President’s Views

BY TOM YAZDGERDI

The centennial year of the U.S. Foreign Service and AFSA is drawing to a close, and I want to thank all our members who leveraged this milestone to advocate for a strong and appropriately funded Foreign Service.

Through your local newspapers, world affairs councils, and retiree associations; by speaking to students about Foreign Service careers; and through many other activities, you helped get the word out about our proud Service and what it means for America’s continued security and prosperity. Please continue to look for opportunities for outreach in 2025.

I also want to thank our great AFSA staff, who did so much to help mark this anniversary. This included creative ideas like the “100 Words for 100 Years” collection; our writing competition, which drew numerous terrific essays about the ideal Foreign Service of the future; a centennial “party-in-a-box” sent to 30 posts worldwide; and a centennial video about the Foreign Service, shown for the first time at our May 21 gala at the State Department, and on many occasions since. You can use the video for your own efforts to highlight what we do.

One of my favorite AFSA events is our annual awards ceremony, held this year on Oct. 16, to showcase the commitment, talent, and courage of our members. This year we honored Ambassador Marc Grossman with AFSA’s Lifetime Contributions to American Diplomacy Award. It was given not only to recognize Marc’s spectacular diplomatic career but also for what he’s done since retiring, in particular his work on Foreign Service reform and involvement with the Senior Living Foundation. (See the interview and profiles of all the recipients beginning here.)

Patricia Scroggs was only the third recipient of the new Foreign Service Champions Award, which honors influential members of the foreign affairs community who have made meaningful contributions to diplomacy and the Foreign Service. Through her work as director of diplomatic fellowships at Howard University from 2006 to 2024, she was instrumental in helping transform the workforce of the foreign affairs agencies. Patricia helped manage and expand the Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Program, the Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship, USAID’s Donald M. Payne International Development Fellowship, and similar programs in the Foreign Agricultural Service and APHIS.

I was equally proud of all the members of the Foreign Service community who received awards for constructive dissent and outstanding performance. AFSA does not always have dissent winners who tackle the central foreign policy issues of the day, but this year both the entry- and mid-level awards dealt with the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Listening to the recipients’ acceptance remarks, I was struck by their poise, commitment, and courage to constructively challenge the system on such a difficult and complicated issue. And I was gratified that AFSA could provide them a platform to do just that. Congratulations to all the winners!

As we look ahead to a new administration, AFSA is ever mindful of the nonpartisan, professional nature of our Service. We serve as the institutional link between outgoing and incoming administrations and carry out the foreign policy of the duly elected president.

I am hopeful that the Foreign Service will be accorded respect and proper funding, and that internal, constructive dissent will continue to be prized as a means to arrive at the best outcomes possible.

Speaking of elections, AFSA has its own coming up—for the 2025-2027 Governing Board. There are both full-time and volunteer positions available. Look for the official call for nominations by AFSAnet on Jan. 15 and in the January-February FSJ. Candidates must file their intent to run by Feb. 14. Ballots will be distributed on March 31 and results announced on April 15.

I hope that both active-duty and retired members will consider serving our Foreign Service community by serving on the Governing Board. We would like to see as diverse a board as possible, including a mix of generalists and specialists. Please check out www.afsa.org/election for more information, and write to the elections committee at election@afsa.org.

As always, please let me know your thoughts at yazdgerdi@afsa.org or member@afsa.org. Wishing you all happy holidays!