The Foreign Service Journal, March 2017

AFSA NEWS CALENDAR THE OFFICIAL RECORD OF THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE ASSOCIATION THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MARCH 2017 57 March 6 Deadline: AFSA Financial Aid Applications March 6 AFSA/PDC: “Canada’s 150th Anniversary and Public Diplomacy” March 15, 22, 29; April 5 AFSA/Smithsonian Associates: “The New Middle East” March 15 Deadline: AFSA National High School Essay Contest March 31 Job Search Program Graduation Ceremony April 4 Town Hall Meeting for AFSA Governing Board Candidates April 4 12-1:30 p.m. AFSA Governing Board Meeting April 6 12-1:30 p.m. AFSA Book Notes: The Dust of Kandahar The New Russia: AConversation AFSA headquarters was packed on Dec. 2, for a moder- ated conversation on “Russia: 25 Years after the Fall of the USSR,” the focus of Decem- ber’s FSJ . The featured speaker was retired FSO Louis Sell, who wrote an article for the December Journal ,“The Rise of the New Russia.” A Russia and Balkans expert who spent 27 years in the Foreign Service, Sell is author of FromWashington to Moscow: U.S.-Soviet Relations and the Collapse of the USSR (Duke University Press, 2016). The conversation was moderated by Eric Green, a member of the FSJ Editorial Board and a career Foreign Service officer who has served in Moscow and is currently director of the Office of Rus- sian Affairs. More than 100 Retired FSO and Russia expert Louis Sell (left) speaks about his experiences in Soviet Russia at the first of a series of events featuring Foreign Service Journal authors. The conversation was moderated by Eric Green (right), director of the Office of Russian Affairs and a member of the FSJ Editorial Board. AFSA/GEMMADVORAK AFSA ELECT I ON : IMPORTANT DATES The 2017 AFSA election for AFSA officers and constituency representatives is under way! Full details about the election, including the rules, can be found at www.afsa.org/elections. Meet the Candidates: A list of candidates for the 2017 AFSA election is available from the AFSA website, www.afsa.org/2017candidates. AFSA members are also encouraged to visit the AFSA Community to participate in an online discussion with candidates in the 2017 AFSA Governing Board Election & Bylaw Amendments discussion thread. Campaign Literature: Candidates’ statements will be posted on the AFSA website on April 3. The year, for the first time, candidates have also been invited to submit campaign videos, which will be available through the AFSA website. Please note that campaigning through employer email by any member is prohibited (with the exception of three pre-approved candidate email blasts). Town Hall Meeting: A town hall meeting will take place on April 4 at 12 p.m. at the AFSA headquarters building, 2101 E St. NWWashington D.C. 20037. The event will be taped and made available via the AFSA YouTube channel. Please ensure that AFSA has your current mailing address and personal email address on record. If you have any questions about the election, please contact the Committee on Elections, election@afsa.org. n ANNOUNCEMENT AFSA/JOSH Continued on page 63