The New Kings of the Hill: Michael Camuñez

After serving as a senior policy adviser for national service from 1993 to 1995, where he helped launch AmeriCorps, President Clinton's signature service initiative, Michael Camunez headed to the Golden State for a job with the law firm O'Melveny and Myers. There he served as hiring partner for the Los Angeles office and was a member of the firm's diversity advisory board. Nearly 15 years after leaving the nation's capital, Camunez is being lured back to help President Obama's director of presidential personnel manage the administration's appointment process. "It's an extraordinary privilege to work at the White House with President Obama and help him recruit great talent -- including from the LGBT community," he tells The Advocate. Though Camunez is enthusiastic about jumping back into the public sector, he brings with him a diverse background in commercial litigation, corporate investigations and white-collar defense, and international litigation. He also served as a Los Angeles city ethics commissioner and, along with California first lady Maria Shriver, chaired California Volunteers, a multimillion-dollar public foundation responsible for promoting community service. Additionally, he served on the national leadership council for Lambda Legal, an organization that fights for the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, transgender Americans, and people with HIV or AIDS. During the final days of the presidential campaign, Camunez offered his legal expertise pro bono to voter protection initiatives in New Mexico, and then he became a volunteer on President-elect Obama's transition team.

The New Kings of the Hill View profiles of President Obama's LGBT appointees Brad Kiley Brian Bond Fred Hochberg John Berry Mike Perriello Nancy Sutley