Trade Winds Mission and Business Forum: The Americas

A career Senior Foreign Service Officer, class of Career Minister, John Breidenstine began his assignment as Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City in August 2023. Before his current assignment, John served as the Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs and ASEAN Regional Senior Commercial Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok (2019-2023); Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs and Senior Commercial Officer for Europe at the U.S. Mission to the European Union (2015-2019); Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs in London (2011-15); U.S. Consul General in Hermosillo, Mexico (2008-11); Regional Director for Europe and Eurasia (2006-08); and Commercial Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City (2003-06). Prior to a 2002 reconstruction-related assignment at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, John’s postings included: Ankara, Turkey (1997-2002); Tashkent, Uzbekistan (1994-97); Kuwait City, Kuwait (1991-93); and Munich, Germany (1990-91). Before joining the Foreign Service in 1990, John studied international relations at the University of Miami (1987-88) and at the Free University of Berlin (1988-89) and worked as an Account Executive for International Paper in New York City and Atlanta (1984-87). He is a 1984 graduate of Davidson College in North Carolina.

Timothy Cannon has been with the Department of Commerce since 2003. Prior to joining the Commercial Service, Tim was a Marine at the barracks in Washington, D.C. where he served as a Presidential Honor Guard. After the Marines he worked as a Personal Protection Officer. He then pursued a career in sales with Gallo Winery, Miller Brewing, and Red Bull. After the beverage business, Tim accepted a position with an aerospace company and while attending the Paris and Australian Airshows, Tim utilized the services of the Commercial Service. He was impressed with their assistance and decided to return to the service of the government as a Commercial Officer himself. Since then, Tim has served in Fargo, North Dakota on a domestic tour, Russia, Vietnam, and Saudi Arabia and will be in Panama for the next four years.  

Keenton Chiang has served as Commercial Counselor and Head of Agency for the Department of Commerce at the U.S. Embassy in Lima, Peru beginning in August 2023. He was the First Secretary for Commercial Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing from 2017-2022. He served as a DC-based China desk officer for the U.S. Department of Commerce from 2016-2017. He was the Commercial Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, South Korea from 2012-2016. From 2009-2012, he was the Commercial Consul at the U.S. Consulate General in Shanghai, China.

Prior to joining the U.S. Foreign Commercial Service, Keenton was an interim-executive officer at a start-up investment bank in Pasadena, California. Prior to that he worked as a Peace Corps volunteer for small businesses in Guatemala for two years. Before beginning his overseas experience, he was a senior manager of a 50-member team responsible for securitizing closed loans for the secondary market.
He received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Humboldt State University. He received his MBA from the Monterey Institute of International Studies (now Middlebury Institute). 

Daniel Gaines is assigned to Georgetown, Guyana as the Senior Commercial Officer for the U.S. Department of Commerce’s U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service (CS). Prior to this assignment, Daniel served as a Commercial Officer in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Nairobi, Kenya.  He has also served stints as the Acting Senior Commercial Officer for CS Angola, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Tanzania.

Within the United States, Daniel served as the Director of the CS Phoenix Export Assistance Center (USEAC), as a Senior International Trade Specialist in the Northern Virginia USEAC, and has experience in Washington, DC from his time in the Office of the Assistant Secretary & Director General in Commerce Headquarters.

Daniel holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Business from the University of Alabama and a Masters in Global Management from Thunderbird School of Global Management.  

Reinaldo Garcia is currently serves as Senior Commercial Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. He manages an office of three trade professionals assisting U.S. companies with market access and trade promotion in Honduras and helping Honduran companies invest in the United States.  His previous assignment was with the Multilateral & Strategic Initiatives Team, Office of Western Hemisphere, in Washington, D.C., covering critical minerals, border security technology & passport technology, climate/clean tech, and distribution and logistics (supply chains) portfolios.  Reinaldo also served as the Deputy Director of the SelectUSA Investment Services Team. Prior to that, he served in Guangzhou, China from 2018-2021.  Before joining the U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service, Reinaldo worked as the General Counsel for Latin America for a major U.S. real estate company. He holds a JD, a BA in Political Science, and postgraduate studies in international economic and trade law.  

Robyn Garfield is a career U.S. Foreign Service Officer. Most recently, he served as Commercial Attaché at the U.S. Mission to the European Union, where he led a team covering energy, transportation, and climate. In this role, he founded a global whole-of-government initiative to address climate and energy transition needs in Europe and Eurasia. Robyn previously served in the U.S. Department of Commerce Office of China and Mongolia and as Commercial Consul at the Consulate General in Shanghai overseeing transportation, aviation, travel and tourism, and environmental technology. Prior to joining the U.S. Government, Robyn managed large multi-cultural teams in five countries as a corporate strategist, general manager and entrepreneur. Most recently, he advised Samsung Group’s global business units on international strategy from its headquarters in Seoul. Prior to that, he held executive roles in Washington, D.C. and founded a company in Beijing. Robyn holds an MBA from INSEAD, an MA from Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and a BA from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in Business and Intercultural Communication. 

