Liza Acevedo, a Latina, was named the new communications director for the Second Gentleman, Doug Emhoff, the country’s first Second Gentleman, and married Vice President Kamala Harris. Acevedo started her new role in August. Until recently, she was the deputy press secretary for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
As Second Gentleman, Emphoff has focused his efforts on issues surrounding equity, specifically gender equity.
“I feel very proud. And I feel very ready to make a difference working on behalf of the administration to help communities, including the Latino community,” said Acevedo, 28.
Acevedo is the first in her family to go to college. Previously, she was a director at the global communications firm SKDK, helping lead Covid communications for the Biden-Harris transition team. She was also deputy national press secretary for the Obama administration’s housing secretary, Julián Castro, during his 2020 presidential campaign. Furthermore, she served in a communications role for New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy.
Acevedo’s grandparents were born in Puerto Rico and moved to Brooklyn, New York, where she was born and raised. Her grandfather, who is 90, owned a Puerto Rican restaurant in New York. Growing up, she would go to her grandparents’ house after church on Sundays to eat the traditional Puerto Rican arroz con gandules.
“My grandfather always tells the story of when he came with 13 cents in his pocket and did everything he could to make it,” said Acevedo, who now works in the White House.
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