The Foreign Service Journal, May 2019

60 MAY 2019 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS Austin Panel: Why Leading Globally Matters Locally On March 18, AFSA President Ambassador Barbara Ste- phenson traveled to Austin, Texas, to join a panel discus- sion on “Why Leading Globally Matters Locally for Texas.” Moderated by Liz Schrayer, president and CEO of the U.S. Global Leadership Coali- tion, the panel also included Representative Mike McCaul (R-Texas) and Bill Lane, executive director of Trade for America, which works to highlight the economic and strategic benefits of trade in the daily lives of Americans. Audience members included a wide range of business, community and faith leaders from the Austin area. Amb. Stephenson high- lighted the critical role that the Foreign Service plays in economic diplomacy, empha- sizing the costs of ceding ground to competitors like China. She gave examples of ways that America’s diplo- mats promote good gover- nance through transparent business processes and are vital to helping American businesses compete around the world. She called for more Foreign Service officer posi- tions in embassies to ensure that the United States is field- ing a full diplomatic team. Just a few days before Moderator Liz Schrayer (far right) addresses Amb. Stephenson, Bill Lane and Rep. McCaul. the panel, Rep. McCaul, the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Com- mittee, had introduced legislation to boost Foreign Service sup- port for U.S. business interests abroad. According to the press release announcing the bill, the bipar- tisan “Championing American Business Through Diplomacy Act” is intended to “bolster U.S. economic and commer- cial diplomacy, help facilitate greater market access for U.S. companies in emerging markets and rededicate the Foreign Service to one of its founding missions: to support U.S. business.” n USGLC/BRIANAUSTIN Look for Your Ballot: Vote in the AFSA Governing Board Election The election for the 2019- 2021 AFSA Governing Board officers and constituency rep- resentatives is underway. Also on the ballot are six proposed bylaw changes. Details about the election, including the rules, can be found at www.afsa.org/ elections. Candidates’ campaign statements and videos, as well as the proposed bylaw changes and any opposi- tion to the proposed bylaw changes, will be made avail- able to members on the AFSA website. We remind our read- ers that campaigning using a government, employer, or AFSA email by any member is prohibited (with the excep- tion of the three preapproved candidate email blasts that will be sent to members at the Department of State and the Foreign Commercial Service). Ballots: Ballots will be distributed on or about April 29. If you have a valid email address on file with AFSA, an email containing a unique passcode and instructions for voting online will be sent to you. Regular members who were in good standing as of March 28 can also visit the secure online ballot site ( www.directvote.net/AFSA) after April 29 and request that an email containing unique login credentials be sent to them. Be sure to add noreply@directvote.net to your approved sender list to ensure delivery. Printed ballots will be sent to all retired members via the U.S. Postal Service. Note: If an online and a printed ballot are returned for the same member, only the printed ballot will be counted. If you do not receive a ballot by May 10, contact election@afsa.org. Requests for a duplicate ballot can be sent by email (to election@afsa.org) or in writing to AFSA Committee on Elections, 2101 E Street NW, Washington DC 20037. Please include your full name, current address, email address and telephone number. Ballot Tally: On June 12 at 8 a.m., the printed ballots will be collected from the post office inWashington, D.C. Printed ballots must be received at the post office by that time to be counted. The online voting site will close at 8 a.m. EDT on June 12. All AFSAmembers are strongly encouraged to vote in this election. Please review your options for voting and ensure that you cast your bal- lot in a timely manner. n AFSA/JOSHDORMAN