The Foreign Service Journal, September 2017

6 SEPTEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 62 AFSAAwards Honor Foreign Service Excellence 66 State VP Voice—Like a Bridge 66 Retiree VP Voice—Focus on Retiree Issues 67 FAS VP Voice—Seeking Solutions and Sustainability 68 FCS VP Voice—Facing Unprecedented Challenges 68 USAID VP Voice—Promoting USAID Interests 69 2017-2019 AFSA Governing Board Takes Office 69 Meet the 2017-2019 AFSA Governing Board 74 Behind the Scenes at the AFSA Election 74 Governing Board Meeting Notes 75 Sinclaire Award Recipients in Action 76 AFSAAwardWinner Profiles 87 Celebrating Foreign Service Youth Achievements 88 Meet the 2017 AFSAMerit AwardWinners 90 Kennan Award Salutes StrongWriting AFSA NEWS THE OFFICIAL RECORD OF THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE ASSOCIATION On the Cover: AFSA’s 2017 award winners. Centerpiece: Ambassador Nancy J. Powell (center), recipient of the Lifetime Contributions to American Diplo- macy Award, with previous winners (from left) former Senator Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), Ambassador William J. Harrop, FSO Stuart Kennedy and Ambassador Ruth Davis. Clockwise from top right: Aubrey N. Dowd; René Gutel; Wendy Brafman; Ambassador Tulinabo Mushingi; group winners Christina T. Le, Thomas T.Wong, Cecilia S Choi and Mariju L. Bofill; Henry Throop; Elzar T. Camper; Diane Corbin; and John S.Wood. Photographer: Toya Sarno Jordan. Departments 10 Letters 14 Letters-Plus 18 Talking Points 91 In Memory 96 Books 106 Local Lens Štrbské Pleso, Slovakia By Ch r i s t o p h e r Sh e a Marketplace 99 Classifieds 102 Real Estate 104 Index to Advertisers FOREIGN SERVICE 7 President’s Views Building Enduring Support for the Foreign Service By Ba r ba r a S t e p h e n s o n 9 Letter from the Editor Stories of Excellence By Sh awn Do rma n 23 Speaking Out How to Get More Bang for Our FSI Buck: Engaging Foreign Diplomats and Diasporas By M i c h a e l Ro s e n t h a l Perspectives 105 Reflections A Baltic Tale By Tom Lo n go 76