The Foreign Service Journal, March 2012

44 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / M A R C H 2 0 1 2 ations. AFSA also participated in a host of staff-level meet- ings and sent numerous letters. The association’s political action committee is a key component of AFSA’s legislative strategy. It donates equally to Republicans and Democrats, focusing on members of the appropriations and foreign relations committees. AFSA-PAC Treasurer Thomas Boyatt and members of the PAC board, as well as AFSA President Susan Johnson, Ex- ecutive Director Ian Houston and AFSA staff, have at- tended a number of events and meetings where they were able to directly engage with members of Congress on AFSA’s top priorities. AFSA was a proud supporter of the Civilian Service RecognitionAct, which passed both houses of Congress this year and was signed into law by President Barack Obama at the end of December. This legislation authorizes federal de- partments and agencies to present American flags for mem- bers of the Civil Service and Foreign Service who are killed in the line of duty. We also support the Foreign Service Death Gratuity Act, to provide increased life insurance ben- efits for Foreign Service officers killed in war zones. This year, AFSA forged closer relations with Pearson Fel- lows on Capitol Hill. In 2012, we look forward to working closely with the Pearson program, gathering important in- formation and perspectives on legislative activities and con- veying critical concerns to Congress. O ne of theAFSAGoverning Board’smain pil- lars is expanded and improved outreach to all of AFSA’s audiences — members, the general public, students, congressional in- terlocutors and others. To that end, AFSA engaged in more outreach activities in 2011 than any previ- ous year. As a result,more people visitedAFSA and attended AFSA-sponsored events nationwide than ever before. AFSA Events In our second year of offering regular events geared to- ward public education and professional development, we were able to organize some truly outstanding programs. Chief among themwere two events that bookended 2011— the 30th-anniversary celebration of the release of the Iran hostages in January and the December panel discussion on the 20th anniversary of the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Hundreds of AFSA members and others attended those two events, each of which not only highlighted a historically im- portant occasion, but offered fascinating insights into the practice of on-the-ground diplomacy. We were also proud to present seven authors in our AFSA Book Notes series: Jane Loeffler, Ambassador Edmund Hull, AndrewBacevich, PatriciaMcArdle,Ambassador Peter Tom- sen and the father-daughter team of Marvin and Deborah Kalb. The Book Notes programs are intended to introduce books of professional and historical interest to our members and the public. We also offered a number of speaker programs and panel discussions during the year tied to Foreign Service Journal focus topics: the role of multilateral diplomacy, women in se- curity and development, work-life balance in the Foreign Service, and economic and commercial diplomacy. Toward the end of the year, AFSA was honored to receive a generous donation from global consulting firmBooz Allen Hamilton to endow a new speaker series entitled “A New Frontier in Diplomacy and Development: People and Pro- grams.” Our first event under this sponsorship took place in September and offered a close look at the Foreign Service 10 years after the 9/11 attacks and their impact on the conduct of diplomacy and development. We look forward to many additional programs in this new series over the coming year. All of these programs are offered under the umbrella of our 501(c)(3) charitable organization, the Fund for American Diplomacy, and are made possible by your contributions. You can learn more and make a secure online donation at www.afsa.org/fad. AFSA News In 2011, AFSA News increased its coverage of AFSA’s awards for constructive dissent. In addition to profiles of the winners and heavy photographic coverage of the awards cer- ANNUAL REPORT American Foreign Service Association 2011 A F S A N E W S Outreach and Public Affairs: Explaining Diplomacy B Y Á SGEIR S IGFÚSSON , M ARKETING AND O UTREACH M ANAGER ; T OM S WITZER , D IRECTOR OF C OMMUNICATIONS ; AND D ONNA A YERST , AFSA N EWS E DITOR