The Foreign Service Journal, February 2009

AFSA Welcomes Nomination of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State AFSA released the following press statement on Dec. 8: “On behalf of the 11,500 men and women of the U.S. Foreign Service assigned to the Department of State and to our embassies and consulates worldwide, the Ameri- can Foreign Service Association warmly welcomes the nomination of Senator Hillary Clinton to be the next Secretary of State. We and our members look forward to working closely with the new Secretary to strengthen American diplomacy and to create a Foreign Service adapted to the demands and challenges of the 21st cen- tury. “Secretary-designate Clinton, if confirmed, will over- see a Foreign Service that is in the forefront of U.S. ef- forts to combat terrorism, poverty, climate change and HIV/AIDS; to promote democracy, trade and respect for human rights; to assist U.S. citizens abroad and ensure that foreigners seeking entry into our country have legit- imate reason to do so; to defuse foreign conflicts; and to defend U.S. interests in our management of bilateral and multilateral relations. The Foreign Service will provide Secretary-designate Clinton with wide-ranging, hands- on expertise in every area of foreign policy. “At the same time, we look forward to collaborating with Secretary-designate Clinton to develop manage- ment policies that address the concerns of our profes- sional diplomats, who now spend the vast majority of their careers serving at dangerous hardship posts, in- cluding our two largest diplomatic missions in active war zones.” 40 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 9 A F S A N E W S AFSA NEWS BRIEFS Life in the Foreign Service BY BRIAN AGGELER Staff: Executive Director, Acting, Ian Houston: houston@afsa.org Business Department Controller Kalpna Srimal: srimal@afsa.org Accounting Assistant Cory Nishi: cnishi@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 Geron Pleasant: webmaster@afsa.org 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 Administrator Bernard Alter: alter@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 FAS VP: henry.schmick@fas.usda.gov FCS VP: keith.curtis@mail.doc.gov AFSA News Editor Francesca Kelly : kelly@afsa.org (202) 338-4045, ext. 514; Fax: (202) 338-6820 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: Keith Curtis RETIREE VP: Robert W. Farrand SECRETARY: F.A. “Tex” Harris TREASURER: Andrew Winter STATE REPS: Anne Aguilera, David Firestein, Susan Malcik, Sandy Robinson, Shayna Steinger, Elaine Tiang-Chu, Daphne Titus, Andrea Tomaszewicz, Christopher Tremann USAID REP: Michael Henning FCS REP: Rebecca Balogh FAS REP: Kathryn Ting IBB REP: Al Pessin RETIREE REPS: Janice Bay, Herman Cohen, David Passage, Jonathan Sperling