68 SEPTEMBER 2018 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS AFSA Welcomes New Governing Board Members Several of our Governing Board members have left Washington, D.C., for onward assignments overseas. We thank them for their service and welcome our newest members of the AFSA Governing Board. Jeffery Austin APHIS Representative Jeffery Austin joined the Foreign Service in 2005. He recently relocated to Washington, D.C, for an assignment at USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service headquarters. His most recent overseas assignment was as the area director for the APHIS International Services office in San Jose. Prior to that, Jeffery served in Haiti, South Africa and Kenya. He is responsible for the technical/scientific, sanitary and phytosanitary side of import/export regulations of agricultural trade between Central America and the United States. Additionally, he works to identify emerging animal and plant pest and disease issues within the Central American region and works with the respective countries to develop surveillance and mitigation measures. Jeffery has a bachelor’s degree in botany from Arizona State University and a master’s degree in administration from Fairleigh Dickinson University. Karen Brown Cleveland State Representative Karen Brown Cleveland began her career with the Department of State in 2003. Currently, Karen is a supervisory special agent serving as the deputy regional director for Africa in the High Threat Programs Directorate within the Bureau of Diplomatic Security. Prior to that, Karen served as the deputy regional security officer in Nairobi, Kenya. She previously served as the assistant special agent-incharge in the San Francisco Field Office. She also served on the protective detail for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in the New York Field Office and at U.S. embassies in Riyadh, Beirut and Baghdad. Karen holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Oakwood University. She is married to Jeffrey Cleveland, and they have one daughter. Karen has a strong commitment to customer service and believes her skills, dedication and enthusiasm will benefit AFSA members. She is excited about joining a team that has a tremendous reputation in the Foreign Service and the department. Don Jacobson State Representative Don Jacobson joined the Foreign Service in 1992 and did his first four tours overseas in Ciudad Juarez, Seoul, Bogota and Guadalajara, followed by three domestic assignments in HR/CDA, CA/EX and FSI/SPAS/ CONS. He then served as consul general in Riyadh and New Delhi and Minister Counselor for Consular Affairs in both Brazil and Mexico. He has been director of Central American affairs in WHA since 2016. Don has devoted much of his discretionary energy over the years to improving the practice of leadership at State and played a role in the Consular Affairs Bureau’s leadership initiative and iLead. Don filled a vacant spot on the AFSA Governing Board during 2017 but did not run for a full term because of the demands of his job in WHA. Don will become associate dean of FSI’s Leadership and Management School this summer and is eager to support AFSA’s efforts to strengthen the Foreign Service during this challenging time. Don is married and has three children (ages 21, 15 and 14). Deborah Mennuti State Representative Deborah Mennuti is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service. She currently serves as the director of the Office of Analysis for Europe in the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research. She previously served as deputy principal officer of Consulate General Istanbul; political counselor in Belgrade; and chief of the political-economic section in Almaty and then Astana, Kazakhstan. Since joining the department in 1993, her other overseas assignments have included Moscow, Athens and Seoul. In Washington, she has served as an assessor with the Board of Examiners, the special assistant to the assistant secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs, and the France desk officer in the Office of Western European Affairs. She is married to fellow Foreign Service Officer Jonathan Mennuti. They have one daughter. An AFSA member since 1993, Deborah is eager to give back to the organization that has done so much for the Foreign Service. She is particularly interested in advocating for the hiring levels and resources needed to ensure that the Foreign Service can continue to serve as America’s first line of defense, as well as in tandem and family issues.
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