Katima Saleh
Katima Saleh

About Me

If it has words, I’ve probably polished them.

Early in my career at the World Bank Group, I traveled the portfolio. Interviewing economists in Egypt from the field to ghostwriting for former CEO Kristalina Georgieva. Those field notes became town hall agendas and informed organizational priorities. I sat in the rooms where annual themes were set and then it was my job to reinforce and institutionalize them.

In 2020, I joined USAID, where my contributions to executive briefs helped former Administrator Samantha Power navigate her first 100 days. I also led the communications strategy and implementation for an enterprise customer relationship management system (CRM) that brought the workforce onto one platform. The project set a federal benchmark for technology adoption.

Alongside that transformation work, I supported USAID’s emergency management team on sensitive and urgent communications including evacuation guidance. Behind the scenes, I managed the back end and curated content for USAID’s Operation Allies Welcome and Ukraine-war pages to keep staff informed.

Since then, I’ve directed commemorations and memorials, produced employee engagement campaigns that doubled intranet click-throughs and built messaging playbooks teams still use. My core value is strategy. I build communication plans, and when it’s showtime, I produce run-of-show materials for high-level events.

I’m a journalism graduate with minors in marketing and psychology. I’ve always been drawn to how people think and what moves them to act. Studying global problems put me at the intersection of communications and international development. Having lived in the Middle East and surrounded by program officers from the world’s largest nongovernmental organizations providing aid, I found the work I wanted to serve: social development.

I help leaders and organizations communicate responsibly and act sustainably. I’m big on corporate social responsibility and I know what it takes to scale large staff bodies. In every role, my aim is the same: translate complex policy and reform into clear narratives leaders can champion and teams can trust.
Standing with U.S. Agency for International Development’s Administrator Samantha Power, left, during an award ceremony, summer 2024.
I served as the Secretariat for the World Bank Group Youth Summit, December 2019

Core Competencies

Executive Communications

I specialize in writing official messages of executive caliber for critical moments. I use best practices when crafting speeches, town hall scripts, video narratives, and run-of-show materials. At USAID, alongside the communications director, I developed the Executive Onboarding Brief for Bureau for Management leadership and the former Administrator. I’ve written talking points for numerous leaders across the agency including legislative reference memos and congressional responses all with an eye on reputational risk.

Change Management

I’m a Prosci-certified change practitioner who guides enterprise implementations and institutional-wide initiatives. I translate complex IT and policy changes into human-centered communications that build awareness, desire, and ability to adopt. My approach involves designing clear value cases, leadership messaging, training, and communication plans that turn projects into results and resonate with target audiences.

Global Storytelling

I design cross-cultural content strategies and multimedia that connect missions and development outcomes.I supported content managers across external platforms like Medium, LinkedIn, and Exposure. At USAID, I produced success stories, video series, and lead event coverage across internal and external channels. At the World Bank Group, I helped launch a regional engagement network to ensure reflected voices from country offices, not just headquarters. I also supported the World Bank’s Umbrella Facility for Trade with results stories, reports, and donor materials.

Employee Engagement

I’m an internal communications expert who builds editorial strategies that embed institutional goals across large, global teams. At the World Bank Group, I led newsletters, online campaigns, and in-person activations that amplified employee voices and increased traffic to key resources. At USAID, I launched a commemorative month series and cross-shared features to social, all while keeping internal storytelling aligned to organizational priorities.
I maintain an active Security Clearance. Please reach out for writing samples.

Technical Proficiencies

Adobe Premier Pro
Adobe Photoshop
Drupal
Tableau
GovDelivery
MS SharePoint
Salesforce
Google Suite
Zoom for Government

Licenses & Certifications

Featured Work

I advise leaders on the words that matter.

Katima Saleh