Reta Jo Lewis

Reta Jo Lewis
Personal details
Born (1953-09-22) September 22, 1953
Statesboro, Georgia, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Alma mater University of Georgia
American University
Emory University

Reta Jo Lewis is the Director of Congressional Affairs and a Senior Fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States and an attorney, former diplomat, and candidate for Mayor of the District of Columbia.

Reta Jo Lewis joined the German Marshall Fund’s Transatlantic Leadership Initiative as a Senior Fellow in January 2015. She also became the Director of the GMF’s Congressional Affairs Program in April 2016.[1] In this role, Lewis engages with Congress on behalf of the GMF, and arranges briefings and testimony on Capitol Hill with GMF experts on Transatlantic issues.

Previously, Lewis was the Special Representative for Global Intergovernmental Affairs at the Department of State. As part of Secretary Hillary Clinton's 21st Century Statecraft, Special Representative Lewis' office was responsible for serving the global needs of U.S. intergovernmental officials and the entities they represent. Lewis was tasked to build and enhance relationships between state and local officials in the U.S. and their foreign counterparts around the world.[2]

Career

Global Engagement

Before joining the GMF, Lewis was involved in numerous community and civic activities. Previously, She served as the Special Representative for Global Intergovernmental Affairs. In this capacity, she reported directly to the Secretary of State, and fostered peer-to-peer relations between the U.S. Department of State, State and Local-level officials, and their international counterparts. Prior to her position at the State Department, Lewis was the Director of Business Outreach for the Obama-Biden Transition Project, and forged relationships between the incoming administration, business leaders, and national business associations. She also served as Chair of the District of Columbia Commission for Women, where she launched the Commission’s economic and international committees. In addition, Lewis is a member of the International Women’s Forum.

Lewis was a member of the National Finance Committee for Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign, a role she reprised in the 2016 presidential election cycle. She is also a pledged delegate for Hillary Clinton from the District of Columbia during the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.

Lewis has worked as Counsel at Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge, LLPwhere she provided strategic corporate legal and consulting services to firm clients seeking to develop opportunities in emerging markets in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Lewis worked with multilateral organizations, firm entrepreneurs, and business owners on a wide array of industries that included investments in infrastructure, financial and energy projects. Formerly, Lewis was a partner at Greenberg Traurig, LLP.

Under Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly, Lewis worked serving as Chief of staff to the Department of Public Works.

Lewis served as the Vice President and Counselor to the President at the United States Chamber of Commerce. Lewis served in the Clinton White House from 1993-1995. As Special Assistant to the President for Political Affairs, she was the senior domestic political advisor for the Summit of the Americas held in Miami, Florida. She was the principal staff coordinator for the White House Task Forces on the 1996 Atlanta Olympic, Paralympics Games and the 1994 FIFA World Cup of Soccer.

Lewis has also served as a partner at an international law firm and as an attorney-advisor. In this position, she represented the City and County of Denver and Mayor Wellington Webb on international issues. She served as the city’s principal liaison to the U.S. government of Denver’s hosting of the 1997 G-8 Summit and Summit of African Leaders that preceded the G-8. While an associate at a prestigious law firm, she served as the national tour director for the Nelson Mandela eight city U.S.A tour, where she provided counsel and advice to ANC Leader Nelson Mandela and senior officials.

Education

Lewis holds a B.A. from the University of Georgia, a M.S.A.J. from American University and a J.D. from Emory University School of Law. She is a member in good standing of the District of Columbia and Georgia bars.

Campaign for mayor

Lewis announced her candidacy for Mayor of the District of Columbia on July 2, 2013. She struggled to connect with voters and did not poll above the single digits.[3]

The Sunlight Foundation, a government transparency advocacy organization, noted that Lewis tweeted and later deleted a message that said "Reta Lewis may not be a strong candidate, but today I've learned that she's a great babysitter."[4]

Electoral history

2014

2014 Mayor of the District of Columbia, Democratic Party primary election[5]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Muriel E. Bowser 42,045 43
Democratic Vincent C. Gray 31,613 33
Democratic Tommy Wells 12,393 13
Democratic Jack Evans 4,877 5
Democratic Andy Shallal 3,196 3
Democratic Vincent Orange 1,946 2
Democratic Reta Lewis 490 1
Democratic Carlos Allen 120 0
  write-in 235 0

References

  1. ↑ "German Marshall Fund of the United States". gmfus.org (Press release).
  2. ↑ Lewis, Reta (February 7, 2012). "Special Representative". Speech. Council on Foreign Relations.
  3. ↑ Davis, Aaron (7 March 2014). "Connecting experience to vision for D.C. has been a problem for Reta Jo Lewis". The Washington Post. Washington DC. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  4. ↑ Margolies, Nicko (28 March 2014). "The Week on Politwoops: a beautiful spring morning, brekkie in progress and a strong candidate". sunlightfoudnation.com. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  5. ↑ "Mayoral Primary Official Results". District of Columbia Board of Elections. April 1, 2014.
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