The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2015

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JULY-AUGUST 2015 41 Chris Degnan, a public diplomacy-coned Foreign Service officer since 2002, is serving as the public diplomacy adviser for the 2015 Quadrennial Diplomacy and Devel- opment Review. His overseas assignments have included Kingston, Amsterdam and Curaçao. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Degnan worked as a chemical engineer and a radio sportscaster. L ast year, when I joined the team conducting the State Department’s latest Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review, I quickly discovered that not all my friends in the department shared my excitement for the project. Reactions ranged from “Better you than me” to “Huh? What’s a QDDR?” As I explained to the skeptics, my enthusiasm comes from a belief that diplomacy and development matter and, in an era of limited resources, should be conducted as strategically as possible. The QDDR is our chance to look beyond the crises of the day to modernize every aspect of our work. In addition, my desire to be part of this second QDDR pro- cess ( the first was conducted in 2010) was also based on a more selfish interest. I have devoted my career to the Foreign Service because I value public service, but I also want to work for an institution that values my family. They have chosen this career with me, so I wanted to try to help ensure that family issues were considered. A participant in developing the 2015 Quadrennial Development and Diplomacy Review summarizes its highlights for skeptics. BY CHR I S DEGNAN FOCUS ON DIPLOMACY: THE PROFESSION FIVE THINGS You Should Know About the QDDR