THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JULY-AUGUST 2026 59 AFSA NEWS A Lasting Investment in Diplomacy AFSA is deeply grateful to Dr. Sushma Mahyera Palmer for including AFSA among the beneficiaries of her donoradvised fund, the Mark and Sushma Palmer Charitable Gift Fund: Advancing Global Democracy and Human Health. Her generosity ensures that the Mark Palmer Award for the Advancement of Democracy, which she has long sponsored in honor of her late husband, will continue to recognize members of the Foreign Service who advance the cause of democracy abroad. Dr. Palmer, an internationally recognized expert in nutrition and public health, served for many years as executive director of the Center for Communications, Health and the Environment, and previously directed the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Her career has been distinguished by a commitment to global health, human rights, and democratic development, values she shared with her husband. Ambassador Mark Palmer, who died in 2013, was one of the most consequential U.S. diplomats of the late 20th century. A career Foreign Service officer who entered the Service in 1964, he served as principal speechwriter for Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, helped organize the first ReaganGorbachev summit as the State Department’s senior Soviet specialist, and served as U.S. ambassador to Hungary from 1986 to 1990. The Mark Palmer Award for the Advancement of Democracy, established by Dr. Palmer to honor that legacy, is one of six AFSA awards recognizing exemplary performance and extraordinary contributions to the effectiveness, professionalism, and morale of the Foreign Service. The award is open to Foreign Service members from any of the foreign affairs agencies, especially those at the early- to mid-career level, serving domestically or overseas, who have promoted U.S. policies advancing democracy, freedom, and governance through bold, imaginative, and effective efforts. Dr. Palmer’s bequest is a Dr. Sushma Palmer presents the Mark Palmer Award to its first-ever recipient, Andrew Young (left), at the 2015 AFSA Awards Ceremony. AFSA/JOAQUIN SOSA powerful expression of confidence in AFSA’s mission and in the men and women of the Foreign Service. Members who wish to follow Dr. Palmer’s example and include AFSA in their estate planning are invited to contact AFSA Executive Director Ásgeir Sigfússon at sigfusson@afsa.org. Bequests, charitable gift funds, and other planned gifts help sustain AFSA’s awards, scholarships, advocacy, and outreach programs. For more information, visit https://afsa.org/fad. n At its March meeting, the board approved nominees for the AFSA Lifetime Contributions to American Diplomacy and Foreign Service Champions awards. At its April meeting, the board approved the following appointments: Mariama D. Crandall as the USAGM representative; John O’Keefe to the Awards and Plaques Committee; and Mort Dworken and Ambassador Tracey Jacobson to the Committee on Elections Appointments. n AFSA Governing Board Meetings, March 18 and April 15, 2026
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