The Foreign Service Journal, June 2014

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JUNE 2014 45 Commercial Service Represen- tative Barbara Farrar will step down from the AFSA Governing Board this summer for a new job as assignments officer. Before turning this column over to her for some parting thoughts, I know you all join me in thanking Barbara for her service and wishing her well in her new position. —Steve Morrison I am honored to fill Vice President Steve Morrison’s spot in this issue to thank you for electing me and allowing me to serve as the FCS representative on the AFSA Governing Board. Let me take this opportunity to reflect on the highlights of the last year and, especially, to thank Steve for his hard work in representing officers’ interests. Starting with the most recent highlight, AFSA was largely responsible for break- ing an impasse between the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the State Department over the vet- ting process of officers up for tenure and promotion. The career advancements of 1,800 Foreign Service employees (including FCS) were held up for more than a year due to the impasse. Steve and I personally brought home the impor- tance of this issue with Capi- tol Hill staff during AFSA’s recent Advocacy Day. Legislative affairs has been at the forefront of AFSA activity this year, and your FCS reps were actively engaged in these efforts. As we raised issues of interest to the entire Foreign Service, such as Overseas Compa- rability Pay, I was pleased to learn that Hill staff do under- stand and care about what we do. Our AFSA VP’s regular contact with congressional staff has a lot to do with that, as does the grassroots work of our domestic field. Back in the building, we established a constructive dialogue with management and shared officer concerns biweekly with the Office of Foreign Service Human Capi- tal and quarterly with our deputy director general. Special thanks to Steve for so diligently following up on each and every question posed by officers. This year, we raised issues big and A Positive Force AFSA Welcomes First APHIS Governing Board Representative At its April meeting, the Governing Board appointed Mark C. Prescott as the first board member to represent AFSA’s newest constituency: the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service at the Department of Agriculture. APHIS, which joined AFSA’s bargaining unit in Janu- ary 2013, works to safeguard the health of animals, plants and ecosystems in the United States; facilitate safe agricultural trade; ensure effective, efficient man- agement of internationally based programs; and invest in international capacity-building through training programs abroad to enhance technical, administrative and diplomatic skills and competencies. Mr. Prescott’s current position is assistant director for international technical and regulatory capacity- building. A graduate of the University of California/ Berkeley with a degree in English literature and for- estry, he served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Lesotho from 1993 to 1995. He joined APHIS in the spring of 2002 as the veterinary medical officer for the state of New Hampshire and parts of Massachusetts. In 2006, Mr. Prescott was selected as APHIS’ atta- ché for a three-year assignment developing and negoti- ating new protocols for the expansion of the export of U.S. agricultural products to Japan. From 2009 to July 2013, he headed up the agency’s office in Brasilia. n FCS VP VOICE | BY STEVE MORRISON AFSA NEWS Views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the AFSA FCS VP. Contact: steve.morrison@trade.gov or (202) 482-9088 small about our new organi- zational structure, language training, moving, selection boards, security clearances, reviews and more. I am happy to report that when FCS officers come to AFSA for assistance, we are usually able to help them. I hope AFSA will continue to assist members effectively and be a positive force for change in our organization. Serving as an AFSA rep has enabled me to make my own contribution while hav- ing an extraordinary profes- sional development experi- ence. Thank you again for putting your faith in me. Please stay involved and keep making your voices heard! n –Barbara Farrar I was pleased to learn that Capitol Hill staff do understand and care about what we do. Our AFSA VP’s regular contact with congressional staff has a lot to do with that.