Julissa Reynoso

Julissa Reynoso (born January 2, 1975) is a litigation and international arbitration partner with the international law firm Winston & Strawn LLP.[1] She was previously a partner with Chadbourne & Parke LLP, practicing in the firm's International Arbitration and Latin America groups.[2][3] Reynoso is also affiliated with the faculty at Columbia University School of Law and the School of International and Public Affairs.[4][5] From March 2012 until December 2014, she served as United States Ambassador to Uruguay. She is a former Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs at the United States Department of State.

Julissa Reynoso
United States Ambassador to Uruguay
In office May 9, 2012 – December 10, 2014
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Thomas Lloyd (Acting)
Succeeded by	Brad Freden (Acting)
Personal details
Born	(1975-01-02) January 2, 1975 Salcedo, Dominican Republic
Political party	Democratic
Education	Harvard University (BA) Emmanuel College, Cambridge (MPhil) Columbia University (JD)

Early life and education

A native of the Dominican Republic, Reynoso immigrated to the United States in 1982. She graduated valedictorian of her class at Aquinas High School in the Bronx. She was admitted to Harvard University, where she helped found several student groups and was active with The Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government.

After obtaining a BA in government at Harvard University in 1997,[6] Reynoso was named the John Harvard Scholar and obtained an MPhil in development studies in 1998 from the Emmanuel College, Cambridge in England. Reynoso received her law degree from Columbia Law School in 2001. At Columbia, she was the editor for The Columbia Journal of Transnational Law. After Law School, she clerked for the Honorable Federal Judge Laura Taylor Swain.

Career

In 2008, Reynoso was active in former Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign for the presidency [7] before joining the campaign of then Sen. Barack Obama.

Prior to joining the Obama administration, Reynoso was an attorney in private practice at the international law firm of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP in New York. Reynoso resided in the Washington Heights neighborhood in Manhattan and served on the boards of several non-profit groups. She also served as a legal fellow at Columbia Law School and the Institute for Policy Integrity at NYU School of Law.

In 2006, Reynoso served as deputy director of the Office of Accountability at the New York City Department of Education. Reynoso has published widely in both Spanish and English on a range of issues including regulatory reform, community organizing, housing reform, immigration policy and Latin American politics for both popular press and academic journals.

In 2009, Reynoso joined former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to serve as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs. During her tenure, Reynoso was charged with developing and implementing a comprehensive security and Rule of Law strategy for Central America and the Caribbean.

In October 2011, President Barack Obama expressed his intention to nominate Reynoso as United States Ambassador to the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, a nomination that required the advice and consent of the United States Senate.[8][9] On March 30, 2012, the U.S. Senate confirmed Reynoso as United States Ambassador to Uruguay. As an ambassador, Reynoso focused on trade and commerce, with particular interest in agricultural trade, and on science, technology and education cooperation.

Reynoso is a member of the Council of Foreign Relations[10] and a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. Reynoso is the recipient of various public interest awards, including recognitions from Columbia University, New York University, the North Star Fund, the Legal Aid Society and the Hispanic National Bar Foundation. She serves on the boards of several nonprofit and advocacy organizations. She is also a member of a Washington D.C.-based Western Hemisphere think tank, the Inter-American Dialogue.[11]

Recognition

Reynoso was recognized in Crain's New York's 2017 "List of Leading Women Lawyers in NYC".[12][13]

She and her colleague Nicole Silver were recognized in Latinvex's 2017 ranking of "Latin America's Top 100 Female Lawyers."[14][15]

In 2017, Winston & Strawn was ranked as an international firm for its Latin America practice, of which Reynoso is a member, in the International Arbitration category.[16][17]

References

1. "Julissa Reynoso - Litigation Partner - Winston & Strawn LLP". February 5, 2018.
2. Meet the Diplomats Leading the U.S.-Cuba Talks
3. US Ambassador to Uruguay to Join Chadbourne's International Arbitration & Latin America Practice Groups
4. Julissa Reynoso
5. Q&A: JULISSA REYNOSO, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO URUGUAY
6. "Being Latina at Harvard and Beyond". Fas.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
7. "Hillary Clinton backers not quick to join Barack Obama campaign". NY Daily News. June 14, 2008. Retrieved February 23, 2012.
8. "President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts | The White House". Whitehouse.gov. October 17, 2011. Retrieved February 23, 2012.
9. "epa - european pressphoto agency: Obama propone a la subsecretaria Julissa Reynoso como embajadora en Uruguay". Google.com. October 17, 2011. Retrieved February 23, 2012.
10. "Julissa Reynoso, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Central America and the Caribbean". usembassy.gov. February 9, 2010. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
11. "Inter-American Dialogue | Julissa Reynoso". www.thedialogue.org. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
12. "Julissa Reynoso Recognized on Crain's 2017 List of Leading Women Lawyers in NYC". Winston & Strawn LLP. December 18, 2017.
13. "Crain's Leading Women Lawyers in NYC 2018" (PDF). Crain's New York Business. December 2017.
14. "Julissa Reynoso and Nicole Silver Recognized as Top 100 Female Lawyers in Latin America". Winston & Strawn LLP. May 24, 2017.
15. "Latin America: Top 100 Female Lawyers". Latinvex. May 24, 2017.
16. "The Legal 500 Latin America - International Arbitration". 2017.
17. "Winston & Strawn Recognized in The Legal 500 Latin America 2017". Winston & Strawn LLP. September 6, 2017.

• Appearances on C-SPAN

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Thomas Lloyd Acting	United States Ambassador to Uruguay 2012–2014	Succeeded by Brad Freden Acting