70 JULY-AUGUST 2025 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA TERM REPORT “Anyone concerned with reform of the State Department or American diplomacy needs to read this history of AFSA. It is an important and well-written story. ... The struggle to improve the quality, professionalism, and effectiveness of American diplomacy remains ongoing. It will be waged better nested in an understanding of the past.” —Ambassador Ronald E. Neumann, president of the American Academy of Diplomacy FS Book Market, Revisited and Revised. In November 2024, the Publications Department hosted a book market (the first since 2017) featuring Foreign Service authors alongside a panel of publishing industry experts. AFSA members gathered at headquarters to purchase and discuss books from a dozen of the latest “In Their Own Write” collection authors before hearing from four professionals about how to approach the publishing process. The panel conversation covered a range of topics for aspiring authors, from finding an agent to creating effective proposals. Authors, panelists, and attendees expressed appreciation for the chance to connect with other members of the global affairs writing community. FSJ Digital Reach. The FSJ’s LinkedIn page and “Insider” newsletter continue to gain new followers and subscribers weekly. Since April 2023, LinkedIn followers have more than doubled—reaching 4,650 as of the beginning of March 2025. In 2024 the Journal team also started to explore new channels and mediums for sharing content in collaboration with the AFSA communications team, producing a new series of Instagram “reels” introducing FSJ editions monthly. Author Engagement. Journal staff and Editorial Board members spoke with graduate students at Georgetown University about the “how-tos” of writing and editing for diplomats. They engaged with leaders at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies about the submission process and upcoming issues of interest. They judged AFSA’s centennial writing contest and published the top three articles. They served as judges for AFSA’s annual high school essay contest. They attended conferences to increase awareness of AFSA and its publications. They also met with employee organizations and others to outline publication requirements and encourage article submissions. State Tina Wong, State vice president for the 20232025 Governing Board, partnering with the AFSA State representatives and AFSA staff, helped secure protections for Foreign Service members and their families and prioritized building FS community. AFSA came into 2025 with 18 months of AFSA legislative and policy wins that are helping improve the lives of Foreign Service members. We negotiated crossfunctional competency into our promotions and performance evaluations, family togetherness in bidding, the clarification of antinepotism rules, the reduction of transition pain points for Limited Noncareer Consular Fellows, and recruitment points for those with relevant LNA experiences overseas. We also supported bringing talent back into the department and building our own talent pool with the onboarding of more Foreign Service members through a fully virtual Foreign Service Officer Assessment (FSOA), the reappointments process to fill mid-level position deficits, and a training float to include China watchers in our multilateral organizations, and details to enhance the department’s AI and emerging technology expertise. Our advocacy led to congressional authorization and most recently Department of State implementation of per diem for local hires joining the Foreign Service, correcting a longtime financial disparity between local hires and those hired outside 50 miles of the D.C. metro area. We also supported salary matching for our security engineering officers (SEOs) and others and successfully advocated for extended health care options for individual FS employees taking leave without pay (LWOP). We conducted targeted surveys of the mid-ranks about the career development plan (CDP) and the professional development plan (PDP), leading to a series of educational webinars and improvements to this year’s senior threshold process. For members who called for more transparency into the department’s security clearance processes, we negotiated new appeals procedures for all employees who face assignment restrictions and assignment review denials, giving members the opportunity to bring their case before a senior panel of non-DS officials. We continue to push for ways to share these best practices across the foreign affairs agencies.
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