The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2023

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JULY-AUGUST 2023 41 in the United Nations General Assembly and the United Nations Security Council. In his remarks on receiving the award, McGann encouraged Ms. Ahmed and all other State Department aspirants: “We chose a career that has a path that is difficult. It’s not easy. But that’s why we have a duty to make sure that the policies toward recruit- ment, retention, and promotion are sound. It is our obligation to ensure the continuity, the viability, and the sustainability of the Pickering, Rangel, and Payne programs. But most importantly, it’s important for us to understand that we are the State Depart- ment. We are a part of the State Department.” (Sadly, Amb. McGann passed away on May 24. He will be deeply missed, but his legacy will live on.) An Introduction to Excellence Amb. Bridgewater, the second Pioneer Award recipient and a former president of TLG, is a three-time ambassador who retired from the Foreign Service in 2013. Among many important assignments, she was the first African American woman to serve as consul general in Durban and the longest-serving American diplomat in South Africa. Appointed U.S. consul general in Dur- ban in 1993, she worked closely with Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress during the transition from apartheid. Later named the State Department’s special coordinator for Peace in Liberia, she was instrumental in bringing that country’s second civil war to an end in 2005. Amb. Bridgewater was introduced by newly selected Rangel Fellow Abbie Ferguson, who described her experience with TLG. “My introduction to TLG came through my participation in the group’s Larry Palmer Envoys program with former Diplomat in Residence Dr. Yolonda Kerney, who worked with Ambassa- dor Palmer early in her career,” Ferguson explained. “[After his death, she] wanted to continue his legacy of service and mentor- ship by introducing historically Black college and university [HBCU] students like myself to the work of the State Department and the importance of excellence in diplomacy. So she started the Palmer Envoys.” Ms. Ferguson continued: “In December I graduated from the University of the District of Columbia with a bachelor’s degree in political science and a concentration in global studies. And I was also chosen as a 2023 Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Graduate Fellow. My fellow Palmer Envoy, Karmel Reeves, was selected as a Pickering Fellow. We are proud to be the first Palmer Envoys to become diplomatic fellows, and we are both grateful to TLG.” In accepting her award, Amb. Bridgewater cited TLG’s pro- fessional development programs and networking events: “As we pay it forward in the years ahead, we commit ourselves to continuing the work of the Thursday Luncheon Group and, Mr. Secretary, in making sure that the face of American diplomacy continues to represent the best of the United States of America.” An Ongoing Story Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the keynote speaker, was introduced by TLG member Ambassador Gina Abercrombie- Winstanley with a nod to TLG’s provenance: “Before diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility [DEIA] was a formal concept or an arm of organizational management under a committed and bold Secretary, TLG members focused on inclusion, acces- sibility, equity, and diversity across the interagency.” At the TLG 50th anniversary luncheon on Feb. 2, 2023, Director General Marcia Bernicat (center) presents Amb. Ruth Davis with a bouquet of flowers as Secretary of State Antony Blinken looks on. JAVONROWE