Catherine M. Blowers has over 21 years of experience as an American diplomat utilizing public outreach, communication skills, creativity, and innovation to design and implement people-to-people programs. She has served at U.S. Missions in Mozambique, South Africa, Egypt, and in multiple positions at the Department of State in Washington, D.C. She is an experienced communicator, skilled event manager, and comfortable with technology. She has a bachelor's degree in political science and professional training from the Foreign Service Institute.

1. CATHERINE M BLOWERS
Influence through positive engagement
cmblowers1958@gmail.com / 703-943-9632
PROFILE
Dedicated 21 years as an American diplomat utilizing public outreach,communication skills,
creativity,and innovation to design and implement people-to-people programs to foster
mutual understanding;served at U.S. Missions in Mozambique,South Africa, Egypt, and in
multiple positions at the DepartmentofState in Washington,DC.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXPERTISE
Practiced Communicator
 Coordinatedwith multiple bureaus and government agencies to prepare a concise
report to the Secretary of State on the impact of unrest in Tunisia and Egypt on U.S.
civil society programs in the region, report guided the Department’s planning forits
long term outreach to this sector;
 Chosen by Assistant Secretary to serve as temporary executive assistantforthe Bureau
of Education and Cultural Affairs, supervising all paperflow into and out of the
Bureau, including requests for briefing papers, reports, and memos from the
Secretary,Undersecretary,and Congress.
Skilled Event Manager
 Built Mission-wide team,divided tasks, oversaw all operations, and served as Master
of Ceremonies for the Fourth of July celebration at Embassy Cairo; which drew nearly
1,000 attendees;
 Conceptualized 7-country Middle East tour for American Muslim musician Kareem
Salama; worked with multiple entities to set schedule, negotiateterms, acquire
funding,manage budget,and troubleshoot difficulties.
Comfortable with Technology
 Directed transferof 5,000 Embassy Cairo contacts from antiquated list to new
Goldmine database in advance ofAmbassador-hostedofficialFourth of July
celebration;ensured databasewas updated and complete and that all Embassy future
events reached the most appropriate audience;
 Developed first Share Point site for Public Diplomacy Office of Near Eastern Affairs
Bureau; trained users, maintainedand updatedcontent,used knowledge ofaudience

2. needs to populate the site with appropriate information;significantly reduced bulky
attachmentsto emails; streamlined office communication and coordination.
At ease with all audiences
 Successfully nurtured relationships with often anti-American Johannesburg press
corps and inexperienced journalists in Soweto Township that resulted in expanded
coverage of American objectives,policies, and programs;
 Through close personal engagement,supportedthe ModelAmerican Congress
program at Cairo University, which informed hundreds of students in Egypt about the
American democratic process.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
Bachelor’s Degree, Political Science,UniversityofFlorida Gainesville (1976 to 1981)
Professional Training, Foreign ServiceInstitute,Arlington,VA (throughout 21 year career)
 Public Diplomacy Tradecraft (Cultural, Educationaland Exchange Programs, Public
Affairs with Media,CommunicatingAcross Cultures, Monitoring Grants and
Cooperative Agreements, ManagingPublic Diplomacy Resources);
 Leadership and Management (Advanced Leadership Seminar,Performance
Management and Evaluation,EEO/Diversity Awareness,Conflict Management,
Managing Change)
 RegionalStudies (Sub-Saharan Africa,Middle East/North Africa,Western
Hemisphere);
 Human Resources (CustomerService,Leading a Diverse Workforce, Employee
Relations)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OTHER EXPERIENCE AND INTERESTS
 Customerservice and sales at Merrifield Garden Center - Fairfax, VA
 Completed certification as Volunteer Fairfax MasterNaturalist and Gardener
 MemberCornell University Bird Lab,NationalWildlife Federation,National
Audubon Society,Audubon Society of Northern Virginia
 Avid birdwatcher,gardener,and crossword puzzle enthusiast