The Foreign Service Journal, September 2015

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2015 69 AFSA NEWS Breathing Life into the AFSA Post Rep Program POST REPRESENTAT I VE OF THE YEAR AWARD CHARLEE DOOM In her time as AFSA post representative at Embassy Nairobi, Charlee Doom has established an impressive track record of successfully advocating on behalf of her Foreign Service colleagues. So much so, it’s hard to imagine how the first-tour USAID offi- cer has time to do her day job, which entails managing the Integrated Partnership Assis- tance Agreement with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa and the agricultural component of the East Africa Trade and Invest- ment Hub. Nevertheless, Doom has excelled at both roles, and it is for her countless actions to promote and defend the inter- ests of AFSAmembers that she was chosen as this year’s AFSA Post Representative of the Year. When former USAID Administrator Raj Shah unex- pectedly proposed a policy that would have required USAID Foreign Service officers to serve two years instead of one in a critical priority country to receive priority consideration for their next assignments, Doom sprang into action. Within 24 hours, she col- lected feedback frommore than 100 individuals serv- ing at 50 different missions, which she forwarded to AFSA USAID Vice President Sharon Wayne inWashington, D.C. Doom’s initiative resulted in the agency agreeing to put the policy change on hold until further research could be done to better understand potential negative outcomes (e.g., increased incidence of post-traumatic stress disor- der). She was also a critical interlocutor as post went through a rightsizing exer- cise, representing members on issues such as transition benefits, career development and advancement prospects, onward placements, financial losses and family consider- ations. Among her many other accomplishments, Doom part- nered with AFSA to ensure that a significant USAID performance management study included input from FSOs at all levels to secure the uniform application of per diem rates across all FS member agencies at post and to redirect new contractor jobs—ones that USAID FSOs were qualified to perform—to the FS bid list. “I went to Charlee and it was like a breath of fresh air. She cared!” said a retired FSO who benefitted from Doom’s assistance when payment of his retirement benefits was severely delayed.“Ms. Doom did what I expected a union to do—defend my rights as a faithful employee and help me navigate a complex and daunting system. I cannot thank her enough!” As these remarks demon- strate, Doom’s advocacy for the rights of her colleagues has not gone unnoticed: Her efforts have inspired many FSOs who had not been mem- bers of AFSA to join or rejoin the association. According to Doom, serv- ing as a post representative has been both educational and rewarding: “It was a humbling experience to listen to each of the individual situ- ations and their respective challenges and to work with AFSA leadership and post management to mitigate and resolve issues for members. Our collaboration was directly responsible for improving the transition and benefits afforded to FSOs.” Prior to joining USAID in 2012, Doomworked at Bunge Global Agribusiness; BASF, the chemical company; and Monsanto Company. She holds a master’s degree in business from the University of Western Australia. n Doom (right) with former USAID Deputy Administrator Donald Steinberg at her October 2012 swearing-in ceremony. COURTESYOFCHARLEEDOOM COURTESYOFCHARLEEDOOM USAID FSO Charlee Doom (far left) conducts a site visit to the U.S.-funded Regional Laboratory for Mycotoxin Research and Capacity Development in Machakos County, Kenya. AFSA EXEMPLARY PERFORMANCE AWARDS