Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen is a Cuban-American transgender advocate and policy expert who currently holds the position of Executive Director at the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE), a social justice advocacy organization. He publicly came out as a transgender man while attending Brown University and later disclosed his identity to his parents, attorney and politician Dexter Lehtinen and former congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, becoming the first openly transgender child of a member of Congress. Heng-Lehtinen also has a background in documentary production and has worked in various roles at organizations focused on LGBTQ rights and advocacy, including the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Gender Justice LA, Freedom For All Americans, Liberty Hill Foundation, Transgender Law Center, and GLAAD.

In 2019, he joined NCTE as Deputy Executive Director for Policy and Action, and in 2021, he assumed the role of Executive Director, succeeding the organization’s founding executive director. In January 2024, NCTE revealed plans to merge with the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund (TLDEF), an organization dedicated to advancing transgender rights through legal action. The merger is expected to be completed by the summer, resulting in the formation of a new entity called Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE), with Heng-Lehtinen continuing in the role of Executive Director.

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