The Foreign Service Journal, October 2016

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2016 65 AFSA NEWS AFSACelebrates Job Search ProgramGraduates On Aug. 26, AFSA Presi- dent Ambassador Barbara Stephenson spoke to 110 graduates of the State Department’s Job Search Program at a champagne reception hosted by AFSA at the Foreign Service Institute. Congratulating the group of retirees, Amb. Stephen- son noted that most retirees do not realize that their AFSA membership does not transfer automatically on retirement and encouraged the Foreign Service gradu- ates to reaffirm their AFSA membership and continue their access to a large and growing network. Pointing out the impor- tance of growing the Foreign Service community, Amb. Stephenson also asked graduates to consider themselves part of a Foreign Service “alumni team,” with a responsibility to tell the American people about their experiences representing the United States as a diplo- mat abroad. More than 60 members of the class joined AFSA or reaffirmed their mem- bership. In addition to the annual retiree directory, AFSA retiree membership includes access to AFSA’s online forum, dedicated retiree counseling and a bi-monthly newsletter, as well as a subscription to The Foreign Service Journal. AFSA USAID Vice Presi- dent Sharon Wayne, AFSA Governing Board member and Retiree Representative Dean Haas, AFSA Secre- tary Bill Haugh and Awards Committee Chair Amb. (ret.) Lange Schermerhorn were also available to answer questions and promote the benefits of AFSA member- ship. n AFSA USAID Vice President Sharon Wayne (second from left) speaks to JSP graduates at the reception. AFSA/GEMMADVORAK AFSA Outreach Coordinator Catherine Kannenberg (second from right) and Member Services Representative Natalie Cheung (right) sign up Job Search Program graduates as AFSA members. AFSA/GEMMADVORAK AFSA President Ambassador Barbara Stephenson congratulates Job Search Program graduates at the reception, held at the Foreign Service Institute. AFSA/GEMMADVORAK LMWelcomes New Intern AFSA’s Labor Man- agement team is pleased to welcome Denise Taylor as an intern. Denise is a third-year law student who is very excited to be part of AFSA’s LM team. A lifelong native of Vir- ginia, she graduated from the University of Virginia in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in government. Denise is cur- rently obtaining her J.D. at The George Washington Uni- versity Law School, where her studies focus on interna- tional labor and international development law. In her free time, Denise enjoys learning languages and doing stand-up comedy in the D.C. area. n Denise Taylor. AFSA/GEMMADVORAK