The Foreign Service Journal, May 2022

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MAY 2022 45 Over the past four years, Counselor for Retir- ees Dolores Brown has offered her guidance to many AFSAmembers, helping them access vital information about their retirement benefits and post–Foreign Service work and life. Hailing from a small town in central New Jersey, Brown studied Russian and art history at Barnard College before earning a master’s degree from Columbia University’s School of International Affairs, with a focus on Soviet affairs. She joined the Foreign Service as a management officer in 1985. Years later, in her oral history interview with the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training, Brown shared her first impressions of A-100: “I could see immedi- ately that this was my tribe. They had a serious intellectual side, a sense of wonder about the world and a sense of adventure. We also believed in the basic idea of the good- ness of American values. I didn’t look back.” Brown’s career has been varied and includes service as director of the watch in the State Department Operations Center, deputy chief of mission in Estonia, management counselor in Cairo and deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations. Brown also was the first State Department officer seconded to the FBI to establish the Terrorist Screening Center after 9/11. Alongside four Superior Honor Awards and the FBI Director’s Award fromRobert Mueller, Brown’s bio contains an unusual accolade: In 2018, she was inducted into hamburger purveyor White Castle’s “Cravers Hall of Fame,” for her work as a diplomat and for her undying loyalty to the fast-food chain’s onion-covered sliders. In 2018 Brown began working for AFSA. “This job is a purely helping position, and I like that,” Brown says of her role. “I felt I had the right kind of knowledge of the State Department to help solve problems.” She believes that retired practitioners of diplomacy are a unique brain trust for the United States, and their skill set can easily be parlayed into a second profession. “The Foreign Service is not a job; it’s a way of life,” she says. “I wanted to support people through their transitions— how can you use this incredible bank of knowledge and this distinctive background after retiring? I deal with bread-and- butter issues in this role, but I also have the ability to help people understand what comes next.” “Next Stage” in which colleagues who have successfully transi- tioned to careers after the Foreign Service share how they did it. After all, the Foreign Service brain trust is unique in the U.S. and formidable, and for those who wish to continue working there are plenty of opportunities. Putting a Face to the Name: Meet Dolores Brown And because the Foreign Service is not just a job, but a way of life, AFSA offers community through social media and gatherings that give members the opportunity to meld their past with their present. Finally, and most practically, once that Rubicon has been crossed and you no longer have access to the intranet and your range of contacts in your agency, AFSA provides you with an advocate to turn to if you hit bureaucratic snags. For all these reasons and more, we at AFSA consider our members lifelong partners, and we work to make that member- ship meaningful and beneficial at all stages. n Top Retiree Member Benefits Staying Aware : The Foreign Service Journal including a regular column from Retiree VP John Naland, AFSA’s curated Media Digest, and topical events such as Ambassador (ret.) Marie Yovanovitch’s presentation on her memoir, Lessons from the Edge, and AFSA President Eric Rubin on the state of the Foreign Service. Staying Smart : Retirement Newsletter and AFSA’s One-Stop Shop at afsa.org/retirement-services. Staying Engaged : Directory of Retired Members, Retiree Associations, Speakers Bureau. Staying Secure : Counselor for Retirees Dolores Brown (brown@afsa.org) is available to offer you and your family personalized support if you run into bureau- cratic roadblocks or need advice. AFSA’s Retirement Newsletter Six times a year, AFSA publishes the Retirement Newsletter and sends it to all members. Our aim is to provide concise and digestible content to help demystify retirement—from the planning phase through making the most of your benefits. If you are an AFSAmember and are not receiving the Retirement Newsletter, please email member@afsa.org .