The U.S. Foreign Service is undergoing seismic shifts. From the imminent layoffs at USAID to the shuttering of Voice of America newsrooms, we are grappling with existential questions: What are we losing? What remains? And who is speaking up to safeguard the future of the Service?

Join us on June 26, 2025 at 1:00 p.m. EDT for this vital conversation with Randy Chester (USAID), Steve Herman, (Voice of America) and Shawn Dorman (The Foreign Service Journal).

There will be opportunities for audience Q&A.

Register now

Questions? Contact us at ServiceDisrupted@afsa.org.

About the Guests

Randy Chester is AFSA’s USAID Vice President, a proud graduate of UC Davis, California, a former Peace Corps Volunteer to Senegal, and a long-term union member. As a Foreign Service Officer with USAID, he’s served in six countries and led teams on everything from food security to energy regulation. A strong advocate for workers’ rights and inclusive dialogue, Randy brings deep field expertise and a lifelong commitment to public service.

Steven Herman is a veteran journalist, author, and Foreign Service officer with Voice of America. Until recently, Steve was VOA’s Chief National Correspondent. From 2017 through 2021, Herman was senior White House Correspondent and subsequently VOA's White House Bureau Chief.

Shawn Dorman is the Publications Director at AFSA and the Editor in Chief of The Foreign Service Journal. She runs AFSA’s book publishing division, FS Books, and is the editor of the bestselling Inside a U.S. Embassy books (2003, 2005, 2011). A former U.S. Foreign Service political officer, she served in Kyrgyzstan, Indonesia, Russia, and in the State Department Operations Center in Washington, D.C.

About the Series

This event launches AFSA’s new Service Disrupted series, spotlighting the accelerating institutional challenges facing the Foreign Service.

The events are free and open to the public.