The Foreign Service Journal, December 2019

44 DECEMBER 2019 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL contact information for all U.S. direct hires. She had a record of all pets and pet owners in the embassy community. When Ms. Ross learned about the ordered evacuation, she immediately contacted a local veterinarian who agreed to visit the embassy the following day to give vaccinations and complete pet exportation documents required by U.S. and Venezuelan authorities and American Airlines. Even the pets of employ- ees who were on travel were able to be evacuated through her efforts. Ms. Ross did this while coordinating other logistics to facilitate the evacuation, relieve employees’ anxiety and provide relevant information to the community. To ease the community’s arrival in Miami, she coordinated with the regional security office to have U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Transportation Security Administration agents assist evacuees through customs. Ms. Ross was in the first group to depart post. She coordinated with current and former Caracas personnel in the Washington, D.C., area to organize a welcoming com- mittee for each of the four flights that carried evacuees. She even arranged for taxis and luggage collection. In short, she made the evacuation more bearable by surrounding the community with support every step of the way. After the Venezuela evacuation, Ms. Ross “paid it forward,” mentoring CLOs in Haiti and Sudan when those posts experi- enced ordered departures. “Winning the M. Juanita Guess Award is really a testament to the amazing CLO team in Caracas and the outstanding com- munity we had at a difficult post,” Ms. Ross said. “I was blessed to work with a stellar and tireless assistant CLO and a local staff administrative assistant who could and did work miracles.” Michelle Ross served as CLO for Embassy Caracas at post and in Washington, D.C., during the post’s ordered departure. Previously, she worked at the Family Liaison Office as the CLO program specialist in Washington, D.C., providing operational and program support to CLO coordinators worldwide. Prior to joining the FLO, Ms. Ross worked as a consular asso- ciate in Kuala Lumpur and as the CLO in Chengdu. Before her husband joined the Foreign Service as a consular officer in 2011, she taught eighth-grade English and reading for nearly a decade and spent two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Gansu, China. Ms. Ross earned a bachelor’s degree in secondary English education from Brigham Young University and graduate degrees in middle-level education (Walden University) and literature and writing (Union Institute and University). While on breaks from her work supporting the Foreign Service community, Ms. Ross can be found reading the latest literary releases or typing up reviews (on a real typewriter) for her book review blog. Michelle Ross at the AFSA Awards Ceremony at the State Department Oct. 16. AFSA/JOAQUINSOSA Michelle Ross at a local market flower stand in Caracas, Venezuela. COURTESYOFMICHELLEROSS