Aditi Hardikar

Aditi Hardikar is an American public official who was the acting Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Management at the United States Department of the Treasury from 2024 to 2025. She was previously Deputy Chief of Staff to Janet Yellen, the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, the associate director of public engagement in the White House Office of Public Engagement, and the primary liaison to the LGBTQ and AAPI communities during the second term of the Obama administration.

Early life and education Hardikar is the daughter of immigrants from India. She earned a B.A. in economics and political science from the University of Michigan.

Career Hardikar helped lead LGBTQ fundraising and outreach efforts on the Barack Obama 2012 presidential campaign. She led fundraising and strategy efforts as the director of the AAPI leadership council and director of the LGBTQ leadership council for the Democratic National Committee. Hardikar and Jeff Tiller, two White House staffers, first came up with the idea to light up the White House with rainbow colors.

Hardikar spent three years at the Obama Foundation, first as chief of staff with a focus on strategic planning and organizational growth, and then as the acting vice president for operations on the development team, overseeing data and analytics, communications, and research.

Personal life Hardikar is a member of the LGBT community.