Catherine Ebert-Gray (born 1955)Catherine Ebert-Gray (1955–)
/ref> is an American diplomat. She served as the United States ambassador to Papua New Guinea,

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

and

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...

from 2016 to 2019.

Early life and education

Born Catherine Ebert in

Appleton, Wisconsin Appleton () is the county seat of Outagamie County, Wisconsin, United States, with small portions extending into Calumet County, Wisconsin, Calumet and Winnebago County, Wisconsin, Winnebago counties. Located on the Fox River (Green Bay tributary ...

, she lived in

Neenah Neenah ( ) is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States. It is situated on the banks of Lake Winnebago, Little Lake Butte des Morts, and the Fox River approximately northeast of Oshkosh and southwest of Green Bay. Neenah's popul ...

and Menasha,

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

as well as

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

before she graduated from

Appleton West High School Appleton West High School (or AWHS, formerly known as Appleton Senior High School or Appleton High School) is a comprehensive public secondary school located in Appleton, Wisconsin that serves students in the ninth through twelfth grades. The ...

. She developed an interest in history and the Pacific from her father, a veteran who served on the USS Chanticleer in the Pacific theater. She earned her bachelor's degrees in international relations and political science from the

University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

. Later she received a master's degree in national resource management from the

Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy The Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy (Eisenhower School), formerly known as the Industrial College of the Armed Forces (ICAF), is a part of the National Defense University. It was renamed on September 6, 20 ...

Career

Ebert-Gray began her career as an analyst in the

Hawaii State Legislature The Hawaii State Legislature ( Hawaiian: Ka ‘Aha‘ōlelo kau kānāwai o ka Moku‘āina o Hawai‘i) is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of Hawaii, consisting of the Hawaii State Senate (upper house with 25 senators) and t ...

. In 1988 she joined the United States Foreign Service and subsequently served in several international locations, including

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

, and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. When she was nominated by 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 ...

to become U.S. Ambassador, she was serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Administration's Office of Logistics Management, a role she had held since 2011.US Envoy presents credentials at Konedobu
The Loop, February 23, 2016 On February 11, 2016, Ebert-Gray arrived in Port Moresby after having been confirmed on December 9, 2015, by the United States Senate. Her swearing-in as the U.S. Ambassador to Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands took place on January 22, 2016. Her mission ended on November 17, 2019.

Personal

She is married to Australian Ian Gray, and they have two children. She speaks both English and French.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ebert-Gray, Catherine 1955 births Living people 21st-century American women civil servants 21st-century American diplomats Ambassadors of the United States to Papua New Guinea Ambassadors of the United States to the Solomon Islands Ambassadors of the United States to Vanuatu American women ambassadors National Defense University alumni Obama administration personnel People from Appleton, Wisconsin United States Department of State officials University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni United States Foreign Service personnel