Katharine Beamer has assumed the role of Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Belize. Beamer is a career Foreign Service Officer who previously served as Director of the Office of Caribbean Affairs, overseeing relations between the United States and Caribbean nations during a period described as historic engagement.
Born and raised in San Diego, California, Beamer graduated from Stanford University in 2001 with both a bachelor’s degree in international relations and a master’s degree in sociology. She joined the Foreign Service that same year and has since completed three tours in Washington, D.C., along with assignments at U.S. embassies in Guatemala, Poland, Slovakia, Bolivia, and the Dominican Republic.
Beamer was selected as a State Department Pearson Fellow to serve in the Senate. During her fellowship, she contributed to passing the bipartisan Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act (Pub. L. 112-208), which gives authority to the State and Treasury Departments to address corruption and human rights abuses abroad. She also represented the State Department as a National Security Affairs Fellow for the academic year 2021–22 at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution.
Beamer is recognized as a career member of the Senior Foreign Service and has received several Superior Honor Awards and Meritorious Honor Awards throughout her service. She enjoys travel, reading, eating, running, and spending time outdoors. She arrives in Belize accompanied by her husband Chase, twin sons Luke and Read, and their dog Nola.