The Foreign Service Journal, December 2020

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2020 47 Mr. Foley says. “I feel the Palmer Award is also a recognition of their valiant efforts and personal sacrifices.” Mr. Foley tells the FSJ that he is humbled to receive the award, adding: “I am proud to work side by side with dozens of U.S. gov- ernment colleagues and Venezuelan opposition leaders and activ- ists, whose commitment is an inspiration and a testament to the resilience of human beings’ uncompromising longing for freedom and the pursuit of happiness.” He was recently promoted to the Senior Foreign Service and currently serves as deputy chief of the Venezuelan Affairs Unit in Bogotá. He has also served in Caracas, Managua, Baghdad, Islamabad, Geneva and Malabo. His assignments have been in the areas of human rights, humanitarian affairs, multilateral diplo- macy and support for democracy. Mr. Foley holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Montclair State University in New Jersey, a master’s degree in international relations fromColumbia University in New York and a certificate in the Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church from the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome. He was born and grew up in Spain. He is fluent in Spanish and Italian. AFSA Achievement and Contributions to the Association Award Jason Vorderstrasse Honoring Early Diplomats Who Died Overseas F oreign Service Officer Jason Vorderstrasse has made it his mis- sion over the past 13 years to discover and honor early American diplomats and consular officers who died overseas in the line of duty but whose names were unknown when AFSA unveiled its original Memorial Plaque in 1933. His diligent efforts over more than a decade have served to advance AFSA’s role as the professional association of America’s diplomats by highlighting the distinc- tive risks of overseas service. In 2007, Jason Vorderstrasse was an entry-level FSO serving in Hong Kong. A colleague told Mr. Vorderstrasse that he had visited a local cemetery and seen the grave of a U.S. diplo- mat whose name was not inscribed on the AFSA Memorial Plaques. Mr. Vorderstrasse visited the cemetery and found the gravestone. Conducting online and archival research, he established that U.S. Consul F. Russell Engdahl died in 1942 while a prisoner of the Japanese military. Additional research identified two U.S. envoys who died of disease in Macau in 1844. Mr. Vorderstrasse nominated all three for inscription on the AFSA Memorial Plaques, and AFSA unveiled their names on Foreign Service Day 2009. But that was only the beginning of Mr. Vorderstrasse’s efforts. Over the past decade, he has dedicated hundreds of additional hours researching in the ProQuest Historical News- papers database, Google Books and other online references, along with the archives of the State Department’s Office of the Historian, to find and document more early consular officers and diplomats who merit inscription of the AFSA Memorial Plaques. “When I first began researching the lives of deceased Rafi Foley visiting Port of Spain in October 2019. On the Venezuela affairs team, both overseas and in Washington, we recognize the enormous implications of Venezuelans’ struggle to regain their freedom and fundamental human rights. —Rafi Foley Jason Vorderstrasse.