Associates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide (AAFSW)
Global Link Express
September 2016
AAFSW News
The Passing of Lesley Dorman
AAFSW is saddened to inform our members that Lesley Dorman passed away on August 26.
Lesley Dorman was AAFSW president from 1976 to 1981, and served AAFSW in many other capacities, including Program Chair, Housing Office Chair and Public Relations Chair. In 1977, she directed the Forum Committee survey that resulted in the influential “Report on the Concerns of Foreign Service Spouses and Families.” The report convinced then-Secretary Cyrus Vance to support the creation of the Family Liaison Office, which was opened in 1978 with Lesley’s involvement. Lesley was also involved with the creation of the Overseas Briefing Center, and helped secure survivor annuities and pro-rata pension share for divorces spouses by testifying on Capitol Hill.
We will have more on Lesley’s remarkable life in the next issue of the Global Link and Global Link Express.
In Memoriam: Gerre Lee Craig, Former AAFSW President
Gerre Lee Johnson Craig, who was AAFSW president from 1997 to 1999, died on August 15 after suffering a stroke on April 13. She is survived by her husband, John B. Craig, her son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren. Gerre Lee was an early childhood development professional who taught in U.S. and American Overseas schools in Saudi Arabia, Libya, Egypt, Haiti, Syria, and Annapolis, Maryland, while she accompanied her spouse through 37 years of foreign and domestic assignments.
In 2001 the Craigs retired in Lancaster County, PA, where Gerre served the local community as a member of the Board of the Winters Heritage House, as well as an active member (and former officer) of the Presbyterian Women at Donegal Presbyterian Church. A memorial service for Gerre Lee was held in Mt. Joy, PA on August 20.
AAFSW Welcomes New Board Members!
New AAFSW President: Dr. Joanna Athanasopoulos Owen
Welcome to AAFSW’s new President, Dr. Joanna Athanasopoulos Owen, who was elected on August 8!
Dr. Joanna Athanasopoulos Owen was born in California and was raised in Athens, Greece. A physicist, she holds a Ph.D. in Geological Sciences and a Master’s in Environmental Science and Management. Fluent in five languages, Dr. Athanasopoulos Owen lectures and leads domestic and international field trips on geophysics and gemology in addition to consulting on environmental development projects worldwide. Besides Greece, Dr. Athanasopoulos Owen has lived in Argentina, Sri Lanka, and Venezuela exploring how geo-cultural-politics affect environmental international policy, strategies, and practices.
Along with expanding AAFSW members’ awareness on everybody’s duties, rights and responsibilities within the diplomatic life and beyond, the new AAFSW President, Dr. Athanasopoulos Owen, will work to make everyone in the Foreign Service Community feel included and its members to consider AAFSW their anchor wherever in the world they are, whatever stage of their lives they may be.
Our new President is leading a fascinating life and you can read more about her here.
New AAFSW 1st Vice President: Melissa Hess
Melissa Hess is Deputy Director in the Crisis Management Training division at FSI and has worked in that office since 2005. As a civil servant, she served 15 months in Iraq-as Political Officer for the Babil Provincial Reconstruction Team and then TDY as the Public Diplomacy Officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Basrah. Prior to this, she was a member of the FLO, where she coordinated the Strategic Networking Assistance Program-a global employment program for Foreign Service spouses.
A Foreign Service spouse for 22 years, she accompanied her husband on assignments to Nigeria, Russia, Algeria, Egypt, and Ukraine. Melissa and Patricia Linderman are co-authors of The Expert Expatriate: Your Guide to Successful Relocation Abroad and co-editors of Realities of Foreign Service Life, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. In 1998, she created Foreign Service Livelines, the first website for Foreign Service spouses, which was purchased by AAFSW in 1999. She holds a Master’s degree in Education and has taught English as a Second Language in Europe, Africa, and the U.S.
New AAFSW 2nd Vice President: Sandy Taylor
Sandy Taylor is currently Diplomatic Liaison chair of the Welcome to Washington International Club, and President of the Young Musical Scholars Foundation. She is a member of The Association of American Foreign Service Worldwide, and also volunteers at the White House.
