The Foreign Service Journal, September 2019

72 SEPTEMBER 2019 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS Ambassador Stephenson Reviews AFSA Efforts in Final Webinar In her final webinar as AFSA president, Ambassador Bar- bara Stephenson discussed the association’s successes and challenges over the past few years with AFSA retirees. “As you remember, in 2017 the State Department was facing a 32 percent budget cut,” she said in the June 20 webinar. “AFSA was able to create a common purpose with a bipartisan coalition of congressional champions to maintain and restore funding for the Foreign Service.” AFSA’s efforts helped reverse the decade-long decline in spending on core diplomatic capability and increase the “Overseas Programs” FY2019 appropria- tions line item by $84 million, funding regional bureaus abroad as well as the costs of moving FSOs overseas, she noted. In a challenging period when Congress was at times completely deadlocked, AFSA was able to find new partners, work with staff and members to keep them fully informed about our issues and walk them through the data, allow- ing these stakeholders to maintain their oversight role, Amb. Stephenson said. AFSA has emphasized the role the Foreign Service plays in keeping threats at bay, helping to address the Ebola crisis, working with Euro- pean allies to get passenger name records in place, and helping foreign law enforce- ment agencies break up child pornography rings. During the U.S. govern- ment shutdown at the end of 2018, AFSA became a one-stop-shop for up-to-date information for diplomats, she added. AFSA is making use of webinar technology so that more members can partici- pate in interesting and topical events, bringing in a steady stream of experts to discuss the latest information about Social Security, Medicare, long-term care and TSP. AFSA’s new “Next Stage” series focuses on the many members who have a second or third career ahead of them. Past events can be viewed at afsa.org/video. n AAFAA Awards Internship Stipend to Department of State Summer Intern AFSA and the Asian American Foreign Affairs Association are pleased to announce that the first internship stipend fund recipient is Heajune “June” Lee. Ms. Lee, who immigrated to the United States from Korea when she was 2 years old, is a student at Stanford University, major- ing in international relations with a computer science minor. She is working in the State Department’s Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, Office of Analy- sis, Planning, Programs and Learning. The internship builds on Ms. Lee’s previous academic work including research on U.S. defense policy. At Stanford, she has partici- pated in the Hoover Institu- tion National Security Affairs Fellows Mentorship Program and is involved in Stanford in Government, a student group focused on public policy and politics. Following her summer 2019 internship, June hopes to intern at a U.S. mission overseas next summer. She is interested in pursuing a career in foreign policy or international law. In 2018, AFSA partnered with AAFAA to create the Student Internship Stipend Program to provide financial assistance to historically underrepresented Asian American and Pacific Islander interns. June will receive a $1,300 stipend to cover living costs associated with her unpaid internship at State. AFSAmembers can sup- port this program by making a tax-deductible contribution to assist a summer 2020 intern. Checks can be made payable to AFSA (memo line noting “AAFAA internship fund”). For more information or to submit your donation, write to AAFAA@state.gov. n Heajune Lee is working in the State Department’s Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations. STATEDEPARTMENT