Cather­ine Ehrlich was trained as a diplo­mat (Johns Hop­kins Uni­ver­si­ty School of Advanced Inter­na­tion­al Stud­ies) and Asian lin­guist. Her writ­ing is based on expe­ri­ence as a speech­writer, mar­keter, pub­lic rela­tions exec­u­tive, and trade rep­re­sen­ta­tive in Chi­na, Hong Kong, Tai­wan, Japan, and Amer­i­ca. She has served on many non­prof­it boards of direc­tors and divides her time between homes bases in Ore­gon and California.