The Foreign Service Journal, September 2017

82 SEPTEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS Fostering Community in South Sudan NELSON B . DELAVAN AWARD FOR EXEMPLARY PERFORMANCE BY AN OF F I CE MANAGEMENT SPEC I AL I ST DIANE CORBIN AFSA EXEMPLARY PERFORMANCE AWARDS Presenting the Nelson B. Delavan Award to Diane Corbin, Ambassador Wil- liam Harrop called the role of office management specialist “indispensable” to the effec- tiveness and ultimate success of the Foreign Service’s over- seas mission. As the only office manage- ment specialist (OMS) for the U.S. embassy in Juba, South Sudan, Ms. Corbin’s official assignment was to the front office. However, that does not begin to describe the contribution she made to the embassy community over the 29 months she served there. As well as day-to-day tasks such as managing the ambassador’s schedule and making sure she had all the materials necessary to do her job, Ms. Corbin was the point of contact and source of information, guidance and encouragement for the entire community. In the absence of a community liaison officer at post, Ms. Corbin took on that role as well, reaching out to newly assigned staff before they arrived and pro- viding photos and documents about life in Juba to ease their entry to post. Her friendly and informative emails not only helped to prepare officers for arrival, but also allayed the concerns of their loved ones about assignments to this remote post. Ms. Corbin did whatever she could to orient FSOs, make their jobs easier and improve their quality of life— from organizing weekly game nights to arranging for local vendors to visit the embassy compound for a monthly market. South Sudan has been living with civil unrest for four of the six years since it gained independence; Juba is an unaccompanied post. However, in July 2016, even more intense fighting broke out between government and opposition forces. Assuming the role of auxiliary consular officer, Ms. Corbin fielded hundreds of calls fromAmeri- can citizens concerned for their safety. She worked tirelessly to collect their information, which proved invaluable when it became necessary to evac- uate U.S. citizens from South Sudan. During the evacuation, she remained at the airport under tough conditions, work- ing to validate and protect U.S. passport information. Ms. Corbin’s sense of com- munity came to the fore once again when a staff member died suddenly at post. She not only accompanied his remains home to the United States but has maintained contact with his family, offering comfort and helping to process paperwork and provide resources for them. When not occupied at the embassy, Ms. Corbin spent many hours volunteering at a local orphanage. To foster a sense of community in Juba, she organized weekly trips for FSOs to visit the orphan- age to work and play with the children. When accepting the award, Ms. Corbin paid tribute to her colleagues (both FSOs and locally employed staff): “My colleagues assigned to Embassy Juba are the most dedicated employees I have served with in the 15 years of my Foreign Service career. The American staff bid on South Sudan because they care—they want to make a difference. The local staff work to make their country a better place.” Diane Corbin has two children and is a proud New Englander (Go Sox!). She joined the Foreign Service as an OMS in 2002 and has served in Guatemala, Panama, Ethiopia and the Dominican Republic, as well as Washington, D.C. n Delavan Award winner Diane Corbin, at right, helps local women pump water in Juba, South Sudan. Diane Corbin (center) reading with Innocent (left) and Cecilia (right), two young girls at the Confident Children out of Conflict home in Juba, South Sudan. COURTESYOFDIANECORBIN COURTESYOFDIANECORBIN