President Biden nominates Venezuelan-Lebanese Nathalie Rayes as Ambassador to Croatia

US President Joe Biden has selected Venezuelan-Lebanese Nathalie Rayes as a Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Croatia.  

On Twitter, Rayes showcased her honor to be nominated for this position, thanking President Biden “for the opportunity to serve my country.” 

Having a “distinguished” career, according to a statement published, Nathalie Rayes is well present in public service as a “leader, consensus builder, and advocate.”  

She serves as the President and CEO of Latino Victory. Before joining it, she was Vice President of Public Affairs for Grupo Salinas in the United States and Executive Director of Fundación Azteca America.   

Rayes also served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn, managing the Office of Intergovernmental Relations, International Trade, Protocol and establishing Los Angeles’s first Office of Immigrant Affairs.   

Earning a BA degree in Sociology and an MPP with concentrations in International Relations and Education from UCLA, she authored several publications and received several accolades in her career.  

Nathalie Rayes started her government career as a Field Deputy and, later, as a Senior Advisor to Los Angeles City Councilmember Mike Feuer.  

She also serves on the Board of the United States Institute of Peace, and as Chair of the Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE) Binational US-Mexico Executive Leadership Advisory Group, Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of the Hispanic Federation and Planned Parenthood Action Fund, and an Advisory Board Member of the Aspen Institute Latinos and Society Program said the statement.  

During the Obama-Biden Administration, she was appointed to serve on the Board of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. She was also a fellow in the Economic Political Section at the US Embassy in Cairo.