About

Ms. Mayumi Brewster embarked upon her career in the International Trade Management Division (ITMD) formerly known as Governments and Trade Management Division (GTMD) at the U.S. Census Bureau in 2015 as a Survey Statistician. She began working in the Data User and Trade Outreach Branch (DUTOB) coordinating and facilitating a number of webinars and Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) exports compliance seminars in support of the ongoing outreach efforts to the export trade community. In addition, Ms. Brewster continues to provide guidance to exporters requiring ACE export reports access through the Census Bureau’s verification process.

In DUTOB, one of her key contributions was creating export reports training resources for both beginner and advanced users. She worked directly with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and provided a thorough presentation that discussed various features within the ACE export reports application. In just 5 years of serving within this capacity, Ms. Brewster has trained thousands in utilizing the export reports feature. She is enthusiastic about serving the export trade community both in-person and virtual training and improving outreach efforts that lead to higher productivity and competitiveness.

Ms. Brewster has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Undergraduate Certificate in Management Foundations and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Maryland, University College.

Eric Gauthier is supervisor of the AESDirect Team in the Trade Data Collection Branch. His efforts include determining, reviewing, and coordinating the requirements to maintain and improve the AESDirect application according to the Foreign Trade Regulations (FTR) and the requirements from other partnership government agencies (PGAs). He is also part of the Compliance Seminar team, presenting to the trade community about how to follow the FTR and the AES compliance practices. He also conducts these presentations in Spanish.

Mr. Gauthier led the testing, outreach, and training initiatives related to the transition of the legacy AESDirect applications into the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). His contributions to the release of the new system made him worthy of receiving the U.S. Department of Commerce Gold Medal, the Department’s highest distinction.

Ms. Jessica Mangubat is a Supervisor in the Trade Regulations Branch (TRB) within the Economic Management Division at the U.S. Census Bureau.  Ms. Mangubat joined the U.S. Census Bureau in 2016.  In her current role as a Supervisor in the TRB, she participates in regulatory writing, answers regulatory questions posed by the trade community, and develops marketing and outreach materials aimed at improving regulatory knowledge of the trade community.  Ms. Mangubat also processes and assists staff with processing Voluntary Self-Disclosures submitted by the trade related to suspected violations of the Foreign Trade Regulations (FTR) and National Interest Determinations for federal agencies that seek export data from the U.S. Census Bureau.  Ms. Mangubat also processes international trade data agreements between the U.S. Census Bureau and other federal agencies.  Ms. Mangubat participates in conferences and seminars held by the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), and trade associations to promote the FTR and electronic filing of export information via the Automated Export System.

Ms. Mangubat earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and Sociology from Towson University and Master of Arts degree in Applied Sociology from University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

Carla Edwards served as International Program manager at the South Carolina Department of Education before joining the Commerce’s Business Services Division as International Trade Manager, bringing with her a vast international experience.

She was born in Angola, but grew up in Portugal, where she attended school and graduated with a major in International Relations and a minor in Economics. As part of her studies, Carla spent a year at the University of Würzburg, in Germany.

She served as Market and Trade Consultant for Portugal’s Trade & Investment Agency first in Helsinki, Finland and later in Stockholm, Sweden, supporting the internationalization of Portuguese companies through exports.

This is Carla’s second time with the Department of Commerce. She served as Economic Development Manager shortly after moving to the United States.

In her role at SC Commerce, Carla provides services to both new and established South Carolina exporters, who wish to grow their sales internationally. She also serves as South Carolina Director for the State Trade Expansion grant program.

Carla lives in Columbia with her husband and three children.

Anita Patel joined the U.S. Export Assistance Center (USEAC) as director of the Charleston office in July 2022. She brings more than 15 years of experience in international trade. Patel covers the entire coastal area of South Carolina, providing export assistance and helping small and medium-sized businesses with export planning, processes, and locating qualified overseas buyers.

Prior to joining the USEAC team, Anita was the Deputy Director of Business Services with the South Carolina Department of Commerce (SCDOC). Patel was responsible for implementing a long-term vision and short-term strategies to support the following six programs: international trade, recycling, existing industry, key accounts, supplier outreach, and emergency management.

During her time at SC Commerce, she also served as Deputy Director of International Strategy and Trade and led the state’s export assistance program, connecting South Carolina companies to resources and opportunities that foster international sales growth. Anita also helped support the state's international offices in Europe, Japan, South Korea, China, and India by recruiting companies from around the world to the state. During her time with the state, Anita was responsible for launching a number of new initiatives to boost the state’s export strategy. She has also counseled companies on exports, organized international trade missions and trade shows, and secured federal and state funding to assist small- to medium-sized firms in the state grow internationally.