The Foreign Service Journal, September 2015

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2015 71 AFSA NEWS Runners-Up THE NELSON B . DELAVAN AWARD RUNNER - UP VERONICA PETERS, EMBASSY RIGA Life in Latvia changed rapidly in 2014 as upheaval in Ukraine jolted awake the world’s geopolitical senses. Within a few short months, Embassy Riga found itself supporting a con- stant presence of 140 U.S. soldiers for NATO military exercises and wel- coming a steady stream of high-level visitors—a challenge compounded by the sudden curtailment of the U.S. ambassador. Thanks to the extraordinary vision of Office Management Specialist Veronica “Roni” Peters, the mission did not miss a beat. Peters not only kept the chargé d’affaires on point and on schedule, she strength- ened embassy cohesion and resolve for meeting the new challenges. Whether expertly negotiating competing section interests in a high-visibility extradition case or organizing lis- tening sessions between the Front Office and staff in prepara- tion for a visit from the Office of the Inspector General, Peters’ significant contributions empowered the mission to advance U.S. interests in this critical East European partner country. M. JUANITA GUESS AWARD RUNNERS-UP SARAH LOCKE AND JAMIE BELLAMY, EMBASSY BEIRUT Community liaison officers (CLOs) are the glue that binds embassy communities and even more so at Embassy Beirut, where the country’s volatile security situation is a constant threat to the well- being of staff. In Lebanon, Foreign Service personnel serve partially unaccompanied two-year tours and teeter between limited and complete lockdowns. Sarah Locke and Jamie Bellamy, post’s co-CLO duo, are at once event organizers, counselors and management liaisons. The two spend their days steeped in planning and coordi- nation with the Regional Security Office just to be able to offer grocery runs and outings to religious services, safety permitting, outside compound walls. Together, they manage to regularly offer a rich and varied repertoire of social activi- ties on- and off-campus. Cabin fever and work-life imbalance often lead colleagues to seek temporary reprieve in the CLO office. And it was a CLO-sponsored survey that prompted the ambassador to implement morale-boosting changes. According to their nominator, U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon David Hale, “[Embassy] Beirut literally would not function without the stellar work of Jamie Bellamy and Sarah Locke.” MARK PALMER AWARD RUNNER - UP JOSHUA BAKER, CONSULATE GENERAL DUBAI Joshua Baker’s day job is to promote democratic values, extol human rights and denounce terrorism. This description sounds like something out of a Marvel character’s work requirement statement, but as the director of State’s Dubai Regional Media Hub, Baker must have a bit of superhuman coding somewhere in his DNA. With oversight of a team charged with building relations with Arab media outlets, Baker is literally the U.S. govern- ment’s Arabic language spokesperson to one of the adminis- tration’s most, if not the most, critical foreign audiences. And despite direct threats from the Islamic State group for his work, Baker has been steadfast in his pro-democracy messaging. In just two years, he’s given more than 150 Arabic-language interviews (often with hostile hosts) and quadrupled the department’s Arabic-language Twitter feed @USAbilAraby to nearly 300,000 followers. Under Baker’s leadership, the hub has come to be viewed as a credible source and serves as a beacon of democracy to millions in this tumultuous region. n Veronica Peters visits a school for Global Entrepreneurship Week. Sarah Locke (bottom left) and Jamie Bellamy (bottom right) with an embassy group in Beirut’s Mar Mikhael district. Joshua Baker being interviewed. COURTESYOFPETERS COURTESYOFBELLAMY COURTESYOFBAKER AFSA EXEMPLARY PERFORMANCE AWARDS