Nathalie Rayes, who was on the staffs of then-Mayor James Hahn and then-Councilman Mike Feuer, was appointed as ambassador to Croatia by President Joe Biden Tuesday.
Rayes began her career in government as a field deputy for Feuer, then became a senior advisor to Feuer, who represented Council District 5 from 1995-2001. Rayes then became deputy chief of staff for Hahn, managing the Office of Intergovernmental Relations, International Trade, Protocol and helped established the city’s Office of Immigrant Affairs.
Councilman Tim McOsker, who was Hahn’s chief of staff when he was mayor from 2001-05, called Reyes “a brilliant, diligent, and thoughtful public servant.”
Rayes is president and CEO of Latino Victory, which describes itself as a progressive organization working to grow Latino political power by increasing Latino representation at every level of government and building a base of Latino donors.
Rayes was vice president of public affairs for the Mexican conglomerate Grupo Salinas, responsible for its philanthropic activities in the United States.
Biden had previously appointed Reyes as a member of the Board of Directors of the United States Institute of Peace.
Rayes is secretary of the Board of Directors of the nonprofit Hispanic Federation, vice chair of the Board of Directors of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, chair of the Hispanas Organized for Political Equality Binational Advisory Group, and advisory board member of the Aspen Institute Latinos and Society Program.
Rayes was a member of the Board of Directors of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, appointed by then-President Barack Obama.
Rayes received a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a master’s cum in public policy from UCLA.