Former Director, Office of Public Affairs
Biography
Cathy MacFarlane joined the Federal Trade Commission as Director of the Office of Public Affairs, a position she held from 2001 through 2003. Most recently, she was a co-founder of Zenbanx, a Silicon Valley financial technology start-up. Earlier in her career, Cathy served as head of Corporate Relations for ING DIRECT USA and as the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. During her earlier tenure at the Federal Trade Commission Cathy spearheaded the launch and promotion of the National Do Not Call Registry.
Cathy has also served as EVP of the Direct Impact Company, VP of Devillier Communications, an Associate with Cassidy & Associates, and Director of Business Development for the Dallas and Washington offices of Jones Day.
Additionally, Cathy was a visiting scholar at the East China Institute of Politics and Law in Shanghai, China, where she developed and taught graduate level courses designed to convey the concepts of the United States criminal justice system.
Cathy began her career with the Federal Bureau of Investigation as a counter-intelligence specialist, focusing on the Soviet bloc nations. Following the FBI, she served at the Department of Justice’s National Institute of Justice.
Cathy received her bachelor’s degree in history from Manhattanville College, Purchase, New York, and her master’s degree in Eastern European history from Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.