The Foreign Service Journal, October 2015

56 OCTOBER 2015 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS AFSA and Smithsonian Partner on Foreign Service Outreach A critical component of the American Foreign Service Association’s mission is to conduct outreach and engage the public to provide insight into the life and work of the Foreign Service. As part of this effort, AFSA partners every year with The Smithsonian Associates— the largest museum-based educational program in the world—to present a daylong seminar on diplomacy and the Foreign Service. This year’s event, held on Aug. 11 and titled “Inside the World of Diplomacy,” drew more than 100 students, pro- fessionals and retirees. The first half of the day took place at AFSA headquarters. AFSA President Ambas- sador Barbara Stephenson opened by sharing her insights on a day in the life of an ambassador. Pass- ing around her stamp-filled diplomatic passport, newspa- per clippings from countries where she has served and unique souvenirs she’s picked up along the way, Amb. Ste- phenson’s personal account of the Foreign Service as an exciting and rewarding career resonated with the audience. Matthew Palmer, a career Foreign Service officer and director for multilateral affairs in State’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, fol- lowed suit. Speaking on the ins and outs of the Foreign Service, he offered a primer on the Department of State and the role of embassies. In addition to regaling the crowd with his FS adventures, Palmer spoke to the need for flexibility in one’s career. This flexibility is every Foreign Service member’s hallmark, given the demands and rigors of a career spent hopping from country to country and living in sometimes harsh or dangerous settings. For Palmer, that flex- ibility paid off when a prized assignment was unexpectedly switched, ultimately leading to his meeting his wife at the new post. After an engaging Q&A on U.S. foreign policy priorities, congressional appropria- tions and the balancing act between managing risk and effective diplomacy, the group spent the afternoon at Main State learning about the Ops Center and Foreign Service Institute. Another successful program on the books, AFSA looks forward to continuing to partner with The Smithson- ian Associates to help tell the Foreign Service’s story. n —Maria C. Livingston, Associate Editor AFSA President Barbara Stephenson describes the issues she worked on while serving as ambassador to Panama, including the Panama Canal expansion project and bilateral free trade agreement. AFSA/MARIAC.LIVINGSTON Changing of the Guard at Tales from a Small Planet Tales from a Small Planet, the nonprofit dedicated to providing resources and post and school reports for Foreign Service families and other expats, has selected a new executive team. Foreign Service spouse Leslie Jensen has assumed the role of executive director, and the group’s new board is composed of longtime board member Patricia Linderman, John McDaniel, Nicole Schae- fer-McDaniel, Susan Shirley, Kathi Silva, Rima Vydmantis and Kristi Zilbauer. Created in 2000 by a group of Foreign Service spouses who had previously collaborated on the Spouses’ Underground Newsletter , Tales from a Small Planet has helped thousands of profes- sionals and their families evaluate potential postings. It has also provided a use- ful forum for sharing the joys and frustrations of a mobile lifestyle. As the new leadership takes over, Tales is also reinvigorat- ing its online presence. Please follow them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/talesmag and on Twitter at @realpostre- ports. As always, their exten- sive collection of post reports is available on their website, www.talesmag.com . n —Ásgeir Sigfússon, Director of Communications