The Foreign Service Journal, September 2020

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2020 71 AFSA NEWS AFSA Congratulates Kennan Award Winners Each year, AFSA is proud to present the George Kennan Writing Award to Foreign Service graduates of the National War College whose research projects and writing have demonstrated excel- lence throughout the year. This year, the Kennan Writing Award was presented in a virtual ceremony on June 5 to two Foreign Service officers, Nancy Leou and Debra Mosel, both from the college’s class of 2020. Nancy Leou currently serves as deputy director of the Office of Korean Affairs in the State Department. Prior to her time at the National War College, she served as political and economic sec- tion chief at U.S. Consulate General Shanghai and as the director for China and Asian economic affairs at the National Security Council. Leou has served at U.S. Embassy Beijing and the U.S. consulates in Hong Kong and Ho Chi Minh City. Her domestic assignments include South Korea unit chief in the Office of Korean Affairs, special assistant to the under secretary for political affairs and staff assistant to the assistant secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. She received her bach- elor’s degree in history and Asian studies from the Uni- versity of California, Berkeley. She holds master’s degrees from Georgetown University (international relations) and the National War College (national security studies). She and her husband, Ethan, have two children. Nancy Leou’s thesis, “Promoting a Free and Open Indo-Pacific Region Through a Strong U.S.-India Partner- ship,” argues that China’s expansionist policies are harmful to both the United States and India. “My year at the National War College was wonderful,” Leou says. “I am so apprecia- tive of the opportunity I had to study with some of the leading strategic thinkers on national security. As an FSO and an AFSA member, it was especially meaningful to receive the Kennan Writing Award.” Debra Mosel is a Foreign Service officer with the U.S. Agency for International Development. Her next assignment is as deputy mission director for Sri Lanka and Maldives. She has also served as director of the Office of Strategic Planning and Operations in the Middle East Bureau and as director of the USAID program offices in Zambia, Namibia and Romania. Before joining the For- eign Service in 2000, Mosel worked as a personal services contractor for USAID in the Caucasus and Washington, D.C. Earlier, she was a Peace Corps volunteer in the Czech Republic and worked in the private sector in California. Originally from Louisville, Kentucky, Debra earned her bachelor’s degree in inter- national relations from the University of Delaware and her MBA from the Monterey Insti- tute of International Studies. Her National War College thesis, “Decreasing Migra- tion from Central America to the United States through Addressing Violence against Women and Children,” establishes violence against women and children as a key factor driving immigration. In the paper, she argues that restarting bilateral assis- tance to countries in need, creating ways to measure protection from violence and establishing a new body of international law would ultimately lead to a reduction in illegal migration. Congratulations to Nancy and Debra! They join the 15 previous awardees recog- nized since the inception of the Kennan Award in 2004. They each also receive a $1,000 award. The award is named for George F. Kennan, who was the first Deputy Commandant of the National War College, where he wrote his famous 1947 article, “The Sources of Soviet Conduct.”AFSA is proud to recognize the impor- tant skill of excellent writing, in the tradition of Mr. Kennan. To learn more about the Kennan Award and other AFSA awards, visit afsa.org/ awards. n Nancy Leou Debra Mosel The award is named for George F. Kennan, who was the first Deputy Commandant of the National War College, where he wrote his famous 1947 article, “The Sources of Soviet Conduct.” AFSA is proud to recognize the important skill of excellent writing, in the tradition of Mr. Kennan.