Global HRO conference attendees pose for a group photo with DGHR Carol Z. Perez (center) at the conclusion of the final seminar in Rosslyn, Va., Sept. 18. Photo by Isaac D. Pacheco

Global HRO Conference empowers Human Resource Officers

By Lourdes Cué and Heidi Howland More than 90 Human Resource Officers (HROs) from posts across the globe gathered in Washington, Sept. 16-18, for the first of its kind Global HRO Conference. Entitled “HR is...
From left: Assistant Secretary Carl C. Risch and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo discuss photos on display at the exhibit inauguration, May 29. State Department photo

Commemorating Consular Affairs’ commitment to service

By Mikala Williams The Bureau of Consular Affairs (CA) celebrated its 40-year anniversary this past summer by partnering with the United States Diplomacy Center on a unique exhibit that highlighted the 239-year history of consular...
Personnel assigned to the Diplomatic Security Service joint operations center at Embassy Paris monitor potential threats and security concerns as they watch the U.S. women’s national soccer team match against Chile at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, June 16. State Department photo

DS helps safeguard Women’s World Cup

By Angela French While the United States was cheering on its national soccer team, the Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) special agents and analysts worked behind the scenes to provide security support at...
Approximately 2,000 students attend the Nicaraguan-American Alumni University Fair sponsored by Embassy Managua at the Centro Cultural Nicaragüense Norteamericano binational center, May 17. Photo by Gil Fiallos

Mission Nicaragua hosts first-ever U.S. Alumni Fair

By Evangeline Taylor The Centro Cultural Nicaragüense Norteamericano binational center was abuzz, May 17, with nearly 2,000 Nicaraguan students who were eager to engage with Embassy Managua personnel and learn more about U.S. colleges and...
Ambassador Thomas Hushek along with members of the regional security office at Embassy Juba and members from contract company Triple Canopy, present an award to Worldwide Protective Services Shift Leader Shawn Meyers (front row, second from right) for his well-planned and executed mission to Boma-Bandingilo National Park in June. Photo courtesy of Embassy Juba

DSS provides support for challenging missions in South Sudan

By James Miller Throughout the past year, the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) regional security office at Embassy Juba has provided security support for more than 40 flyaway missions in South Sudan. These missions enable...
Conservators, civil engineers and stonecutters from three ASEAN countries work together to conserve the Shwe-nandaw Kyaung monastery in Mandalay, Burma. Photo by Jeff Allen

Historic preservation creates opportunity

By Jennifer Schuett Situated in the heart of Burma, Mandalay is the country’s last royal capital, a bustling economic hub in the Indo-Pacific region and the site of an Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP)...
Staff members from the Bureau of Budget and Planning look at the bureau’s goals and objectives poster that is prominently hung in their workspace as a reminder of organizational priorities. Photo by Eric Schoennauer

Strategy Matters

By Eric Schoennauer and Tony Mazzoccoli The Department of State’s strategic planning team agrees that there is no cookie-cutter approach to implementing a strategy. Missions come in many shapes and sizes, relationships with host countries...
From Left: Landon Van Dyke, deputy chief sustainability officer; Marcia Bernicat, principal deputy assistant secretary of the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs; W. Patrick Murphy, principal deputy assistant secretary of the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs; Jim Schwab, director of the Office of Management Policy, Rightsizing and Innovation; David LaMontagne, deputy executive director of the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs; and Henry Jardine, principal deputy director of the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, at the Department’s 2019 Earth Day Expo and GDI Awards ceremony, April 24, in Washington, D.C. State Department photo

2019 Greening Diplomacy Initiative Awards

By Caroline D’Angelo and James Vaughn The 2019 Greening Diplomacy Initiative (GDI) Award went to Embassy Canberra for their sustainability leadership. Post’s Canberra Greening Initiative (CGI) did everything from composting with worm bins and creating...
Members of the Innovation Unit, (from left) Senior Advisor to the DG and Unit Director M. Brooke Darby, Innovation Advisor Dori Winter and Program Analyst Bianca Blanchard. Photo by Isaac D. Pacheco

Focused on innovation

By Bianca Blanchard The Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of Human Resources (DG) Carol Z. Perez has been visiting domestic offices and posts abroad to hear directly from employees. These conversations have...
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen shares his storyteller observations on representation, voice and refugees at AAFAA’s keynote event, May 17. Photo by Amanda J. Richard

The power of narrative and representation

By Matthew Asada In May, the Department of State celebrated Asian-American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month in partnership with two of the Department’s employee affinity groups: the Asian-American Foreign Affairs Association (AAFAA) and South...

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