Out former Atlanta city government official and GLAAD Board Member Reese Adams McCranie has been appointed Senior Advisor for the Office of Public Affairs at U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
“It is a tremendous honor to work alongside the more than 60,000 dedicated individuals at U.S. Customs and Border Protection,” McCranie said.
“As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I am especially proud that the agency, its leadership, and the broader Administration are reflective of our nation’s great diversity. Representation matters.”
Prior to his appointment, McCranie worked for the City of Atlanta for 12 years, most recently as Deputy Chief Equity Officer for Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, helping to establish the city’s first-ever Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. In this role, McCranie focused on health disparities, criminal justice reform, LGBTQ affairs, economic empowerment and inclusion and workforce development.
McCranie also served as Director of Policy and Communications at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport from 2013-2018, where he focused on wide-ranging issues including aviation security, human trafficking prevention, and Ebola and Zika mitigation strategies with local, state and federal partners.
As a seasoned veteran of three presidential campaigns, McCranie served as Deputy State Director for the Biden-Harris campaign in Georgia. He is currently a Georgia advisory board member for the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, and has served on GLAAD’s Board of Directors since July 2020. McCranie is a former board member of the Georgia Foreign Trade Zone and Fulton County HIV/AIDS Advisory Council.
McCranie and his husband of 17 years, Nicholas, live in Midtown Atlanta, and McCranie will commute to Washington, D.C. for his new role.
McCranie’s new boss, Chris Magnus, was confirmed by the Senate on Tuesday as Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, and when sworn in became the first out commissioner of the federal government’s largest law enforcement agency. GLAAD is tracking appointments, policies and statements relevant to LGBTQ Americans in the GLAAD Biden Accountability Tracker.
CBP questions: contact Peter Carr, Media Relations Division, Office of Public Affairs, U.S. Customs and Border Protection. peter.carr@cbp.dhs.gov
GLAAD questions: press@glaad.org
