The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2014

48 JULY-AUGUST 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS Janice Weiner has joined AFSA’s advocacy department as our new Professional Issues and Policy Adviser. She comes to AFSA after a 26-year career at the State Department. As a Foreign Service officer, Janice bookmarked her overseas career in Germany: she began in East Berlin when the Berlin Wall fell, and her final overseas assign- ment was as consul general in Düsseldorf. In between, she served two tours in Ankara and had postings in Warsaw, Brus- sels, Toronto and Mexico City, as well as stints on the German desk and in the Bureau of Legislative Affairs. She won AFSA’s Rivkin Award for constructive dissent in 1995 for her work as human rights officer in Ankara. Originally from Iowa, Janice is a graduate of Princeton University and Stanford Law School. She has two daughters and a varying number of dogs. Debra Blome is our new Associate Editor, one of whose tasks will be editing AFSA News. Debbie is an experienced magazine journalist, writer and editor who also brings the Eligible Family Member perspective to the Journal . She has lived in Riyadh, Amman, Tunis, Kuwait and Cairo. Debbie worked for a number of years as an editor for the Open Source Center, and more recently as senior project editor at the American University in Cairo Press. She has also served in a variety of embassy positions, including as an assistant Community Liaison Office coordinator. A University of Michigan graduate, Debbie also holds an MSJ from North- western University’s Medill School of Journalism. Lindsey K. Botts is the new Executive Assis- tant and Office Manager at AFSA’s State Department Labor Management office. Lindsey is a Washington, D.C., native and received his undergraduate degree in adver- tising and marketing communications at the Fashion Institute of Technology. While at FIT he interned at several fashion magazines, including Esquire , Elle and Vogue . Lindsey then pursued a master’s program in journalism at Central Saint Martin’s University of the Arts in London. Dur- ing his three years there, he traveled extensively throughout Europe. n AFSAWelcomes New Staff Members AFSA National High School Essay Contest Winner Nitisha Baronia Dougherty Valley High School San Ramon, California Runner-Up Angelia Miranda Homeschooled Kent, Washington Coverage of Nitisha’s trip to Washington, D.C., and her meeting with Secretary Kerry will appear in a future issue of AFSA News. Two New Members Join AFSA’s Governing Board At its June 4 meeting, the AFSA Governing Board appointed two candidates to fill existing vacancies. AFSA is very pleased to welcome Ronnie Catipon and Ronita Macklin to the board. Both are State Department representatives. Ronnie Catipon is a Diplomatic Security Agent with 17 years of Foreign Service experience. He has just finished an assignment as the Senior Regional Security Officer at Embassy The Hague. Previous assignments include Manila, Tbilisi, Kyiv and two tours in Kabul. He also served on Secre- tary Madeleine Albright’s security detail. Ronnie is married to a former FSO, and also brings years of experience as an EFM prior to joining the Foreign Service. Ronita Macklin is an Office Management Specialist who joined the Foreign Service in 2006. She has served in Conakry and Kabul as well as the U.S. Mission to NATO in Brussels. She is currently a Post Management Officer in the East Asian and Pacific Affairs Bureau Executive Office. Ronita also served as the AFSA post representative in Conakry, and worked in the House of Representatives and on political campaigns before entering the Foreign Service. Ronnie and Ronita replace outgoing State Representatives Michael D. Thomas and E. Alex Copher. AFSA thanks Michael and Alex for their stalwart service on the Governing Board. n