Roberta S. Jacobson (born April 14, 1960) is an American diplomat who was the

United States Ambassador to Mexico The United States has maintained diplomatic relations with Mexico since 1823, when Andrew Jackson was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to that country. Jackson declined the appointment, however, and Joel R. Poinsett bec ...

from June 2016 to May 2018. She previously served as the

Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs The Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs is the head of the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs within the United States Department of State, the foreign affairs department of the United States federal government. The As ...

from March 30, 2012, to May 5, 2016. The

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

approved her nomination as U.S. Ambassador to Mexico on April 28, 2016. In March 2018, Jacobson announced her resignation effective May 5. ''

Foreign Policy Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...

'' reported on January 18, 2021, that Jacobson would be in charge of

Mexico–United States border The international border separating Mexico and the United States extends from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the east. The border traverses a variety of terrains, ranging from urban areas to deserts. It is the List of ...

affairs at the

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a n ...

under President

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

Early life and education

Born Roberta Ann Steinfeld, she was raised in

Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey Englewood Cliffs is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 5,342, an increase of 61 (+1.2%) from the 2010 census count of 5,281, which in turn reflected a ...

. Her father, Julian, was an electrical engineer who was the vice president of Mid-Island Electric Supply in

Plainview, New York Plainview is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located in the town of Oyster Bay (town), New York, Oyster Bay in east central Nassau County, New York, United States. The population of the CDP was 27,100. The Plainv ...

and her mother, Gloria, was a teacher and the supervisor of family and neighborhood counseling for the

Bergen County Bergen County is the List of counties in New Jersey, most populous County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Her parents were both active in the local community, with her mother serving on the board of education as its president and her father appointed to serve on the municipality's board of adjustment. She graduated from

Dwight Morrow High School Dwight Morrow High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Englewood, in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as part of the Englewood Public School District. The school also serves students from ...

.Jackson, Herb (December 7, 2015).
'Jersey girl' stuck in limbo for Mexico ambassador post
. ''

The Record (Bergen County) ''The Record'' (also called ''The North Jersey Record'', ''The Bergen Record'', ''The Sunday Record'' (Sunday edition) and formerly ''The Bergen Evening Record'') is a newspaper in New Jersey, United States. Serving Bergen, Essex, Hudson and ...

''. Retrieved December 7, 2015. "Jacobson, the former Roberta Steinfeld, grew up in Englewood Cliffs and graduated from Dwight Morrow High School. Her dad was an electrical engineer who once headed the borough Board of Adjustment, and her mom, a former teacher, was school board president at one point." She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree at

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

, then spent 1982 through 1984 at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Center for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs.Biography: Roberta S. Jacobson
. ''United States Department of State''. Archived fro

on October 12, 2012. She earned her Master of Arts degree in law and diplomacy at

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy is the graduate school of international affairs of Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts. Fletcher is one of America's oldest graduate schools of international relations. As of 2017, the student bo ...

in 1986.

Career

Early career

In 1988, she worked at the

United States National Security Council The United States National Security Council (NSC) is the national security council used by the president of the United States for consideration of national security, military, and Foreign relations of the United States, foreign policy matter ...

. The next year, she joined the

Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs The Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs (WHA) is a part of the U.S. Department of State, charged with implementing U.S. foreign policy and promoting U.S. interests in the Western Hemisphere, as well as advising the Under Secretary of State fo ...

in the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

as special assistant to the assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, becoming executive assistant to the assistant secretary in 1992. She also served as coordinator for Cuban affairs. From 1996 to 2000, she was director of the Office of Policy Planning and Coordination at the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, covering issues such as civil-military relations, human rights, foreign assistance, and counter-narcotics throughout the hemisphere. From 2000 to 2002, she was deputy

chief of mission In diplomatic usage, head of mission (HOM) or chief of mission (COM) from the French "chef de mission diplomatique" (CMD) is the head of a diplomatic representation, such as an ambassador, high commissioner, nuncio, chargé d'affaires, permanen ...

in the United States Embassy in Peru. The

American Foreign Service Association The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), established in 1924, is the professional association of the United States Foreign Service. With over 15,000 due-paying members, AFSA represents 28,000 active and retired Foreign Service employees ...

, which represents the interests of career diplomats, objected to her appointment because the post is normally reserved for a foreign service officer and she was a civil service employee. Secretary of State

Madeleine Albright Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Körbelová, later Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political science, political scientist who served as the 64th United States Secretary of State, United S ...

overrode the recommendation of a State Department grievance board that recommended Jacobson be reassigned. The U.S. ambassador to Peru, John Hamilton, had chosen Jacobson over several career diplomats. He defended her selection in November 2000 saying: "She is the best manager I've come across in my 31 years in the Foreign Service". Jacobson was director of the State Department's Office of Mexican Affairs from December 2002 to June 2007. At that point, she became deputy assistant secretary for

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and

NAFTA The North American Free Trade Agreement (, TLCAN; , ALÉNA), referred to colloquially in the Anglosphere as NAFTA, ( ) was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that created a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The ...

issues in the Bureau. She was Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs from December 2010 until July 2011, with responsibility for regional political and economic issues, management and personnel, and regional security issues.

Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs

When

Arturo Valenzuela Arturo A. Valenzuela (born 23 January 1944) is a Chilean-American academic who was the United States Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs from November 5, 2009, until August 2011. His confirmation had been blocked by Sena ...

left the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, she became acting assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs. U.S. President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

named her assistant secretary of state and she was sworn into office on March 30, 2012. Jacobson led a U.S. delegation to

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.government of Cuba Cuba is communist and has had a socialist political system since 1961 based on the "one state, one party" principle. Cuba is constitutionally defined as a single-party Marxist–Leninist socialist republic with semi-presidential powers. The pre ...

in January 2015. According to advance media reports, she was expected to press Cuba to drop travel restrictions on American diplomats and propose that Cuba and the United States establish an embassy in

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

and Havana respectively.

U.S. Ambassador to Mexico

On November 10, 2015, the

Senate Foreign Relations Committee The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the U.S. Senate charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. It is generally responsible for authorizing and overseeing foreign a ...

approved Obama's nomination of Jacobson as the

U.S. ambassador to Mexico The United States has maintained diplomatic relations with Mexico since 1823, when Andrew Jackson was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to that country. Jackson declined the appointment, however, and Joel R. Poinsett bec ...

by a vote of 12–7. Opposition to her appointment came primarily from the Republicans on the committee, notably presidential candidate Senator

Marco Rubio Marco Antonio Rubio (; born May 28, 1971) is an American politician, lawyer, and diplomat serving since 2025 as the 72nd United States Secretary of State, United States secretary of state. A member of the Republican Party (United States) , Rep ...

. He and six other Republican senators, along with Democratic Senator

Robert Menendez Robert Menendez (; born January 1, 1954) is an American former politician and lawyer who represented New Jersey in the United States Senate from 2006 until his resignation in 2024. A member of the Democratic Party, he also represented New J ...

, raised concerns about her position on normalisation of relations between Cuba and the U.S., human rights issues, and the failed extradition of

Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera (; born 4 April 1957), commonly known as "El Chapo", is a Mexican former drug lord and a former leader within the Sinaloa Cartel. Guzmán is believed to be responsible for the deaths of over 34,000 people, ...

, who had escaped Mexico's highest security prison in July 2015. The

approved her appointment to be U.S. Ambassador to Mexico on April 28, 2016. She presented her credentials to Mexican President

Enrique Peña Nieto Enrique Peña Nieto (; born 20 July 1966), commonly referred to by his initials EPN, is a Mexican former politician and lawyer who was the 64th president of Mexico from 2012 to 2018. A member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), he p ...

on June 20, 2016. She also held the position of border czar, an informal position held previously by

Alan Bersin Alan Douglas Bersin (born October 15, 1946) is an American lawyer. He also serves as an Inaugural Senior Fellow in the Homeland Security Project at the Belfer Center at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, as a Global Fellow at the Woodr ...

. On March 1, 2018, Jacobson filed her notice of resignation, effective May 5, 2018. In November 2020, Jacobson was named a volunteer member of the Joe Biden presidential transition Agency Review Team to support transition efforts related to the

Biden administration

After

assumed office as president, Jacobson was selected in January 2021 to manage the administration's response to a growing number of migrants attempting to enter the country at the

. Jacobson was scheduled to remain in her role for Biden's first 100 days in office, but announced her resignation on April 9, 2021. Jacobson now serves as Senior Advisor at

Albright Stonebridge Group Albright Stonebridge Group, part of DGA Group, is a global business strategy firm based in Washington, D.C., United States. It was created in 2009 through the merger of international consulting firms The Albright Group, founded in 2001 by former ...

Personal life

Jacobson is married to Jonathan Jacobson. They live with their two sons in

Potomac, Maryland Potomac () is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 47,018. It is named a ...

. She is

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

References

External links

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobson, Roberta S. 1960 births Living people Ambassadors of the United States to Mexico Brown University alumni Dwight Morrow High School alumni People from Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey Politicians from New York City The Fletcher School at Tufts University alumni United States assistant secretaries of state United States Foreign Service personnel 20th-century American Jews American women ambassadors 21st-century American Jews 20th-century American women 21st-century American women Members of the Inter-American Dialogue Politicians from Bergen County, New Jersey