Ryan Hollowell is the Senior Commercial Officer at the U.S. Embassy in San Jose where he leads the commercial diplomacy, export promotion and advocacy efforts in Costa Rica.  Ryan’s career with the Department of Commerce spans more than 15 years and includes assignments in Ho Chi Minh City, Singapore, Northern New Jersey and New York City. 

In Ho Chi Minh City, Ryan led the U.S.-Vietnam Industry Working Groups for Aviation, Energy, Healthcare, and Smart Cities, helping hundreds of businesses seeking to expand their work in Vietnam.  As the lead for Vietnam’s energy advocacy work, Ryan coordinated the efforts of 9 agencies and departments to advance key energy projects and policies.  Ryan also led the commercial signings for Indo-Pacific Business Forum, facilitating 7 signings for more than $11 billion.  

Prior to Ho Chi Minh City, Ryan was the Regional Commercial Officer and inaugural Digital Attaché for ASEAN at the U.S. Embassy in Singapore working on a regional and bilateral level promoting U.S. business expansion in ASEAN.  As the Digital Attaché, Ryan assisted U.S. companies in navigating policy challenges in the region focused on cybersecurity, data flows and data localization, and was instrumental in Singapore’s acceptance of APEC CBPR. 

Ryan also served on the U.S. side in the Northern New Jersey and New York City.  In between Commerce roles, Ryan joined a startup renewable energy company as the Director for International Business Development focused on reducing diesel consumption by telecommunications companies.  

Before joining the U.S. Department of Commerce, Ryan spent two years on Capitol Hill and two years with a lobbying firm focused on climate change policy.   

Ryan holds an M.B.A. in Finance and a M.A in International Relations from Seton Hall University and a Bachelor of Arts in International Business with minors in Economics and Peace Studies from Xavier University.  

Jennifer is the Regional Senior Commercial Officer for the Caribbean based in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.  She coordinates U.S Department of Commerce activities across the DR, Haiti, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, and Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean.

Previously, Jennifer was the organization’s Senior Advisor for Career Development and Assignments of the 250+ Foreign Service Officer Corps and advised on strategic staffing and resourcing policies and programs worldwide.  Other assignments include serving as the Senior Commercial Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Budapest, Hungary; the Deputy Senior Commercial Officer at the U.S. Embassy in London, UK where she monitored nascent HMG policies affecting U.S. interests in response to the pro-Brexit vote; the Senior Commercial Officer in Almaty, Kazakhstan; the  Commercial Officer at the U.S. Mission to the European Union; and the Commercial Officer at the U.S. Export Assistance Center Boston, MA.  Before joining the Foreign Service, Jennifer worked at the U.S. Department of Commerce in Washington, DC and in the private sector as a consultant to the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA).  Jennifer has an M.A. from George Washington University and a B.A. from Bucknell University.

Matthew has served in Bogota, Colombia since September 2023. Prior to his assignment in Colombia, he served as the Senior Commercial Officer in Montevideo, Uruguay where he was the first FCS officer in Uruguay in over 20 years.  Matthew previously served at the U.S. Embassy in Lima, Peru where he worked on important projects in security and defense, water and sanitation and agricultural equipment sectors.  Before Peru, Matthew completed a two-year assignment at the U.S. Export Assistance Center in Chicago, Illinois.  In addition to his client-facing work in Chicago, Matthew served as the Global Finance Team’s subject matter expert for the accounting industry.

Prior to working for the Department of Commerce, Matthew worked for KPMG’s Advisory practice in Chicago performing financial due diligence for private equity firms and multinational manufacturing companies.  Matthew also served in the U.S. Army Reserve and retired after 20 years of service at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. 

Matthew earned a BA in international relations from Boston University and a MS in accounting from the University of Illinois at Chicago.  He is registered as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) with the State of Illinois.

Prior to joining the Foreign Commercial Service, Pamela served as the Manager of the Eugene (Oregon) Export Assistance Center and as an International Trade Specialist in Newport Beach, California.  She entered government service as an Import Compliance Specialist investigating unfair trade practice allegations for the U.S. Department of Commerce. Prior to her government service, she worked in the international trade and shipping logistics departments of several multinational firms.  Pamela holds a degree in Business Administration and International Marketing from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and completed Stanford’s Graduate School of Business LEAD program in 2022.