The Foreign Service Journal, November 2020

82 NOVEMBER 2020 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS AFSAWelcomes Three New Governing Board Members With the departure of State Representatives Matthew Dol- bow and Holly Kirking Loomis, and APHIS Representative Jeffrey Austin for overseas assignments, AFSAwelcomes three new Governing Board members for the remainder of the 2019-2021 term. Their profiles are below. Maria I. Hart Maria I. Hart is a Foreign Service specialist, currently serving as a staff assistant in the Bureau of Legislative Affairs. She joined the For- eign Service in 2005. Prior to returning toWash- ington, D.C., for her current assignment, Ms. Hart served overseas as an office manage- ment specialist at U.S. Embas- sies Accra, Tel Aviv, Baghdad, Tashkent,Wellington, Mada- gascar and, most recently, a two-year stint at U.S. Embassy Kabul. Before joining the Foreign Service, Ms. Hart served as a citizen services specialist in the State Department’s Office of Children’s Issues, where she successfully facilitated the return of more than 50 children wrongfully removed from the United States under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. She later transferred to the Office of the Inspector General as a management analyst, where she conducted research and inspections of U.S. broadcasting facilities, drafted reports and developed best practices to reduce waste, fraud and mismanagement. Maria earned a bachelor’s degree in communications (film and television studies) fromQueens College in Flush- ing, NewYork, and a master’s degree in news and print jour- nalism from Regent University in Virginia Beach, Virginia. She did postgraduate work in African studies at Howard University inWashington, D.C. Jason Snyder With more than 10 years as a Diplomatic Security spe- cial agent, Jason Snyder is currently supporting Marine Security Guard operations as a desk officer in Diplomatic Security’s Office of Overseas Protection Operations. His prior DS assignments include assistant regional security officer in Baku and Maputo, and watch officer at the Diplomatic Security Command Center and at the DS Washington Field Office. Before joining the State Department, Mr. Snyder was a captain in the Marine Corps, serving as a platoon and company commander with the 2nd Combat Engi- neer Battalion, as assess- ments officer with II MEF (FWD) and as executive offi- cer of Marine Corps Security Force Company Guantanamo Bay. He participated in com- bat operations in Ramadi in 2004 and Fallujah in 2007. He also worked previously at the Joint IED Defeat Orga- nization (JIEDDO), where he helped the organization deter- mine funding for irregular and unconventional warfare programs in support of the global war on terrorism. Jason is a tandem officer, married to Foreign Service Officer Caroline Savage. They have two young chil- dren, who have been a joyful part of two overseas tandem assignments. Russell Duncan Russell Duncan is a 15-year member of the U.S. Depart- ment of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspec- tion Service, International Services division. Mr. Duncan began his Foreign Service career in 2005 as safeguarding officer for APHIS in the Dominican Republic, covering the Carib- bean and Central America. He then served in Brussels as APHIS attaché to the U.S. Mission to the European Union followed by a tour in Pretoria with coverage of APHIS’ Southern, West and Central Africa areas. Most recently, Mr. Dun- can was posted in Lima as area director for the Andean countries. Currently he is on domes- tic assignment with APHIS’ Biotechnology Regulatory Services, where he serves as an adviser on interna- tional engagements. He also co-hosts a biweekly call for APHIS FSOs to promote inclusion, employee engage- ment and professional development within the Foreign Service. As an agriculture science officer, Mr. Duncan holds a bachelor’s degree in general biology from Howard Uni- versity in Washington, D.C., and a master’s degree in plant biology from Rutgers University. He is a recipient of the APHIS Administrator’s Award for his work build- ing regional animal health capacity in West Africa, and USDA’s Abraham Lincoln Honor Award for his role in opening new markets for U.S. agriculture products to South Africa. Mr. Duncan was born in Jamaica and grew up in the state of Maryland, where he now resides with his wife and two children. n Maria I. Hart Jason Snyder Russell Duncan