Roberta Achtenberg
| Roberta Achtenberg | |
|---|---|
| Member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from District 8 |
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In office 1990–1993 |
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| Succeeded by | Susan Leal |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 20, 1950 |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Occupation | civil rights Commissioner, US Commission on Civil Rights, attorney, nonprofit director and legal educator |
Roberta Achtenberg (born July 20, 1950) is an American politician. She currently serves as a Commissioner on the United States Commission on Civil Rights. She served as Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, becoming the first openly lesbian or gay public official in the United States whose appointment to a federal position was confirmed by the United States Senate.
Before becoming a public official, Achtenberg worked for more than 15 years as a civil rights attorney, nonprofit director and legal educator. Her activity included co-founding the National Center for Lesbian Rights.
Achtenberg unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the California State Assembly in 1988. She was elected as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1990 and resigned in 1993 when she was appointed Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development by President Bill Clinton. Achtenberg left the post in 1995 to run for mayor of San Francisco. She served as Senior Vice President for Public Policy at the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce until January 2005. In 2000, she was appointed to the Board of Trustees of California State University by Governor Gray Davis, becoming chair of the Board in May 2006.
In 1992, Achtenberg was a member of the committee drafting the Democratic Party's platform. In introducing herself to the delegates, she proudly identified herself as a lesbian, a mother, and a Jew.
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