Chasten Buttigieg

Chasten James Glezman Buttigieg ( ; born June 23, 1989) is an American teacher, writer, and LGBT+ activist. He is married to Pete Buttigieg, the current U.S. secretary of transportation. He was an advisor, spokesperson, and social media campaigner during his husband's 2020 presidential campaign. In September 2020, Buttigieg released a memoir titled I Have Something to Tell You. Early life and education Buttigieg was born Chasten James Glezman, on June 23, 1989, in Traverse City, Michigan, to Sherri (née Pelon) and Terry Glezman, owners of a landscaping business. The youngest of three brothers, he was raised in Chums Corner in a conservative Roman Catholic family. As a teenager, Buttigieg worked at a cherry products store called Cherry Republic and drove tractors on his grandfather's cherry farm in Suttons Bay. He won a blue ribbon in pit spitting at the National Cherry Festival. Buttigieg attended Traverse City West Senior High School and spent his senior year as an exchange student in Germany. He took classes at Northwestern Michigan College before attending the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire; he graduated in 2014 with a bachelor's degree in theater and global studies. Later, Buttigieg attended DePaul University in Chicago where he received a Master of Education degree in 2017. That summer, Buttigieg began a AMS/MACTE certificate from Xavier University. Career After graduating from college, Buttigieg moved to Milwaukee, where he worked as a teaching artist for First Stage Children's Theater as well as in classroom settings in the greater Milwaukee area.