The Foreign Service Journal, September 2009

68 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9 senior State Department representative to the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Asadabad, Afghanistan. Prior to joining the Foreign Service in 2001, Mr. Unglesbee served as an architect for Overseas Buildings Operations, where he is currently an area management of- ficer. He is a recipient of the depart- ment’s Post Occupational Safety Health Officer of the Year Award. Mr. Ungles- bee holds a master’s degree in architec- ture fromVirginia Tech. Sharon White A Foreign Service officer since 1983, Sharon White has served as deputy chief of mission in Tashkent; deputy principal officer in Ho Chi Minh City; and in political, public diplomacy and consular positions in Washington, Abidjan, Vienna, Brussels, Paris, Mex- ico City, and Washington, D.C. Ms. White holds a doctorate in American history from Yale University. Teresa Yata Teresa Yata is an FS office manage- ment specialist with nearly seven years in the department. She served as AFSA representative at each of her overseas posts (Morocco, Senegal and Pakistan) prior to her current assign- ment in the Bureau of Consular Af- fairs. Originally from Oregon, Ms. Yata holds a B.S. in criminology from Southern Oregon University and an MBA from Golden Gate University. Her entire work history has been in the public sector, including a career in the U.S. Air Force and several years as a police officer. USAID Rep: Michael Henning* Michael Henning joined USAID in 1994. He has been chief of the Elec- tions & Political Processes Division in the Office of Democracy and Gover- nance since August 2007. Previously, he served as director of the Democracy Office in Bosnia from 2002 to 2006 and in the Philippines from 1997 to 2000. Mr. Henning has an M.A. in interna- tional relations from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University and a B.A. from Georgetown University. FAS Rep: Melinda Sallyards Melinda Sallyards is a 22-year vet- eran of the Foreign Agricultural Serv- ice. Raised in Ohio, she attended college and graduate school in Ohio and North Carolina. A two-year stint out of college with the Peace Corps in Costa Rica gave her the international “ag” bug. Ms. Sallyards has served in Mexico City, Brussels and Lima, and is currently director of the Office of Ne- gotiations and Agreements, Regional and Bilateral Division. FCS Rep: Rebecca Balogh* Rebecca Balogh is the U.S. com- mercial service liaison to the National Association of Manufacturers. She has previously served as a senior commer- cial officer in West Africa, a commer- cial officer in Mexico, an FSO with USAID and as an associate Peace Corps director. Ms. Balogh has worked as an agricultural economist for USDA and as a firefighter with the U.S. Forest Service. In addition, she was director of a USAID-funded de- velopment program in Albania for Land O’Lakes, where she taught small business management and dairy tech- niques to 5,000 rural women. IBB Rep: Al Pessin* Al Pessin has been the International Broadcasting Bureau representative on the AFSA Governing Board for three years. For the last two years, he has also served as the Governing Board’s liaison to the FSJ Editorial Board. Mr. Pessin is a career Voice of America foreign cor- respondent who has served in Hong Kong, Islamabad, Beijing, Jerusalem and London, as well as in Washington, D.C., and New York. He is currently at the Pentagon. Expelled from China under martial law regulations after the 1989 Tiananmen massacre, he went on to win a Gold Medal at the Interna- tional Radio Festival of New York and numerous other awards. Mr. Pessin also teaches “Covering Conflicts, Ter- rorism and National Security,” a grad- uate course at the Washington campus of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, his alma mater. Retiree Reps: Janice Bay Janice Friesen Bay entered the For- eign Service in 1967 and has served in Cape Town, Pretoria, Berlin, Tel Aviv, Jeddah, Cairo, Paris and Bonn. In Washington, her assignments included principal deputy assistant secretary in the Office of the Director General of the Foreign Service and deputy assistant sec- retary for international finance and de- velopment. A native of California, Ms. Bay received a B.A. in social science from Fresno State University and an M.A. in international relations fromUCLA. Robert (Bill) Farrand* Bill Farrand retired in 1998 after serv- ing 34 years in the Foreign Service. His overseas postings included Kuala Lum- pur, Moscow (twice), Prague (twice), PortMoresby and Brcko (Bosnia-Herze- govina). He was chief of mission in Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands andVanuatu. Ambassador Farrand was AFSA’s Retiree VP from 2007-2009. David Passage* A 33-year veteran of the Foreign Service, David Passage served in Europe, Africa, Central and South America and the Far East, as well as on the National Security Council staff, as political ad- viser to the Special Operations Com- mand and ambassador to Botswana. He now lectures in U.S. military schools and is a senior mentor inmilitary train- ing exercises. Molly Williamson Molly Williamson retired from the Foreign Service with the rank of career minister. She has served as deputy as- sistant secretary in the departments of State, Defense and Commerce, and was the senior foreign policy adviser to the Secretary of Energy. She has had several postings in the Middle East and was chief of mission in Jerusalemduring the Madrid peace process. Ms. Williamson is a lifetime member of AFSA. Note: Due to her recent retirement, candidate Anne Aguilera is ineligible to serve as a State representative. ❏ A F S A N E W S