Kathy Gest is a communications and public affairs professional with more than 30 years of experience advising public, private and government organizations in the United States and abroad. In the democracy development field, she has worked with representatives of parliaments, political parties and civil society organizations in Africa, Asia, Eurasia, Europe, the Middle East and North America. For the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), she has participated in two dozen election observation missions in 12 countries. Domestically, she spent two decades reporting on and working in the U.S. Congress before moving on to a leading public affairs firm. There she advised clients that included foreign governments, major corporations and international organizations. A former journalist, she is also a skilled editor and writer. She is also a past president of the National Press Foundation.
Years of professional experience: 40+
Countries/regions worked in/for: Afghanistan, Albania, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Croatia, Egypt, Georgia, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Jordan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Liberia, Macedonia, Mexico, Mozambique, Nigeria, Pakistan, Romania, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and the West Bank.
Education: M.S., Graduate School of Journalism (Columbia University), B.S., Medill School of Journalism (Northwestern University)