Catherine Templeton

Catherine was born on December 7, 1970. She grew up in Lexington, South Carolina and graduated from Irmo High School in 1989; attended the University of Antwerp and graduated with a BA in Political Economics and Philosophy from Wofford College in 1993.

Templeton worked for Roger Milliken and then earned a law degree in 1998 from the University of South Carolina School of Law. After law school, Templeton took a position with the law firm Ogletree Deakins where she specialized in union avoidance and advised Fortune 500 companies. Templeton’s private sector career was notable for her involvement in fighting labor unions, most notably as the only woman involved in three successful defeats of the historic United Auto Workers drive on Nissan in Smyrna, Tennessee in the late 1990’s.

In 2010, Ambassador Nikki Haley asked Templeton to join then Governor Haley’s Cabinet as Secretary of Labor. In 2012, Governor Nikki Haley appointed Templeton to the Director’s position at the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.

In 2015, she retired from the agency and began her own management consulting firm, Brawley-Templeton, where she currently serves as President. Templeton is currently the President of Brawley Templeton, LLC.

Most recently, President Donald Trump considered Templeton for his cabinet as United States Secretary of Labor.

Catherine Templeton is the mother of three children, including twins, and is married to Morgan Templeton, business lawyer in private practice. They attend St. Michael’s Church. Her volunteer work includes board positions with the Junior League, Gibbes Museum of Art Women’s Council, the Boy Scouts of America, the Garden Club of Charleston, Parents’ Association President at First (Scots) Presbyterian Kindergarten, and Sunday School Coordinator at St. Michaels Episcopal Church.

In 2009, Templeton got involved in a national education effort with retired United States Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor designed to increase civics knowledge among middle school students about the way government works. Initially, Templeton was the South Carolina pilot co-chair for Our Courts, but the program expanded its scope and its reach to all 50 states and became iCivics and Templeton was named by the Justice as the National Volunteer Coordinator. In October 2010, O'Connor recommended Templeton for a judgeship.

SC Director of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation

On December 8, 2010, Governor-elect Nikki R. Haley appointed Templeton to be the South Carolina Director of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation (LLR). Haley and Templeton were subsequently sued by the AFL-CIO in federal court. That case was dismissed in favor of Haley and Templeton. Additionally, the National Labor Relations Board filed a Charge against Templeton in April 2011, that was subsequently dismissed.

SC Department of Health and Environmental Control

In 2012, Templeton was selected by the South Carolina DHEC board to be director at the agency. In her first two months as director, Templeton "cut a swath through personnel and agency practices, raising hackles in the General Assembly." Templeton laid off nine agency staffers while creating "three high-dollar executive positions, a move that exasperated anti-tax supporters who expected her to cut costs."

As DHEC director, Templeton proposed a series of restrictions on food stamps, suggesting that the state should strictly limit the kinds of foods that could be purchased using food stamps. Templeton framed the proposal as an anti-obesity measure. The trial balloon received "plenty of feedback, both positive and negative"; the South Carolina Beverage Association objected to proposals to bar use of food stamps for sugary beverages.

Templeton was director of DHEC during the Ebola virus cases in the United States in 2014. As director, Templeton tested Ebola emergency response protocols at at Charleston hospitals.

Templeton resigned as director of DHEC effective January 12, 2015.

Environment and Savannah River site

Templeton was responsible for South Carolina's "unusual display of resistance" and threatened to impose a $154M fine on the federal government for failing to meet its responsibilities at the Savannah River site.

In 2012, after Senator Jim DeMint resigned from the United States Senate to become president of the Heritage Foundation, Templeton was put on the short list of appointees to fill his term along with Senator Tim Scott, Congressman Trey Gowdy, and former First Lady of South Carolina, Jenny Sanford.

Templeton was summoned to Trump Tower to meet with President-elect Trump when he was picking his cabinet, but she turned down a job in the U.S. Department of LaborWhen President Trump’s labor pick withdrew from consideration, Templeton was again reported to have been considered for the post.

In 2014, Templeton was awarded the Defender of Manufacturing Award by the South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance.

In 2010, Templeton was awarded the Compleat Lawyer Award of the South Carolina School of Law.

Additionally, Sandra Day O’Connor appointed her as the National Coordinator for iCivics, a civics education project.

While in state government, Templeton was Chair of the State Emergency Response Committee and was appointed by Governor Haley to the Savannah River Maritime Commission.