Kal Penn: Obama Job?

Kal Penn left the show "House" to work in the White House with Obama.
He is currently working in the Old Executive Office building next door. He is best known for his role in "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle," such a funny movie.
Why did Obama called this guy, I don't think he has a background in politics. What is his current job at the white house?

President Barack Obama hired actor Kal Penn as a liaison to the arts and Asian-American and Pacific Island communities in the Office of Public Engagement.

The interesting part is that now, a year after his election, Kal Penn announced a lineup for the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities full of celebrities.
Among the 25 new appointees are several actors, including Edward Norton, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kerry Washington, Forest Whitaker, and Alfre Woodard. From the cultural community he also selected cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who played at his inauguration, Vogue editor Anna Wintour, theater director George C. Wolfe, ballet dancer Damian Woetzel, film producer Liz Manne, and Pritzker Prize-winning architect Thom Mayne. There is no creative representative from the world of visual art, though several of the new appointees have worked closely with or served on the boards of arts organizations.

At least he is making celebrities work for their country.