AFSA is pleased to announce a “Next Stage” panel discussion on how former FSOs have parlayed their expertise in dealing with foreign governments and political and economic analysis to post-FS careers in the private sector. The panel will take place at AFSA headquarters, 2101 E St NW, at 12:00 noon on Thursday, June 13. Click here to register.

The panelists are:

• Samantha Carl-Yoder is the Director of Marketing and International Affairs at Tellurian, a natural gas company. Prior to joining Tellurian, Samantha was a Foreign Service officer with the U.S. Department of State from 2001-2018. She served as Chief of Staff for Under Secretary for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon from 2017-2018; Chief of Staff to the Special Envoy for International Energy Affairs Amos Hochstein at the Department of State from 2015-2017; Deputy Consul General at the U.S. Consulate in São Paulo, Brazil from 2012-2015. She also worked as Senior Advisor to Deputy Secretaries of State Thomas R. Nides and Jacob J. Lew, covering the Western Hemisphere, Middle East, and UN issues from 2010-2012; she served as Advisor to the Secretary of State’s Chief of Staff on Somalia issues from 2011-2012. From 2009-2010, Samantha was Special Assistant to Assistant Secretary for Economic and Business Affairs Jose Fernandez;
• Juan Gonzalez, Associate Vice President at The Cohen Group, a global business consulting firm based in Washington, D.C. Prior to joining The Cohen Group, Mr. Gonzalez spent 16 years of government service focused on Latin America and the Caribbean with the Department of State, the National Security Council, and the Office of the Vice President. At State Mr. Gonzalez was a Deputy Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs; 
• Stephen M. Liston, Vice President, Global Government Relations, Equifax, Inc, a global information solutions provider, based in Atlanta, Ga. Following a 25-year career as an FSO, Mr. Liston devises and executes strategies for external stakeholder relations in eleven countries in Latin America. He also provides guidance on government relations across Equifax’s Canadian, Asia-Pacific, and European operations; and
• Andrew Rudman, Managing Director at Monarch Global Strategies, a boutique strategic advisory firm focusing on government relations and market entry, based in Washington D.C. Mr. Rudman manages Monarch’s healthcare practice and supports clients across a range of sectors and interests. He previously was Deputy Vice President at Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, where he developed and executed policy advocacy strategies. Mr. Rudman began his professional career at State followed by the Department of Commerce.

The panel, which marks the third program in AFSA’s new "Next Stage" series, is geared to both active-duty and retired AFSA members who are considering global governmental relations work with an emphasis on business after they leave the Foreign Service. "Next Stage" programs, in general, consist of a range of events geared to likely career options—and the skills you need to take advantage of them—after the Foreign Service.

The focus of the panel will be on the practical, with the discussion focusing on the unique skill set FSOs have to offer to this slice of the private sector and how to successfully make this transition.

Note that space is limited, so please register early but please also let us know if your plans change so we may open the event to those on the wait list. So that our far-flung membership will be able to benefit from the discussion, AFSA will post a video of the event at afsa.org/video shortly after the presentation. There also will be time for Q&A. Stay tuned for an announcement for a future panel focused on post-career opportunities for Foreign Service specialists.