The Foreign Service Journal, May 2013

30 MAY 2013 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL To attract the next generation of career FSOs, TLG and AFSA established a joint internship program in 1995. mentation of U.S. foreign policy, we also support efforts by other organizations, such as the Association of Black American Ambassadors, to promote the importance of diversity in strengthening the Foreign and Civil Service workplace. (Although ABBA is not an official State Depart- ment employee affinity group, many of its members are also TLG members, and the two organizations support the same platform.) The Rangel and Pickering Fellowships As part of a strategic approach to the recruitment, career development and retention of minorities within the For- eign Service, the Thursday Luncheon Group has long been a staunch proponent of the Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship (established in 1992) and the Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Fellowship program (established in 2002). TLG members mentor many Rangel and Pickering Fellows throughout their internships, as well as after they join the Foreign Service. Created to help the department increase the number of minority FSOs, both programs identify and develop a cadre of successful FSOs from all racial and ethnic backgrounds. The Pickering Fellowship began with the support of Ambas- sador Edward Perkins, a former director general of the Foreign Service and ambassador to South Africa, among other coun- tries. He and others saw the need for a program to ensure that the Foreign Service reflected the composition of American society. In 2001, the fellowship was named to honor one of the most distinguished American diplomats of the latter half of the 20th century, Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering. The Rangel International Affairs Fellowship is named for a longtime New York congressman, Charles B. Rangel, who secured federal funds for the program and has championed the cause of greater diversity in foreign affairs careers. Both men continue to support the objectives underlying the fellowships, and regularly participate in events to promote them and the professional development of the fellows. The two fellowship programs are funded by the depart- ment and administered as cooperative agreements, overseen and implemented by the Bureau of Human Resources’ Office of Recruitment, Examination and Employment. Fellows are selected by an independent review panel in a rigorous and competitive process that tests candidates’ writing skills, substantive knowl- edge, knowledge of the Foreign Service and inter- viewing skills. The selection panels— comprising former FSOs, academics and admin- istrators—seek candidates who demonstrate the potential to succeed in the Foreign Service. The Pickering Fellowship Program, administered by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, selects 20 undergraduates and 20 college graduates annually. The Rangel program, administered by Howard University, selects 20 gradu- ate fellows each year. Each program disburses financial assistance to selectees for use to complete a two-year master’s degree, plus two intern- ship opportunities (one domestic and one foreign), as well as professional development and mentoring support. Participants must meet all Foreign Service entry requirements and, on completion of their academic program, must serve three years in the Foreign Service as part of their contractual agreement. Over the past 20 years, nearly 580 Pickering Fellows and 150 Rangel Fellows have contributed to the department’s mission and served with distinction around the globe. Most fellows enter the program with prior overseas experience, such as for- eign study, the Peace Corps, Fulbright scholarships or military service. Many of them also have prior work experience in the private, public and nonprofit sectors, and extensive knowledge of foreign languages. In 2010, the programs’ alumni formed the Pickering and Rangel Alumni Association to create opportunities for alumni worldwide to connect, network and engage in professional development and community service. A Partnership Bears Fruit The Thursday Luncheon Group is also reaching out directly to regional and functional bureaus to promote greater diversity in their recruitment programs, with encouraging results. In the 63 years from 1949 to 2012, only nine career African- American Foreign Service officers were appointed as chiefs of mission within the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. Over the same period, just one career African-American FSO has ever served as a deputy assistant secretary in that bureau. Over the past four years, however, EUR has become a model of effective outreach to the department’s employee affinity