The Biden-Harris Administration announced on Jan. 25 the appointment of Filipino-American Jason Benjamin Alinea Tengco as White House Liaison for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Tengco has served as the Chief of Staff for the Biden-Harris campaign’s Coalitions Department and then was the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Outreach Lead on the transition team.

Over the past decade, Tnegco has worked for a presidential campaign, the White House, Obama Administration, Congress, and numerous non-profit and campus organizations. 

Tengco previously served as the national AAPI Outreach Director for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, as Deputy Director of the White House Initiative on AAPIs, and as an Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS) Fellow in the office of former Congressman Mike Honda. 

Throughout his career, Tengco has participated in fellowships with the New Leaders Council, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, Center for Progressive Leadership, and Public Policy and International Affairs Program. 

He has also served as a delegate to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Young Leaders Summit in Malaysia, and the Filipino American Youth Leadership Program (FYLPro) in the Philippines. 

Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Tengco has a B.A. in Political Science from UCLA and a Master’s in Public Affairs from UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy in New York, New York.

“President Biden made a promise to the American people that he would assemble diverse and talented teams that look like America, and today he continues to fulfill that promise,” said Chris Canning, incoming Chief of Staff.

“We are looking forward to joining the hard working and committed civil servants at OPM to support and empower the federal workforce.”

OPM works in several broad categories to lead and serve the Federal Government in enterprise human resources management by delivering policies and services to achieve a trusted effective civilian workforce, with over 80 percent of federal employees living and working outside of the Washington, DC area.

OPM’s team of political appointees reflects the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to diversity, with more than 85 percent of OPM First Week appointees identifying as people of color, women, or LGBTQ.

The group will work alongside OPM civil servants in support of OPM’s mission and the Biden Administration’s commitment to build a federal workforce that reflects the diversity of America.