the Southern Arizona Gender Alliance, the Southern Arizona ACLU and the Arizona Human Rights Fund (now Equality Arizona).

In 2004, the YWCA recognized her as one of their "Women on the Move," and in the same year, she won the Democratic nomination to the Arizona House of Representatives. In 2005, she was given the Arizona Human Rights Foundation Individual Award.

We are delighted to welcome Amanda to Washington, DC and share her hope that she will be joined by many other transgender people and our allies in serving our government.