Born and raised in Santa Rosa, Rob Proctor returned to Sonoma County in 2003 after more than 20 years working as a Foreign Service Officer for the U.S. Department of State. He is currently an adjunct instructor in political science at Santa Rosa Junior College, College of Marin, and Dominican University of California.

His diplomatic career included overseas tours in Africa, the Middle East, Europe and the Caribbean. Among his responsibilities in these postings were political analysis, peacekeeping, and representation of U.S. policy. Prior to his retirement from the U.S. Government, Rob was Director for Political Training at the U.S. Foreign Service Institute (FSI), the Department of State's training facility. He also headed the African Area Studies Program at FSI.

Rob received his undergraduate degree in Political Science from Stanford University. He has completed graduate degrees in international fields from Columbia University and Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.