Stephen P. Knode

Steve Knode is the deputy senior commercial officer for USCS Brazil stationed at the Consulate General of the United States in São Paulo, Brazil. As part of the U.S. Commercial Service (USCS), Steve and his team work to promote and protect U.S. business interests throughout Brazil via a network of offices in five cities, including Belo Horizonte, Brasília, Recife, and Rio de Janeiro, in addition to São Paulo.

Steve has held a variety of postings with USCS, including as a commercial officer at the Long Island Export Assistance Center (Old Westbury, New York), the U.S. Embassy in Budapest, Hungary, and the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, Japan. Steve also worked at the U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for the United States-Asia Environmental Partnership (US-AEP), a U.S. government program jointly funded by Commerce and USAID to promote U.S. environmental technologies.

Prior to joining the U.S. Department of Commerce and becoming a Foreign Service Officer, Steve spent more than seven years in the public/investor relations industry, working with Ogilvy Adams & Rinehart (now Ogilvy PR) and other agencies.

Steve is a recipient of the U.S. Department of Commerce Silver Medal, the Department’s second highest distinction, as well as the USCS Director General’s Award.

Born and raised in Japan, Steve earned a B.A. in political science (international relations) from Denison University, and also spent a year at the University of London - School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). In May 2013, he received an MBA as part of an executive program run jointly by Cornell University’s S.C. Johnson School of Management and the Queen’s University School of Business in Ontario, Canada.

He is married to Sharon DeVane Knode, the community liaison officer at the U.S. consulate. They have two children, Eliza, age 13, and Adam, age 10.