The Foreign Service Journal, December 2021

38 DECEMBER 2021 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL discussions on popular subjects of concern for families. Modeled after “TED Talks,” each session was led by a subject matter expert, facilitated by the PTO under Ms. Lawrence’s leadership, and covered such topics as overcoming COVID-19 anxiety, addressing gender and race issues and combating misinformation. In April 2021, CAC’s board of trustees presented Ivana Law- rence with the school’s Core Value Award, an annual recognition given to those who best exemplify the school’s core values of integrity, creativity, perseverance, courage, respect, responsi- bility and compassion. The embassy’s minister counselor for management affairs, Randall Budden, who also sits on CAC’s board, notes that Ms. Lawrence “volunteered more hours than anyone, and changed the PTO into a diverse, inclusive commu- nity outreach organization.” Ms. Lawrence believes that communities at post around the world stand to benefit from intentionally engaging beyond their American cohort. “In the Foreign Service, we are called upon to move frequently,” she tells the Journal . “But too often, we’re left in a bubble that’s hard to break out of, and we hardly get to experience the local culture. I found that PTOs have this amaz- ing ability to bring us all together and show what marvelous experiences, projects and friendships can happen on a larger scale. Receiving the Avis Bohlen Award gives me a platform to showcase this approach so it can inspire replication. It offers great insight into the powerhouse that we, the ‘trailing spouses,’ are, and the positive impact we can have in our communities.” Born in the former Yugoslavia, Ivana Lawrence lived through the siege of Sarajevo and experienced refugee life in Croatia as a child. She worked as a journalist and news anchor for the first independent radio stations in the region. Today she is an accom- plished translator and interpreter in three languages. Always looking for ways to promote community building, she organized many diplomatic and public cultural events while working for the Swiss embassy in Sarajevo. She currently lives in Rwanda with her husband, Benjamin Lawrence, a contracting officer for USAID; their two sons, Dominic and Noah; and her mother, Vesna Varunek. AFSA Achievement and Contributions to the Association Award Thomas D. Boyatt Bringing Major Innovations to the Association F or more than 60 years, Ambassador (ret.) Thomas Boyatt has played a major role in the success and evolution of the American Foreign Service Asso- ciation. Two decades ago, AFSA honored him with the 2001 AFSA Achievement and Contribu- tions to the Association Award in recognition of his enormous contributions to AFSA from the 1960s through the 1990s, notably in leading AFSA to victory over the American Federation of Government Employees to establish AFSA as the Foreign Service union in 1973. During the past 20 years, Amb. Boyatt has not only con- tinued to contribute to AFSA, including serving as a Govern- ing Board member multiple times, but in doing so he has led four major innovations that strengthened AFSA’s role as the voice of the Foreign Service, both as a professional associa- tion and a labor union. Political Action Committee. While serving as AFSA treasurer from 2001 to 2003, Amb. Boyatt led the way to the establishment of AFSA-PAC, a political action committee to engage with mem- bers of Congress and congressional candidates and advocate on issues of significance to the Foreign Service. The Governing Board was initially wary of becoming involved in politics after 78 years of not doing so, but Amb. Boyatt con- vinced the board that the initiative would benefit AFSA and that the committee could and would operate in a nonpartisan fashion. The board approved the move in February 2002. Amb. Boyatt served as the new AFSA-PAC’s treasurer, the senior PAC officer, for the next six years, guiding its activities. During the past 20 years, PAC contributions to congressional candidates have opened the doors for AFSA representatives to Ambassador Thomas Boyatt. AFSA Most memorable about Ms. Lawrence’s innovative approach was her creation of “CAC Talks,” a series of virtual community discussions on popular subjects of concern for families.