The Foreign Service Journal, December 2021

DACOR and UDC Launch Mentoring Partnership AFSA NEWS Seated, DACOR President James Dandridge II (left) and UDC President Ronald Mason Jr. Standing, from left: Mentor Dawn Thomas, Mentor Marti Estell, State Department D.C. Metro Diplomat-in-Residence Yolonda Kerney, State Department Senior Bureau Official Global Talent Management Ambassador Kenneth Merten, UDC Professor Jasmine Yarish, Mentor Rhonda Ferguson-Augustus, Mentor Daphne Titus, State Department Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Ambassador Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, UDC Dean April Massey, and UDC Professor Amanda Huron. JENIFERMORRISPHOTOGRAPHY/JENIFERMORRIS institution is not the same as demonstrating the courage and the wisdom to defend the individuals or the institution when they’re under attack,” he said. For example, when the Trump administration made unfounded allegations against Ambassador Marie Yovano- vitch in 2019, Amb. Boyatt recounted,“AFSA charged to the rescue.” “In a period of days, through a group funding mechanism, AFSA raised three quarters of a million AFSA Awards Continued from page 65 THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2021 75 DACOR and the University of the District of Columbia have begun a mentoring partner- ship matching diplomats with undergraduate global studies students. At the historic DACOR Bacon House on Sept. 10, the presidents of the two institu- tions signed an agreement laying the foundation for a three-year pilot mentoring program. The partnership is aimed at expanding the opportunities for women and minorities leading to Foreign and Civil Service careers. The ceremony drew senior State Department officials including State’s Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Gina Abercrombie-Winstan- ley; Ambassador Kenneth Merten, senior bureau official for Global Talent Manage- ment; Bernadette Cole Byrd, continuity officer for Global participating students,” said DACOR President James Dandridge II.“It is our hope and expectation that this new undergraduate mentor- ing partnership will expand the diversity of young people entering the talent pipeline, leading to fulfilling and spec- tacular careers in the State Department and other U.S. government agencies operat- ing internationally.” For the university, the agreement is the first such formal mentoring program open to undergraduates at the 170-year-old institution, one of 51 public historically Black colleges and universities in the nation.“We’re honored to pair our global studies students with accomplished foreign affairs professionals and diplomats who can share their experiences,” said UDC President Ronald Mason Jr. n Talent Management; and D.C. Metro Diplomat-in-Residence Yolonda Kerney. “The success of this ven- ture will ultimately depend on the strength of the relation- ships built over time between DACOR mentors and the dollars. No member of AFSA spent a nickel on the serious legal problems they had. That sends a message to everyone concerned that AFSA can and will defend the institutions of the Foreign Service and the State Department and indi- vidual officers and specialists serving those institutions,” he concluded. The 2020 award was given to FSO Jason Vorderstrasse for his commitment over the past 13 years to discover and honor early American diplo- mats 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. The AFSA Post Represen- tative of the Year Award is presented to an exemplary AFSA post rep who has demonstrated sustained and successful engagement with AFSAmembership at post and post management to advance the strategic priorities of the association. The 2021 award was presented to two people: USAID FSO Charlee Doom , in recognition of her activism on behalf of AFSAmembers at her post in Amman as well as at her previous post; and USAID FSO Randy Chester , for his service as a valued mentor in Islamabad and his advocacy of policy changes regarding unaccompanied posts. In 2020 an AFSA Spe- cial Achievement Award was given to James Yorke , ASFA’s Senior Labor Manage- ment adviser, for his tireless, behind-the-scenes assistance to thousands of AFSAmem- bers during his 25 years with the association. n