Kathy Yao

Kathy Yao joined the Foreign Agricultural Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in January 2017. She started her first overseas assignment as the Agricultural Attaché at the U.S. Embassy London in June 2019. Prior to being posted to the United Kingdom, Kathy worked at the USDA headquarters in Washington, D.C., where she served as the International Trade Specialist in the Trade Mission/Show Services Division and the Bilateral and Multilateral Affairs Division. She started her Foreign Agricultural Service career as a Foreign Service Officer Trainee in the South Asia Division as a Desk Officer covering seven countries. Kathy spent four years working for large international companies both in the United States and abroad, including Nike and Aramark, before joining the federal government. She earned her master's degree in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and bachelor's degree in Business from the University of California, Berkeley.