Lee Satterfield

Lee Satterfield serves as the Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), leading the United States’ global efforts to engage individuals through academic, cultural, professional, sports, film, music and youth exchanges. As Assistant Secretary, she works to strengthen U.S. government public diplomacy exchanges and programs by building on the foundational premise of fostering mutual understanding to more directly connect to U.S. foreign policy goals, including access to education, economic equity, and societal opportunity and inclusion. The Assistant Secretary aims to bolster strategic U.S efforts to engage through cultural diplomacy, cultural heritage, and youth exchanges using a 360-degree approach to engage with the U.S. private sector, nongovernmental organizations, and like-minded nations and territories. Assistant Secretary Satterfield has led a diverse professional career, which has included serving as: the President and Chief Operating Officer of Meridian International Center; Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and Deputy Chief of Protocol of the United States during the Obama Administration; and, Chief of Staff to the U.S. Secretary of Labor, and Special Assistant to the President and Staff Director for The White House Office of Public Liaison in the Clinton Administration. A native South Carolinian, Ms. Satterfield graduated from the University of South Carolina with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.