Ambassador Ma. Angelina Miciano Sta. Catalina was the Director of the Foreign Service Institute of the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines from April 2012 to January 2014. She holds the rank of Chief of Mission, Class I. She was the first resident Philippine Ambassador to the Republic of Finland, having opened the Philippine Embassy in Helsinki on 2 November 2009. Prior to her nomination as Ambassador, she was assigned as Minister (2006–2008), then Deputy Chief of Mission (2008–2009) and Consul General (2006–2009) to Philippine Embassy in Brussels; and as Second Secretary (1996–1997), then First Secretary (1997–2002) and Consul General (1997–2002) to the Philippine Mission to the United Nations in Geneva. In Geneva, she served as Philippine Commissioner, UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development (1999–2004), during which time she was also a member of the Gender Advisory Board (1999–2002) of this UN Commission. During her stay in the Home Office, the Ambassador took the positions of Deputy Chief Coordinator of OSEC (2005–2006), Special Assistant of OUIER (2002–2005, during which period she was the APEC SOM Leader from 2004 to 2005, and Director of UNIO (1995–1996).

She has the distinction of being the only Foreign Service Officer who served as Executive Assistant to the First Lady Amelita M. Ramos during the Ramos Administration (1993–1995). Ambassador Sta. Catalina graduated with a degree in AB Foreign Service (Magna cum laude) from Maryknoll College (1970) and holds a Master’s Degree in History (Summa cum laude) from the Bosphorus University in Turkey (1991). She is the recipient of the Order of Lakandula, Rank of Grand Officer (2007) from the President and the Gawad Mabini, Rank of Grand Officer (2007) from the Department of Foreign Affairs. She has received other Presidential Citations for her work as Conference Services Coordinator for various ASEAN Meetings, including the ASEAN Summit held in Cebu, the Second Global Forum on Migration and Development (2009), and the Special Non-Aligned Movement Ministerial Meeting on Interfaith Dialogue and Cooperation for Peace and Development (2010).

Prior to her entry into the Philippine Foreign Service, Ambassador Sta. Catalina joined the ranks of the academe in Maryknoll College. After graduation in 1970, she was designated by Sister Miriam Thomas as Director of the Social Development Program. Together with a classmate, now Doctor of Economics, Ms. Jeanette V. Loanzon, and Theology Professor Ms. Rebecca Nebrida, they conceptualized a program of social development aimed at deepening the skills of Maryknoll students at the college level in community-building and social work among the less privileged members of the barangays located within the neighborhood of Maryknoll College. In 1971 the Ambassador was named Director of Student Services and joined the faculty of the History Department. By 1974 the History Department was expanded to include International Studies, where she continued to teach until 1978.