Twenty years ago — almost to the week — I met Liberty Reyes at Raving’s Indian Gaming National Marketing Conference in Hinckley, Minnesota. We were both early in our careers, both trying to find our place in a growing tribal gaming industry.
Back then, Liberty worked for her Tribe, the Shoshone-Bannock in Idaho. She was also serving in the Army National Guard. I remember thinking, how does she do it all? Over two decades later, we’re still in touch — both of us still in gaming — and she’s now Chief of Staff to the Tribal Council for the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation. She’s also a wife and mom of three.
When we sat down to talk recently, I realized that what Liberty has carried from the military into her civilian and professional life is a blend of strength, honesty, and self-awareness that few people ever master.
Why She Served
“Growing up on the reservation, the people who I respected and looked up to were veterans,” she told me. “I saw them as protectors, and they were respected deeply within the community.”
Her mom, brother, uncles, and cousins all served. For Liberty, it was almost a calling — but she didn’t want to go active duty. That changed in college when a recruiter at a student table stopped her and said she could serve and finish her degree.
“I didn’t even know you got paid,” she laughed. “I thought it was volunteer work! But that conversation opened a door. I realized I could have a career, stay close to my community, and still serve.”
That was the start of a 20-plus-year career in the National Guard — one that ran parallel with a full professional life in Tribal gaming.
A Balancing Act — Literally
Liberty joined the Guard in 1999, and a few years later, she found herself graduating college, pregnant with twins, and applying for her first marketing director position at her Tribe’s casino.
“I started my career with newborns,” she said. “I had to feed my family. I had twin girls depending on me.”
She kept serving in uniform through it all — training weekends, leadership schools, long drives to faraway units. Her family stepped in to help. “My grandma, my mom, the girls’ dad — everyone helped. That’s the only way I got through it.”
She eventually commissioned as an officer and rose through the ranks, spending years in logistics and command roles.
“I learned that leadership isn’t about knowing everything,” she said. “It’s about trusting your people, trusting the process, and making sure they have what they need to succeed.”
Structure, Purpose, and Trust
That same mindset shaped the way she leads today. “The military taught me flexibility within structure,” Liberty said. “There’s chain of command and accountability, but there’s also humanity. You’re still dealing with people.”
She sees that same balance in Tribal gaming — structure that supports people, not the other way around. “When people know what to expect and see fairness, they perform better,” she said. “My goal in every role is to build systems that last beyond me.”
The Weight of It All
One of the most candid moments in our conversation came when she talked about the physical expectations placed on women in the military.
“I was running marathons, leading soldiers, healthy and strong — and still fighting the scale,” she said. “I remember wrapping my stomach in plastic wrap, skipping meals, doing everything I could to meet the weight requirement. It wasn’t about health anymore; it was about fear of failure.”
After having twins and later her son, the military’s rigid body standards became more than a number — they became an emotional weight. “I was doing everything right, but it still wasn’t enough. And that’s not okay,” she said.
Then she paused. “Women are built differently. We create life. That should be celebrated, not punished.”
Motherhood, Guilt, and Grace
Now 21, Liberty’s twin daughters are both in college — one studying psychology and generational trauma, the other media and communications. Her 12-year-old son and husband of 16 years keep her grounded.
“I always felt guilty,” she said. “I wasn’t the mom who was home every night. But my daughters tell me, ‘Mom, we want to be like you.’ They never saw it as me choosing work over them — they saw why I worked.”
That, she said, has been one of her biggest lessons: you can’t be everything at once, but you can show up with purpose. “We talk now about the past — the things I thought affected them but didn’t, and the things that did. That honesty matters.”
Liberty has expressed gratitude to her husband, Antonio Reyes (who is also in gaming), for his support. “Having a partner who is there cheering you on and supporting you through the good and the bad times, while filling the gaps when you’re not around, is a blessing — not everyone has that.”
Leadership for the Long Run
Before we wrapped our conversation, I asked Liberty how she reconciles all the changes she’s seen — in leadership, in policy, in expectations — and still maintains faith in the institution she served for over two decades.
“There’s always going to be shifts,” she said. “Every administration brings its own set of priorities. But what doesn’t change are the values — service, loyalty, integrity. Those are what hold it together.”
She paused for a moment before adding, “In the military, I learned to respect the position even when it was challenging to respect the person in it. Leaders come and go. The mission stays. That’s how I’ve learned to approach my civilian work, too. We serve something bigger than ourselves, and our job is to make sure what we build lasts beyond us.”
It’s that mindset — steady, grounded, and pragmatic — that defines Liberty. She doesn’t confuse leadership with power. For her, it’s about stewardship — about leaving something stronger than you found it.
Coming Full Circle
After more than two decades of service, Liberty retired as a Logistics Major in 2022. Today, at San Manuel, she brings all those lessons — structure, compassion, logistics, and leadership — into her work.
“All the skills I built along the way were for this,” she said. “Now I get to use everything I’ve learned to support a Tribe that’s building opportunity for their community and others.”
When I asked if she’d still encourage young women to serve, her answer came without hesitation.
“Yes. But know your why. It has to be strong enough to carry you through the challenges. The military can still be a powerful place to grow and learn who you are — if you walk into it knowing your purpose.”
Liberty Reyes’ story isn’t about being a superwoman. It’s about being human — about navigating service, motherhood, and leadership with grace and grit. She’s proof that strength doesn’t mean doing it all; it means knowing why you do it — and doing it with heart.