You’ve been following our series on the notable women appointed to the Biden-Harris administration. As the inauguration on January 20^th approaches and we wrap up this series, we will be continuing to update the list of trailblazing women on our tracker. Check out Women on Wednesdays, a virtual conversation hosted by The Women & Politics Institute, on January 27^th to learn more about the women joining the historic Biden-Harris administration.

Here are a few more names that have been announced since our last post:

Gina Raimondo: Secretary of Commerce

President-elect Joe Biden is tapping Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo as Secretary of Commerce.

As head of the Department of Commerce, Raimondo will manage the development of foreign and domestic commerce including ocean fisheries, weather forecasting and international product standards. She will play a crucial role in handling international trade issues lingering from the Trump administration and assisting Biden in potentially rolling back these actions.

Raimondo, a former venture capitalist, was elected general treasurer of Rhode Island in 2011 and became Rhode Island’s first female governor in 2014. She was previously in the running to lead the Department of Health and Human Services as well as the Treasury Department.

Dr. Kathleen Hicks: Deputy Secretary of Defense

Trusted advisor to President-elect Joe Biden, Dr. Kathleen Hicks, has been selected to serve as Deputy Secretary of Defense. If confirmed by the Senate, she will be the first woman to serve in this role. Dr. Hicks will work with the President-elect, the Vice President-elect and the Secretary of Defense to ensure national security, protect American leadership and manage the defense budget. Previously, she served as Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy under the Obama-Biden Administration.

Vanita Gupta: Associate Attorney General

American civil rights attorney Vanita Gupta has been nominated by the Biden-Harris administration to be Associate Attorney General. Gupta, who is Indian-American, would be the first woman of color to serve in this role. She is currently the President and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. Previously, she was appointed by Barack Obama as the the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General and head of the Civil Rights Division where she served as the chief civil rights prosecutor for the U.S and worked to reform the criminal justice system and protect LGBTQ+, disability, and voting rights.

Samantha Power: Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

President-elect Joe Biden has nominated Ambassador Samantha Power for Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and promoted the role to be part of the National Security Council. Power has served as a diplomat and public servant, leading the resolution of international conflicts and humanitarian emergencies such as the Ebola epidemic and the Paris climate agreement. In her new role, Ambassador Power will work to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic while protecting vulnerable communities and advancing American interests worldwide.

Read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of this series.