The Foreign Service Journal, June 2009

New AFSA/TLG Intern Miai “Velyn” Sheets, a rising junior attending Spelman College, has been selected as the 2009 AFSA/Thursday Luncheon Group Intern. She will work in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs and receive mentoring and financial support fromAFSA and TLG. Ms. Sheets is an international studies major and is fluent in French. The AFSA/TLG program supports a minority col- lege or graduate student exploring an international relations career in a high-profile, substantive and supportive work environment. The Thursday Luncheon Group is a State Department organization founded in 1973 by African-American employees to further minority advancement in foreign affairs. In 1995, AFSA started working with TLG in jointly sponsoring this internship. FSRA Funds AFSA Scholarship The Foreign Service Retirees Association of Florida has generously donated $1,000 to fund a need-based Financial Aid Scholarship in the 2009-2010 school year. The donation was coordinated by Amb. H. Kenneth Hill, FSRA chairman. This 600-member group includes Foreign Service retirees from the five foreign affairs agencies and their spouses, who live through- out Florida. They meet five times a year to listen to speakers on issues of interest and also make annual donations to affiliated Foreign Service organizations. For more information on the AFSA Scholarship Program, contact Lori Dec at (202) 944-5504 or at dec@afsa.org . 44 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / J U N E 2 0 0 9 A F S A N E W S AFSA NEWS BRIEFS Life in the Foreign Service BY BRIAN AGGELER Staff: Executive Director Ian Houston: houston@afsa.org Business Department Controller Kalpna Srimal: srimal@afsa.org Accounting Assistant Cory Nishi: cnishi@afsa.org Accounting and Administration Assistant Alicia Campi: campi@afsa.org Labor Management General Counsel Sharon Papp: papps@state.gov Labor Management Attorney Zlatana Badrich: badrichz@state.gov Labor Management Specialist James Yorke: yorkej@state.gov Grievance Attorneys Neera Parikh: parikhna@state.gov and Holly Rich: richhe@state.gov Office Manager Christine Warren: warrenc@state.gov USAID Senior Labor Management Adviser Douglas Broome: dbroome@usaid.gov Communications and Special Projects Assistant Asgeir Sigfusson: asigfusson@usaid.gov Member Services Member Services Director Janet Hedrick: hedrick@afsa.org Member Services Representative Michael Laiacona: laiacona@afsa.org Web Site & Database Associate Geron Pleasant: webmaster@afsa.org Administrative Assistant Ana Lopez: lopez@afsa.org Outreach Programs Retiree Liaison Bonnie Brown: brown@afsa.org Director of Communications Thomas Switzer: switzer@afsa.org Congressional Affairs Director Ian Houston: houston@afsa.org Executive Assistant to the President Austin Tracy: tracy@afsa.org Scholarship Director Lori Dec: dec@afsa.org Professional Issues Coordinator Barbara Berger: berger@afsa.org Elderhostel Administrator Bernard Alter: alter@afsa.org AFSA HEADQUARTERS: (202) 338-4045; Fax: (202) 338-6820 STATE DEPARTMENT AFSA OFFICE: (202) 647-8160; Fax: (202) 647-0265 USAID AFSA OFFICE: (202) 712-1941; Fax: (202) 216-3710 FCS AFSA OFFICE: (202) 482-9088; Fax: (202) 482-9087 AFSA WEB SITE: www.afsa.org FSJ: journal@afsa.org PRESIDENT: naland@afsa.org STATE VP: kashkettsb@state.gov RETIREE VP: pamichko@aol.com USAID VP: fzamora@usaid.gov FAS VP: henry.schmick@fas.usda.gov FCS VP: keith.curtis@mail.doc.gov AFSA News Editor Francesca Kelly : kelly@afsa.org (202) 338-4045, ext. 516; Fax: (202) 338-6820 On the Web : www.afsa.org/fsj and www.fsjournal.org How to Contact Us: Governing Board: PRESIDENT: John Naland STATE VP: Steve Kashkett USAID VP: Francisco Zamora FAS VP: Henry Schmick FCS VP: Keith Curtis RETIREE VP: Robert W. Farrand SECRETARY: F.A. “Tex” Harris TREASURER: Andrew Winter STATE REPS: Anne Aguilera, David Firestein, Susan Malcik, Sandy Robinson, Shayna Steinger, Elaine Tiang-Chu, Daphne Titus, Andrea Tomaszewicz, Christopher Tremann USAID REP: Michael Henning FCS REP: Rebecca Balogh FAS REP: Kathryn Ting IBB REP: Al Pessin RETIREE REPS: Janice Bay, Herman Cohen, David Passage, Jonathan Sperling American Diplomacy Seeks an Editor Founded in 1996, American Diplomacy (www.americandiplomacy.org) is one of the oldest solely Web-based journals of foreign affairs in existence, and is cur- rently looking for an editor to take over the reins. He or she will work with a group of associate editors and the journal’s webmaster to prepare and post new material on a regular basis. The job takes perhaps 15 to 20 hours per week, a good bit of which involves generating new articles and commentary. Interested parties may apply or seek further information by contacting the pub- lisher, retired Amb. Michael Cotter, at publisher@americandiplomacy.org.