The Foreign Service Journal, September 2008

70 F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L / S E P T EMB E R 2 0 0 8 A F S A N E W S AFSA NEWS BRIEFS Life in the Foreign Service n BY BRIAN AGGELER Staff: Executive Director John Mamone: mamone@afsa.org Business Department Controller: Vacant Accounting Assistant Cory Nishi: nishi@afsa.org Labor Management General Counsel Sharon Papp: papps@state.gov Labor Management Attorney Zlatana Badrich: badrichz@state.gov Labor Management Specialist James Yorke: yorkej@state.gov Grievance Attorneys Neera Parikh: parikhna@state.gov and Holly Rich: richhe@state.gov Office Manager Christine Warren: warrenc@state.gov USAID Senior Labor Management Adviser Douglas Broome: dbroome@usaid.gov USAID Office Manager Asgeir Sigfusson: asigfusson@usaid.gov Member Services Member Services Director Janet Hedrick: hedrick@afsa.org Member Services Representative Michael Laiacona: laiacona@afsa.org Web-site & Database Associate: vacant Administrative Assistant Ana Lopez: lopez@afsa.org Outreach Programs Retiree Liaison Bonnie Brown: brown@afsa.org Director of Communications Thomas Switzer: switzer@afsa.org Congressional Affairs Director Ian Houston: houston@afsa.org Executive Assistant to the President Austin Tracy: tracy@afsa.org Scholarship Director Lori Dec: dec@afsa.org Professional Issues Coordinator Barbara Berger: berger@afsa.org Elderhostel Coordinator Janice Bay: bay@afsa.org AFSA HEADQUARTERS: (202) 338-4045; Fax: (202) 338-6820 STATE DEPARTMENT AFSA OFFICE: (202) 647-8160; Fax: (202) 647-0265 USAID AFSA OFFICE: (202) 712-1941; Fax: (202) 216-3710 FCS AFSA OFFICE: (202) 482-9088; Fax: (202) 482-9087 AFSA WEB SITE: www.afsa.org FSJ: journal@afsa.org PRESIDENT: naland@afsa.org STATE VP: kashkettsb@state.gov RETIREE VP: pamichko@aol.com USAID VP: fzamora@usaid.gov FCS VP: donald.businger@mail.doc.gov AFSA News Editor Shawn Dorman : dorman@afsa.org (202) 338-4045 x 503; Fax: (202) 338-8244 On the Web : www.afsa.org/fsj and www.fsjournal.org How to Contact Us: Governing Board: PRESIDENT: John Naland STATE VP: Steve Kashkett USAID VP: Francisco Zamora FAS VP: Henry Schmick FCS VP: Vacant RETIREE VP: Robert W. Farrand SECRETARY: F.A. “Tex” Harris TREASURER: Andrew Winter STATE REPS: Anne Aguilera, Oscar DeSoto, David Firestein, Sandy Robinson, Shayna Steinger, Elaine Tiang-Chu, Daphne Titus, Andrea Tomaszewicz, USAID REP: Michael Henning FCS REP: Rebecca Balogh FAS REP: Vacant IBB REP: Al Pessin RETIREE REPS: Janice Bay, Herman Cohen, David Passage Board Changes The AFSA Governing Board welcomed several new members in recent months and bid farewell to those heading off to new pursuits. FCS Vice President Don Businger and FCS Representative Stephen Anderson moved on to overseas assignments this summer. Ambassador Harry Geisel resigned as retiree repre- sentative in June to take up the position of acting inspector general. He has not been replaced. Rebecca Balogh joined the Governing Board as the FCS representative in July, shortly after transferring from an assignment at the Northern Virginia Export Assistance Center to her current assignment as com- mercial service liaison to the National Association of Manufacturers. Her prior FCS tours were in Mexico and West Africa. Before joining the Commercial Service, she worked for both the Peace Corps and USAID. She spent five years in Albania, first as administrative officer for Peace Corps Albania and then as director of a USAID-funded development program. She then served as an FSO with USAID in Abidjan. Henry Schmick was appointed Foreign Agricultural Service vice president, effective Aug. 11. He has worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture since 1985. Overseas assignments include Buenos Aires, Nairobi, Hanoi and Geneva. Elaine Tiang-Chu joined the AFSA Governing Board as a State Department representative in May. An Information Resources Management specialist since 1999, she has served in Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Washington, D.C. She is currently assigned to the Office of Enterprise Architecture and Planning in IRM, working on IT strategic planning issues. Her husband, also a Foreign Service specialist, serves in the Bureau of Diplomatic Security.