As co-founder of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion consulting and training firm DEI Consultants, LLC, Cathy Holt has over 30 years of political, policy and advocacy work with a specialization in the global women’s movement for gender equality. She has applied her career skills of policy and strategy analysis, corporate training, strategic advocacy messaging, program development, technical writing, and change management to her global work non promoting representative governance and empowering women. She has participated on international panels promoting women as change agents.

Through her work, she has also liaised with leaders, country and regional representatives, multi-lateral donors, UN agencies, civil society, and private sector stakeholders.

Cathy has extensive experience in governance structures and organizational development. She created and implemented a transition plan that moved an international grassroots organization from a board governed NGO to a more representative member governed one. She was responsible for preparing their
operating framework and all documents related to this transition and facilitated the first membership meeting in conjunction with World Urban Forum in Kuala Lumpur to adopt the new structure.

Cathy was hired by the Maldives government to create and implement a national voter education program for the first democratic presidential election under a new constitution. She evaluated cultural norms and values in conjunction with a government leadership team to prepare, implement and manage a culturally sensitive and relevant voter education program and train government personnel to expand the program for future parliamentary and municipal elections.

Cathy’s personal goal is to share her experiences and training to support others in acknowledging their biases and improving their self-awareness and well-being. Cathy has served as an adjunct professor at Texas Christian University (a secular university) in the Department of Women and Gender Studies to teach an introductory women and gender course and an advance course on gender and public policy from a transnational advocacy perspective.

Cathy obtained her undergraduate degree from Stanford University and holds a Master’s in Public Policy and Administration from Northwestern University.