The Foreign Service Journal, October 2020

34 OCTOBER 2020 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL able this year. As a comparison, the acceptance rate for a typical Foreign Service position is 4 percent—which means the Payne Fellowship is at least twice as competitive. Candidates for the Payne Fellowship undergo a rigorous selection process; a panel of interviewers review each candidate’s experience and career objectives, grades and writing skills, language(s) and potential to represent our agency.” Next Steps The Payne Fellowship will increase from 10 to 15 officers in 2021. That’s not enough. By comparison, the Rangel and Picker- ing Fellowships bring in 90 fellows annually, and the programs are expanding for 2021. Further, though the composition of the fellowship cohorts has been ethnically diverse, it has been predominantly female—only one Black male has completed the program since its inception. To ensure broader gender representation, increase professional development opportunities, and expand the recruitment and retention of stellar, diverse talent, the program has deepened its relationship with two key partners. They are USAID’s Devel- opment Diplomats in Residence—with one diplomat recently serving at Morehouse College, an all-male Historically Black College and University in Atlanta—and the USAID-based alumni of the International Career Advancement Program. Members of the latter formed a Payne Advisory Group more than a year ago to help identify opportunities to improve “the felt experience” of the fellows once they join the agency. The advisory group meets regularly with staff of USAID’s Bureau of Human Capital and Talent Management to elevate concerns and help expedite solutions within the agency. For example, when the summer placements at missions and in congressional offices were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Payne Advisory Group identified a diverse cohort of USAID leaders to serve as situational mentors, launched a “virtual office hours” series for off-the-record conversations with agency leaders, and hosted “virtual coffee chats and meet-and-greets” with leaders of USAID employee resource groups and other USAID networks. Ultimately, the increased coordination among HCTM, the Foreign Service Center, DDIRs, Payne Advisory Group representatives and Payne program staff at Howard University has led to better transi- tions for Payne Fellows into the program and agency during this extremely uncertain time. Since the program is new, retention data is limited. Fellows who have completed the program are current FSOs. Only a handful have met the tenure requirement, and they are still with USAID. The return on investment for the Payne Fellows’ graduate school education and professional development is high, and the U.S. government and USAID’s partners around the world benefit when they see America’s diversity represented abroad. Fellows also benefit directly from and value this experience. Yet there is a continued need for broader recruitment and retention efforts beyond the Payne Fellows program, particularly given the limited number of fellowships available each year. There is also a concern that it is easier for agency leaders to focus on recruitment rather than working to resolve retention issues around promotion and tenure for minority FSOs. USAIDmust ultimately ensure that all managers are held accountable for their efforts in hiring, retaining, empowering and promoting qualified individuals from underrepresented groups. There is a growing call across our nation, and fromwithin USAID, to address the effects of institutional racism. In this regard, it is appropriate to pause and reflect on Rep. Payne’s legacy. Not only did he put his life at risk in Mogadishu in 2009, while advocating for democracy and human rights, he never stopped fighting for equality and fairness for all Americans. Neither should we. n 2019 Payne Fellows at AFSA with Representative Donald M. Payne Jr. From left: Rose Quispe, Bemnet Tesfaye, Michelle Ngirbabul, Natalie Fiszer, Susan Ojukwu, Jessica Hernandez, Rep. Donald Payne Jr., Niesha Ford, Meklit Gebru, Marianna Smith and Avani Mooljee. COURTESYOFTHEPAYNEFELLOWSHIPPROGRAM