In 2008, Reynoso was active in the
Hillary Clinton 2008 presidential campaign before joining the
Barack Obama 2008 presidential campaign. 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
New York University School of Law. In 2006, Reynoso served as deputy director of the Office of Accountability in 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 the popular press and academic journals. Reynoso is a member of the
Council of Foreign Relations 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
NorthStar Foundation, 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.
Obama administration Department of State 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.
Ambassador to Uruguay In October 2011, President
Barack Obama expressed his intention to nominate Reynoso as
United States Ambassador to Uruguay. 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.
Tenure In 2014, during her time as Ambassador to Uruguay, Reynoso was allegedly denied entry into a restaurant in
Montevideo because of racial discrimination, though they initially claimed it was due to lack of reservation and dress code despite others entering without a reservation. Uruguayan media called it a "diplomatic mess" and the restaurant apologized, claiming the host incorrectly discerned who could enter. Reynoso escalated this incident with the State Department.
Biden administration in 2022
Chief of Staff to the First Lady In November 2020, Reynoso was named chief of staff to the then-incoming
First Lady of the United States,
Jill Biden.
Ambassador to Spain On July 27, 2021, President
Joe Biden announced the nomination of Reynoso to be the
United States ambassador to Spain and Andorra. Her nomination was sent to the Senate the following day. Hearings on her nomination were held before the
Senate's Foreign Relations Committee on October 5, 2021. Her nomination was reported favorably by the committee on November 3, 2021. On December 18, 2021, her nomination was confirmed in the Senate by
voice vote. Reynoso arrived in Spain on January 17, 2022. On February 2, 2022, she presented her credentials to King
Felipe VI. Reynoso described
Spain–United States relations as "more intense than ever before" during her tenure as ambassador, with tensions peaking in 2023 after two of her staffers were expelled from Spain for bribing
National Intelligence Centre agents. She managed sharp foreign policy differences between the US and Spain on the
Gaza War, with the USA providing weapons and support to
Israel while Spain joined the
South Africa's genocide case against Israel and formally
recognized Palestine's statehood. In support of Israel, Reynoso unsuccessfully pushed for Spain to join a
US military operation against a
Yemeni
blockade on shipments to Israel via the
Red Sea. Prior to these crises, Reynoso had overseen significant expansion of geopolitical and military ties between the US and Spain, including a massive increase in the number of
destroyers kept at the
US naval base in Rota, increased US involvement in preventing
migration across the Mediterranean Sea, and cooperation on the
Ukraine War. Reynoso resigned as ambassador in July 2024 and rejoined her previous law firm Winston & Strawn.
Post-political career Reynoso co-wrote the play
Public Charge with Michael J. Chepiga, which is inspired by her career in the State Department from 2009 to 2011 and her tenure as Ambassador to Uruguay from 2012-2014, as well as her involvement in negotiating the release of
Alan Gross. The play premiered at
The Public Theater in New York City in 2026, with previews beginning March 12 before an opening night on March 25. == Recognition ==