The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2021

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JULY-AUGUST 2021 65 language into the FY 2021 final appropriations package on the need for an increased presence abroad and more midlevel FS positions overseas. In late 2019, AFSA supported passage of paid parental leave for up to 12 weeks for federal employees and saw this implemented in 2020. When competing for talent with the private sector, policy changes like this aid in retention and boost morale. Proper implementation of paid parental leave for the Foreign Service remains a concern, as AFSA looks to expand paid leave to medical and caregiving purposes as well. AFSA also worked with the state of Virginia to create an in-state tuition residency exemption for the Foreign Service—reducing the residency requirement to just 90 days from one year. With this progress, AFSA is now pushing for in-state tuition parity with the military at the federal level via Congress. Through the FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, AFSA was able to expand healthcare benefits for the “unexplained health incidents” cohort in other foreign affairs agencies beyond the State Department. For the 117th Congress, which began in January 2021, the AFSA Governing Board voted to focus on three broad categories of policy priorities: the health of the Foreign Service as an institution, morale and retention, and parity with the military and other federal employees. Membership A FSA traditionally welcomes incoming orien- tation classes of FSOs from all the foreign affairs agencies, specialists and consular fellows to AFSA headquarters for a luncheon. These luncheons are an effective way to introduce AFSA to new colleagues and share the work we do on behalf of the Foreign Service. They have been vital to AFSA recruitment efforts. However, once the COVID-19 pandemic struck, onboarding of new classes became entirely virtual. For the first time, A-100 and specialist classes were combined into joint orientation classes and held remotely. While loss of the convivial- ity of a luncheon was felt, we created a virtual welcome format and met with new classes across the foreign affairs agen- cies to introduce AFSA. Given the changes and difficulties associated with this new process, we saw a reduction in the join rates and, therefore, a minor decrease in AFSA membership over the past year. In October 2019 AFSA membership was at 16,834 and in April 2021—as of this writing—it was at 16,667. We have since adjusted our recruitment efforts to have a longer fuse, finding opportuni- ties to reach out repeatedly to newer colleagues to highlight AFSA pro- gramming and member benefits, and we are confident these new strategies will help recapture the lost recruits. AFSA continues to develop interesting and relevant programming for our members. While we have always recorded our programming for our worldwide member- ship to view at their convenience, the shift to virtual programming allowed for a sizable increased participa- tion in live events. On average, AFSA offers two or three programs a month, such as town halls to share up-to- date information on specific topics, panels of experts on retirement benefits or professional issues or featured speakers on current issues. Over the course of the board’s tenure, President Rubin has hosted quarterly webinars with our retiree members to share the work AFSA has been doing and conducted three ses- sions with FAST (first-and-second tour) officers. These events have helped to keep our members informed of AFSA’s advocacy priori- ties and to answer questions they have about policies or operations. While the onset of the pandemic forced the cancellation of Foreign Service Day programming in 2020, this past May, AFSA offered two virtual programs, continued our annual let- ter to the editor campaign and asked members to participate in a social media campaign to post why they are proud to be members of the Foreign Service working on behalf of the American people, using the hashtag #FSProud. Hashtag #FSProud. AFSA TERM REPORT