Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms will join the Biden administration as a Senior Advisor, CBS News reports. She will replace Cedric Richmond as the director of the Office of Public Engagement.
Bottoms said that she planned to do “more listening than anything” in her new role, as she communicates the administration’s policies and vision to communities around the country.
“It’s important that people feel their voices are reflected and their voices are heard,” Bottoms said. “We’ve been through some very challenging times, especially for African Americans in this country.
"Those challenges are still very fresh and real to me,” she continued. “And I live it every day: I live it as a Black woman; I live it as a mother of four children; and I know where those challenges are, but I also know where the opportunities are."
Bottoms, who became the second woman ever elected mayor of the city of Atlanta, stunned the political world when she announced she would not seek re-election in May of 2021.
President Joe Biden appointed Bottoms to serve as the vice chairwoman of civic engagement and voter protection at the Democratic National Committee.
Bottoms was also considered a potential running mate for Biden before he chose Vice President Kamala Harris.
Recently, CNN tapped Bottoms to be their newest political commentator in February, and she became the first honorary fellow of the HBCU Executive Leadership Institute, a new initiative at Clark Atlanta University aimed at training people for careers as leaders of historically Black colleges and universities.
