The Foreign Service Journal, September 2015

14 SEPTEMBER 2015 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL FS Brats in the Shark Tank I n February, Alley Heffern (daughter of FSO Ambassador John Heffern) and her business partner Jack DuFour appeared on the popular ABC television show “Shark Tank” to convince the hosts to invest in their business, Taaluma Totes. A Foreign Service moment on national television is unusual, but it is all the more surprising when it turns out that “shark” investor “Mr. Wonderful” (Kevin O’Leary) is himself a Foreign Service brat. “I had a little connection with this when Alley said that her dad worked for the State Department and traveled a lot,” he said. “That was also my story. I lived in Cambodia, Tunisia, Ethiopia, Cyprus, Japan, Switzerland, France. Every two years we moved.” Taaluma Totes was inspired by Alley’s Foreign Service childhood and a col- lege trip to Uganda, where she and Jack sourced their first fabric to make beautiful, unusual backpacks. They co-founded the company with the goal of strengthening economic ties within the global community. Taaluma Totes sources traditional fabrics from local arti- sans in Asian, African and Latin America. A portion of the money earned from the sale of each backpack funds a micro- loan for an artist, farmer or entrepreneur in the country where its fabric originated. Assembled in Richmond, Virginia, in a facility that employs adults with disabili- ties, the backpacks retail for $65 to $75. Currently, about 20 percent of profits go to microloans, which are typically paid back within 12 months. The money from repaid loans is then put toward purchas- ing more unique, traditional fabrics, completing the cycle. Heffern and DuFour also run what they call a campus ambassador program aim- ing to expand their business. Two students TALKING POINTS at each participating college represent Taaluma Totes and spread the word. Although the “sharks” declined to back the year-old company financially, noting that it was “too soon,” they praised Alley and Jack on their innovative business model, and encour- aged them to seek funding when the company is more mature. They expressed admiration for the fact that two young people, inspired by examples of public service, were hoping to continue the tradition. “Taaluma” means “culture” in Swahili, and according to Jack and Alley, with Taaluma Totes, “You carry more than a backpack; you carry a country.” —Shannon Mizzi, Editorial Intern Passports, Visas and Transgender Rights R olling Stone called 2014 the “big- gest year in transgender history.” Its December 2014 issue highlighted some of the victories, fromAmazon’s “Transpar- ent” television series’ two Golden Globe nominations (which it ultimately won) to certain women’s colleges’ adoption of trans-inclusive admissions policies. Even the State Department got in on the action by asking its health insurance providers to lift exclusions related to “sex reassignment” (see December 2014 Talk- ing Points). Though 2014 was indeed a banner year for the advancement of trans- gender rights in the United States, and Caitlyn Jenner’s completing her transition has only added steam in 2015, there’s still a long way to go before transgender people have equal rights. For example, on May 7, The Times of India reported on the case of transgender visa applicant Amruta Alpesh Soni, whose application to attend a trans health con- ference in Philadelphia was put “on hold” due to an inconsistency in her paperwork. The gender in her Indian passport, “T” (transgender), did not match the gender she listed on her DS-160 visa application, because State’s online form only allows applicants to choose male or female. While U.S. Consulate General Kolkata reportedly did issue the visa, after two days and a likely legal “advisory opinion” from the Bureau of Consular Affairs, the incident was indicative of the many chal- lenges faced by transgender persons even when dealing with trans-friendly govern- ments and institutions. Apart from India, a handful of coun- tries including Australia, Bangladesh, Nepal and New Zealand, offer their citizens a third gender category on their passports. Germany and Malta have legislation that will soon offer passport- seekers gender options other than male Secretary of State John Kerry (forefront left) and Chargé d’Affaires Ambassador Jeffrey DeLaurentis watch as U.S. Marines raise the American flag at the ambassador’s residence in Havana, Cuba, on Aug. 14. U.S.DEPARTMENT OF STATE A Historic Step in Havana