OpenWork: Celebrating Our Wins with Nathalie Rayes
In this episode of OpenWork, we speak with Latino Victory President and CEO Nathalie Rayes, about career transitions, the experience of a lifetime in her new role, overcoming fears, and our Latino political power.
Watch this exclusive interview between Kyle Evangelista, President and Group Publisher, Guerrero Media and Nathalie Rayes, President and CEO, Latino Victory.
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OpenWork is a video series that highlights some of the world’s most inspiring and minds in business. Presented by Guerrero Media, each live interview scales great lessons that you can take back to your company and community, exposing you to inspiring stories and relevant insights from top inclusive leaders you may or may not know about.
About Nathalie Rayes
Nathalie Rayes is the President and CEO of Latino Victory, a progressive organization working to grow Latino political power by increasing Latino representation at every level of government. Since May 2020, Nathalie has led historic efforts to endorse 86 candidates in 20 key states, positioning Latino Victory Fund as the first Latino organization to endorse President Joe Biden’s presidential campaign. She leads strategy design, fundraising, policy advocacy and platform development, and digital and traditional media outreach.
In the last decade, Nathalie has served on the boards of directors for several international policy think tanks and nonprofit organizations focusing on international affairs, collaboration, and leadership development. Nathalie is an executive board member and past board chair of the Hispanic Federation, Chair of the Binational Advisory Group for the Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE) Binational Fellowship, and member of the board of directors and chair of the Nominating Committee of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund. Nathalie served for more than six years as President Barack Obama’s appointee to the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, chairing the Audit Committee.
Formerly, Nathalie was Vice President of Public Affairs for Grupo Salinas in the U.S., a Mexican conglomerate with US $6 billion in annual sales and 90,000 employees in Mexico, the United States, and Central and South America, and with operations in the broadcasting, retail, banking and financial services, telecommunications and internet spaces. In this role, Nathalie served as Executive Director of Fundación Azteca America and was in charge of Grupo Salinas’ philanthropic activities in the United States, which seek to improve the quality of life of Latinos by partnering with existing nonprofits to empower, create awareness and motivate change on social and civic issues, including through international cultural exchange.
Previously, Nathalie served as Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn’s Deputy Chief of Staff. She created and directed the city’s first-ever Office of Immigrant Affairs, and directed the Mayor’s Offices of Intergovernmental Relations, International Trade and Protocol, served as chief liaison to federal, state and regional governments and to the Los Angeles City Council, and coordinated the Mayor’s appointments to City commissions and boards. Earlier in her career, she was Senior Policy Advisor to Los Angeles Councilmember Mike Feuer, heading all aspects of the Council Members activities with respect to citywide legislation and ordinances impacting the Fifth Council District. Nathalie began her career as a Department of State Fellow in the Economic/Political Section of the United States Embassy in Cairo, Egypt.
In 2021, Nathalie was recognized as one of People en Español’s “25 most powerful women” (25 mujeres más poderosas) and in the Huffington Post “40 Under 40 Latinos in Foreign Policy” in 2015. She is the recipient of UCLA Masters in Public Policy Alumna of the Year 2014, Santa Monica College Distinguished Alumna Recognition Award for Outstanding Professional and Community Service Achievement of 2013, Hispanas Organized for Political Equality “Ray of Hope” award of 2015, and 2012 “Mujeres Destacadas Award,” a recognition given annually by El Diario La Prensa to the most outstanding women in our community. She is also a Fellow of the Asia 21 Young Leaders Initiative, the leading cross-sectional leadership development program in the Asia-Pacific region.
Nathalie has a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology cum laude and Master’s in Public Policy with concentrations in International Relations and Education from UCLA. She is fluent in Spanish and conversational in Arabic. She resides in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts with her husband, Dr. Tarek Samad, their young sons, Julian and Alexander, and their Bernedoodle, Duke.
Read more with Nathalie Rayes in Hispanic Executive.