The Foreign Service Journal, June 2015

AFSA NEWS CALENDAR THE OFFICIAL RECORD OF THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE ASSOCIATION AFSA Hosts Town Hall Meetings with 2015-2017 Governing Board Candidates THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JUNE 2015 51 June 2 11:45 a.m.-1:15 p.m. Luncheon: Incoming USAID Class June 3 12-2 p.m. AFSA Governing Board Meeting June 4 8 a.m. AFSA Election Voting Deadline June 4 AFSA Election Ballot Tally June 7-12 AFSA Road Scholar Program Chautauqua, N.Y. June 9 4-6 p.m. AFSA Awards Ceremony June 10 12:45-1:45 p.m. Luncheon: 182nd A-100 Class and 7th CA-LN Class June 11 AFSA Book Notes: American Ambassadors June 26 AFSA Closes at 11 a.m. for Annual Staff Picnic July 1 12-2 p.m. AFSA Governing Board Meeting July 3 Independence Day: AFSA Offices Closed July 15 New AFSA Governing Board Takes Office August 5 AFSA Governing Board Meeting August 26 9th Annual Adair Lecture at American University The AFSA Election Committee sponsored a series of town hall meetings on the 2015- 2017 elections. These were held on March 25 at USAID, March 30 at the Foreign Ser- vice Institute, April 7 at State and April 8 at AFSA headquar- ters. Each meeting opened with comments frommoderator Robert Farrand, chair of the Election Committee. Presi- dential candidates then made two-minute statements. AFSA/BRITTANYDELONG Candidates running for AFSA president are: Ambas- sador Barbara Stephenson, leading the Strong Diplomacy slate; current AFSA State Vice President MatthewAsada, leading the Future Forward AFSA slate; and current Governing Board member Tex Harris, who is running independently. Candidates for other Governing Board positions in attendance then made state- ments before the floor was opened to questions from the audience. For coverage of the 2015 AFSAGoverning Board elec- tion and videos of all town hall meetings go to www.afsa.org/ elections. The voting deadline is June 4 at 8 a.m. EST. Votes will be tallied on June 4 and the new AFSAGoverning Board will take office on July 15. n —Brittany DeLong, Assistant Editor AFSA presidential candidates speak at the Loy Henderson Auditorium at the State Department on April 7. From left: Election Committee Chair Robert Farrand, Ambassador Barbara Stephenson, AFSA State Vice President Matthew Asada and AFSA Governing Board member Tex Harris. AFSA Welcomes QDDR Release On April 28, the State Department released the 2015 Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review titled “Enduring Leadership in a Dynamic World.” A four-year blueprint for State and U.S. Agency for International Develop- ment activities, the report is intended to make operations more efficient, accountable and effective in addressing today’s global challenges. The first QDDR was issued in 2010, under then- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Secretary of State John Kerry launched the process for the second report when he appointed former Virginia congress- man Tom Perriello as special representative for the QDDR in February 2014. The special representa- tive’s task was not simple. In his remarks announcing the QDDR’s release, Sec.Kerry Continued on page 63