THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JULY AUGUST 2024 39 AFSA President Tom Yazdgerdi: On May 24 this year, the Foreign Service turns 100. As we approach this milestone, we are taking stock of the state of the Foreign Service and also thinking about what the future might hold for this venerable institution and its people. And who better to discuss this than with today’s guest, the Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of Global Talent at State, Ambassador Marcia Bernicat, who assumed that role in May 2022. Director General Marcia Bernicat: Thank you, Tom, and AFSA, for working with all of us to make the Foreign Service better and stronger. I don’t think we have ever had a better partnership between AFSA and the department, and I am so grateful to be your partner on this journey. For me, to be Director General is a dream job, especially to be doing it at this point in time. We’re at such an inflection point in our nation’s history, in the history of the world. We are looking today at almost 14,000 Foreign Service employees. We serve over 250 missions around the world. If we go back a hundred years, the first class of Foreign Service officers was just 633 people. And when I joined 43 years ago, the Foreign Service FEATURE The FS at 100 What Does the Future Hold? Director General of the Foreign Service Marcia Bernicat talks about what’s next. AFSA was delighted to host an “Inside Diplomacy” online conversation on April 8 with Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of Global Talent Marcia Bernicat. A career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Ambassador Bernicat previously served as acting assistant secretary for the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs and concurrently as the senior official for the Bureau of Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment. The virtual audience of 217 included members of the Foreign Service community, journalists, students, and the public at large. AFSA President Tom Yazdgerdi facilitated the discussion along with Strategic Communications and Outreach Manager Nadja Ruzica. The following is excerpted from the transcript of the event. Find the entire discussion at https://bit.ly/Bernicat_ Inside-Diplomacy.
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