Transgender Professor at Middle Tennessee State University Appointed to Serve on a Presidential Advisory Commission in the Biden Administration

Marisa Richmond, a transgender professor at Middle Tennessee State University, has been appointed by President Joe Biden to serve on the Presidential Advisory Commission on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Black Americans.

Richmond is one of twenty one Black Americans appointed to the Commission.

The Commission, according to a press release by the White House, “aids in developing, implementing, and coordinating educational programs and initiatives for agencies such as the Department of Education.”

Through the Secretary of Education – Miguel Cardona – the Commission advises the President on issues related to “educational equity and economic opportunity for the black community.”

“Education is the foundation of all opportunity in America, yet centuries of discrimination and injustices have resulted in unacceptable inequities in educational access and outcomes for Black students, of all ages,” Secretary Cardona said in a statement. “We cannot be complacent when race and place remain such powerful factors in the availability of educational opportunity for our children.”

Richmond, who currently teaches history and women’s and gender studies at Middle Tennessee State University, has previously taught at Tennessee State University, Vanderbilt University, and Nashville State Community College. Richmond is also the current President of the Tennessee Federation of Democratic Women and a Co-Chair of the Transgender Advisory Committee of the Democratic National Committee.

In Nashville, Richmond is a member of the Metro Historical Commission, having previously served as a member, and Past Chair, of the Metro Human Relations Commission. Richmond has also served on the Nashville Mayor’s Council on the Status of Women and the Davidson County General Sessions Court Judicial Equity Collective after serving many years as the President and Lobbyist for the Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition.

“With my professional career as an Educator winding down, I appreciate the confidence shown in me by President Biden in affording me this new role to serve the entire nation,” Richmond wrote in a Facebook post. “I am looking forward to serving with my fellow Commissioners.”

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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
Photo “Marisa Richmond” by Marisa Richmond. Background Photo “U.S. Capitol” by Thuan Vo.