The Foreign Service Journal, April 2015

78 APRIL 2015 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS FORE I GN AF FA I RS DAY I S MAY 1 State Department retirees and Foreign Service retirees of other U.S. foreign affairs agencies are welcome to attend the State Department’s annual homecoming event, Foreign Affairs Day. In addition to remarks by senior State Department officials, Foreign Affairs Day also includes the AFSAMemorial Plaque ceremony honoring Foreign Service personnel who have died while serving abroad under circumstances distinctive to the Foreign Service. Invitations to the Foreign Affairs Day luncheon in the Benjamin Franklin Dip- lomatic Reception Room were mailed in March. If you wish to reserve seats (two seats maximum, $50 per person), please confirm by sending your RSVP and lunch payment check as soon as possible. Seats are reserved on a first-come, first-served basis and sell out quickly. Payments must be included with the request. If you did not get an invitation, or if you have any questions, please email foreignaffairsday@ state.gov. The AFSA Memorial Plaque ceremony will take place that morning in the Depart- ment of State’s C Street lobby. At 3 p.m., AFSA headquarters will open its doors at 2101 E Street NW for a Foreign Affairs Day reception for all retirees. n NEWS BRIEF Capitol Hill Panel Discusses Women in Diplomacy On Jan. 21, AFSA and the Women’s Congressional Staff Association co-hosted a panel discussion on “Women in Diplomacy” on Capitol Hill. Aimed at individuals inter- ested in pursuing careers in foreign affairs, the event featured a panel of four cur- rent or retired Foreign Service women. The program began with the panelists giving brief descriptions of their back- grounds, past Foreign Service posts and language skills, and the challenges faced by female diplomats in public and private life. Ronita Macklin, an FSO who is currently the post management officer for South and East Asian affairs, as well as a member of AFSA’s Governing Board, stressed that being an FS employee is a 24-hour-a-day job. Boldness and courage are important in every interaction, she said, so that you are treated appro- priately as a representative of the United States. During her tour in Kabul Macklin noticed that, as a dip- lomat, she was an “American” first and foremost. Many of the men she dealt with, even AFSA/SHANNONMIZZI chief of the Strategic Planning and Performance Manage- ment Division in USAID’s Middle East bureau said the role of an FSO is not only to teach people about Ameri- cans, but also to teach Ameri- cans about others. Sarah Budds, the country officer for Children’s Issues, Strategy and Operations at the State Department, also served on the panel. Following their presenta- tions, the panelists took questions from the audience of young women that ranged from how to maximize lan- guage skills and prepare for the Foreign Service exam to the issue of expressing of dis- sent in the Foreign Service. n — Shannon Mizzi, Editorial Intern in that male-domi- nated society, looked past her gender because she was one of the few Americans they had access to. JaniceWeiner, retired from a 26-year career in the Foreign Service, now works in AFSA’s Advocacy Division as a policy adviser. She high- lighted the fact that in many societies where FSOs are posted, women are not per- mitted to play a role in public life. However, this can sometimes be an advan- tage: women in the Foreign Service can sometimes gain access to meetings at which a man might be considered a threat. Croshelle Harris-Hussein, “Women in Diplomacy” panelists and others. From left: State FSO Ronita Macklin; USAID FSO Croshelle Harris-Hussein; retired State FSO and current AFSA Policy Adviser Janice Weiner; Theresa Vawter and Kate Raulin, from the Women’s Congressional Staff Association; State FSO Sarah Budds and AFSA Senior Legislative Assistant David Murimi.