The Foreign Service Journal, December 2018

86 DECEMBER 2018 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS AVIS BOHLEN AWARD RUNNER-UP JUDITH MARTIN The runner-up for the 2018 Avis Bohlen Award, Judith Martin, was honored for her work to improve the lives of female victims of human trafficking and sexual assault in Togo. Ms. Martin worked with Queen Alaffia, a nonprofit coopera- tive that provides job training and employment to victims of sex trafficking and sexual assault who have been marginalized by their communities. When Ms. Martin arrived at post the cooperative had been in existence for a year, training women to sew and sell products using African print and batik fabric. But sales were weak and the enterprise was floundering. Ms. Martin guided the women to reorganize into small teams that kept every woman constantly engaged and built their lead- ership skills. She helped them reorganize their work process to make a wider variety of products more efficiently, and she implemented a cross-training program, soliciting volunteers to learn how to make batik and to serve as mentors. Ms. Martin’s work with Queen Alaffia made an important contribution to advancing U.S. policy goals in Africa, helping to raise awareness of the scourge of human trafficking and directly assisting victims to rebuild their lives. She helped give poor women new job skills that will raise incomes and improve nutrition, health care and education for their children. n AFSA Award Winners from page 85 AFSAWelcomes Newest Foreign Service Members On Oct. 4, AFSA welcomed 66 members of the 149th Specialist class to its head- quarters building, and on Oct. 9, AFSA welcomed 80 members of the 195th A-100 class. These newest classes include a number of U.S. military veterans and former employees of other govern- ment agencies. Many class members hold post-graduate degrees, and many have worked, studied or volun- teered abroad. Between them they speak more than two dozen foreign languages. Some fun facts about the A-100 class: One class member worked as a helicop- ter maintenance test pilot; another was named “Working Mother of the Year” by Work- ing Mother magazine for her work advocating for pater- nity leave. One served as a responder for the U.S. Navy’s radiological emergency response center in Yokosuka, Japan, after the Fukushima meltdowns in 2013; and one earned a black belt in Taekwondo in Taiwan. Yet another won a national essay contest at age 10 to name the Smithsonian Institution’s Triceratops specimen. Welcome to the Foreign Service! n Top right: AFSA President Ambassador Barbara Stephenson greets class members at AFSA HQ. Bottom right: AFSA State Vice president Ken Kero-Mentz talks to luncheon participants about the functions of AFSA in its dual role as a professional association and labor union. AFSA/DONNAGORMAN AFSA/DONNAGORMAN COURTESYOFJUDITHMARTIN Judith Martin, second from left, discussing design measurements at Queen Alaffia.