AFSA NEWS 64 SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2025 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL RANDY CHESTER USAID VICE PRESIDENT A proud graduate of the University of California, Davis, a former Peace Corps volunteer to Senegal, and a long-term union member, Randy Chester brings 30 years of development experience, nearly 20 years with USAID, and 25 years of experience as a union member, including five years as a teamster in San Francisco, California. As a USAID Foreign Service officer, he has served in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Pakistan (four tours), and Madagascar. Joining USAID as an agriculture officer, Randy has led diverse technical teams working on food security, governance and trade, energy regulation, humanitarian assistance, natural resource management, and education. Prior to USAID, Randy worked for an environmental think tank and a nonprofit supporting small farmers in the California Central Valley. He holds two master’s degrees from UC Davis, in agriculture economics and international agriculture development. In 2021 he was named co-winner of the AFSA USAID Post Representative of the Year award. He is a strong advocate for unions having a loud and active voice, promoting workers’ rights, and advocating for inclusive and constructive dialogue. Randy is half of a USAID tandem. Together, they have visited more than 70 countries on five continents and one day hope to settle down in an Airstream trailer. JAY CARREIRO FCS VICE PRESIDENT Jay Carreiro is a career Foreign Service officer and a 23-year veteran of the Commerce Department. He first joined the Commercial Service in 2009, serving as special assistant to the deputy assistant secretary for international operations. Jay previously served as AFSA’s FCS vice president from 2019 to 2022 and most recently as FCS alternate representative during the previous governing board. Other assignments include tours in Düsseldorf, Rio de Janeiro, and the InterAmerican Development Bank in Washington, D.C. Originally from Massachusetts, he holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and public administration from Rhode Island College, and master of public administration and juris doctor degrees from Rutgers University. Jay is married with one child, and when in the U.S., he lives in Alexandria, Virginia. JOHN O’KEEFE RETIREE VICE PRESIDENT Ambassador John O’Keefe served for 32 years in the Foreign Service, beginning in Moscow as a general services officer. As ambassador to Kyrgyzstan from 2000 to 2003, he negotiated the treaty allowing coalition forces to establish a base there to support operations in Afghanistan. From 2003 to 2004, Amb. O’Keefe headed the Office of Career Development and was deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Human Resources from 2004 to 2006, serving as acting Director General of the Foreign Service. Upon retirement from the Foreign Service in 2007, he headed the Open World Leadership Center, a legislative branch agency, for 10 years, then served for two years as counselor to the board of trustees. He expanded the center’s programs from Russia and Ukraine to all countries of the former Soviet Union, the Balkans, Türkiye, and Mongolia. He joined the Wilson Center’s Kennan Institute as a global fellow in 2020. Amb. O’Keefe has received the Distinguished Honor Award, the Replogle Award for Management Improvement, and the Presidential Meritorious Service Award, as well as several Superior Honor Awards and Meritorious Honor Awards. The American University of Central Asia awarded him the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters. Ambassador O’Keefe is married to Monica O’Keefe, a retired public diplomacy officer. He served as AFSA Treasurer from 2021 to 2025. BOARD CONSTITUENCY REPRESENTATIVES CHRISTINA HIGGINS STATE REPRESENTATIVE Christina Higgins is a Minister Counselor in the Senior Foreign Service, specialized in public diplomacy and human resources. She has served at the U.S. Department of State in leadership roles in the African, European, Western Hemisphere bureaus and public diplomacy, and human resources offices. She supported U.S. embassies throughout Europe as the acting director for public affairs in Europe and Eurasia. She also served as chargé d’affaires a.i. and deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy Djibouti, working closely with military colleagues stationed at Camp Lemonnier. Christina is proud to have served her public servant colleagues as a career development officer and overseas AFSA representative.
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