Diplomats at Work is an AFSA virtual speaker series designed for university students, community colleges, and other local organizations throughout the U.S. to share inspiring stories that illustrate the work of the Foreign Service. The event is open to all who are interested in learning more about the Foreign Service. We ask our members to please help us spread the word in your communities. The invitation is below. Please share with your friends, alumni groups, and on social media. For questions about AFSA’s outreach work or if you’d like to be a guest on this program, please contact ruzica@afsa.org.

In U.S. embassies, Consular officers are often the first responders for Americans in crisis. From lost passports to birth and death certificates and other complexities of life, a consular officer has seen and helped with it all. Join us on June 20 as we chat with Foreign Service Officer Andrew Byrley from the U.S. Department of State, as he recounts his time as a consular officer at the U.S. Embassy in Belize, assisting Americans in crisis. We’ll discuss the work of a consular officer, American Citizen Services, and Andrew’s interesting journey into the Foreign Service. Please click here to register.

Questions? Please contact events@afsa.org 

About the guest 

Andrew Byrley is an Economic and Commercial Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Riga, Latvia. He has 13 years of Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) experience as a diplomat advocating on global policy issues, including cybersecurity and digital policy. A robotics engineer, Andrew joined the Department of State in 2010 as a Security Engineering Officer in the Diplomatic Security Service. His previous positions include Assistant Chief of Staff in the Bureau for European and Eurasian Affairs, Economic Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Mauritania, Consular Officer at U.S. Embassy in Belize, and Security Engineering Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Senegal.