The Foreign Service Journal, December 2022

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2022 37 others, she outlined the injustice caused by flaws in the depart- ment’s employee investigation and discipline processes. Several officials noted that her letter helped the new team at the depart- ment understand the struggles of career U.S. diplomats. Relying on her more than two decades of legal and diplomatic experience, Ms. Davis provided constructive recommendations for how the department could improve these processes, including: placing a one-year time limit on investigating and issuing a deci- sion in administrative cases; moving forward the point at which an employee has the right to review the State Department’s evidence and concerns and respond to them ( before decisions are made, sometimes on incomplete or misunderstood facts, instead of after, as is currently the policy); and encouraging that DS and the Bureau of Global Talent Management officials receive unconscious bias training before evaluating the conduct of their colleagues. This dissent was a demonstration of Ms. Davis’ abiding commit- ment to America’s foreign policy institutions and a strong testa- ment to her character. She says she is honored by this recognition fromAFSA and proud to further the State Department’s tradition of dissent: “Diplomats throughout our history have been willing to seek a place in our department (as women or minorities), to fix broken systems, and to object to policy decisions. The right to dissent that we protect is enshrined in our First Amendment and is part of a set of rights that are essential to any thriving democracy. Our proud tradition of dissent, to my mind, is the strongest part of our State Department.” At the end of her tour in Turkey, the U.S. Consulate Istanbul staff planted a “peace garden” for Ms. Davis. At its center is an olive tree, a symbol of their gratitude for her tireless efforts to protect them and seek the release of her wrongfully detained colleagues. One of those colleagues remains in prison. “The presentation of that garden was the greatest honor of my career,” Ms. Davis says. “I think it is important for the department tomake clear that the safety and well-being of our employees is our first priority and that when we send diplomats into complex environments to do difficult things, we have their backs.” Jennifer Davis is a career Foreign Service officer currently serv- ing as the chief of staff to Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield. She previously served as a Council on Foreign Relations Fellow at Georgetown University and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and as the director of orienta- tion at the Foreign Service Institute. Ms. Davis also served as the executive assistant to Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, special assistant to Secre- tary of State Condoleezza Rice, a watch officer in the Operations Center, and a staffer in the Office of Children’s Issues. In addi- tion to Turkey, she has served overseas tours in Bogotá, Brussels (USNATO), and Mexico City. She is a Distinguished Graduate of the National War College, where she received the George Kennan Award for Excellence in Strategic Writing and was the class vice president. Before joining the Foreign Service, Ms. Davis was a corporate attorney specializing inmedia and banking law. She has a B.A. with distinction and J.D. with honors from the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill and a BCL (LL.M.) in international law from the University of Oxford. William R. Rivkin Award for Constructive Dissent by a Mid-Level Foreign Service Officer Elisabeth Zentos and Anton Cooper Dissenting from Kabul W hile serving in U.S. Embassy Kabul’s political section, Elisabeth Zentos and Anton Cooper embodied the best traditions of the Foreign Service and construc- tive dissent in a uniquely difficult moment, bringing to bear their intellectual courage, astute analysis, and willingness to speak an unpopular truth to power. During 2020 and 2021, both officers watched with increasing concern as the security situation in Afghanistan worsened, nego- tiations with the Taliban faltered, and the Taliban began making territorial gains. They recognized that if the security situation in Kabul spiraled out of control, the embassy’s local staff and other contacts would be left dangerously exposed. Using the appropriate internal embassy channels, Ms. Zentos and Mr. Cooper presented their concerns and a proposed course of action, including: accelerate planning for an evacuation; develop and begin implementing systems for refugee process- ing of locally employed staff; and help keep safe those who had assisted the United States during its involvement in Afghanistan. Our proud tradition of dissent, to my mind, is the strongest part of our State Department. —Jennifer Davis