Born in China and raised in Taiwan, she has since resided in the U.S., Taiwan, Japan and Australia. Sandy has completed the Harvard Kennedy School’s Governance as Leadership program and is currently a member of the Harvard Alumni DC Chapter. She managed the employee support operation for the American Institute in Taiwan, and as Country Director for Pearl S. Buck International’s Taiwan office, she directed her talents toward helping others, staging fund-raising galas, art auctions for earthquake relief and other philanthropic causes in Taiwan.
Sandy has been married over 45 years to Patrick, who is retired from Federal Civil Service as well as from the Boeing Company. They have two grown daughters. For more information about Sandy, please click here.
New AAFSW Assistant Treasurer: Troella Tyznik
Troella Tyznik is the new Assistant Treasurer and has served in numerous posts around the world. Her husband served in Rome while she served in the Vatican, helping with the process of opening the embassy there under the Reagan administration. They then went to Havana, Cuba, and were the only diplomats who were also posted to Guantanamo Military Base, 1978-1980. Following this, they were posted to Paris, DC, Frankfurt, and then DC again before retiring with many wonderful memories and friends they still enjoy!
Troella has the desire as well as the qualifications to help AAFSW as Assistant Treasurer. In Tokyo, she served for two years as Foreign Exchange Head Cashier. She also worked for two years in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba as a Head Cashier at the Navy Exchange, handling hundreds of thousands of dollars each day for U.S. personnel and foreign nationals. She was also responsible for millions of dollars of Federal funds as a proofreader for the People’s Bank of the Tri States, Alabama, Florida and Georgia, for four and a half years. She reports that numbers and math are her motto!
Foreign Service Community News
New Expat Anthology: A Cup of Culture and a Pinch of Crisis
A Cup of Culture and a Pinch of Crisis, a new expat anthology recently published by Tales from a Small Planet, shares stories of adventure, food, and recipes from lives lived abroad. Writers from around the world share stories of cooking with grandparents, finding ways to be creative with new and interesting ingredients, and finding cultural connections through food and meals.
Expat readers will delight in finding familiar stories and experiences and readers who prefer to stick close to home will live vicariously through the stories. Feel the chill of an outdoor pancake festival in Russia, the heat of cooking in Trinidad, and the challenges of feeding a family during a health crisis within these pages.
You will find stories from Mongolia, Mexico, Indonesia, Japan, and India among many others. Our writers are young, old, and in the middle. Some are seasoned expats and some are feeling their way through their first trip away from home. All of them share a love of adventure and a delight in connecting their cultural experiences to their adventures in cooking, eating, or shopping for ingredients. As an added bonus, most chapters end in a recipe that readers can create in their own kitchens.
Click here to learn more about this book!
EFMs: Teach Where Your Spouse Works
Would you like to teach where your spouse is assigned? Teachers and school administrators are needed at International schools all over the world for elementary, ESL, or any subject taught in a regular primary or secondary school in the U.S.
Educators Overseas has been helping teachers find great jobs in schools around the world since 2007. As one of America’s most respected international teacher recruiting agencies — founded by an EFM and with two EFM employees — we take pride in our personal service, outstanding schools, and commitment to the well-being and job satisfaction of all our educators.
For more information please apply on our website at www.educatorsoverseas.com or write info@educatorsoverseas.com.
Upcoming Events
The Senior Living Foundation’s 7th Planning for Change Seminar
The Senior Living Foundation of the American Foreign Service will host its 7th Planning for Change Seminar on September 15, 2016. This half day event is designed to offer attendees the opportunity to learn about the steps necessary and services available to help them plan for the future.
This year, the agenda includes discussions on: prescription drugs, the Bureau of Medical Services, annuities, wills and trusts, and hospital stay and next steps.
Please click here, visit www.slfoundation.org, or send an email to info@slfoundation.org to learn more.
Challenges and Opportunities Facing Hungary
Please join AAFSW on Tuesday, September 20 at 10:30 a.m. for a presentation by Her Excellency AmbassadorDr. Réka Szemerkényi of Hungary on the “Challenges and Opportunities facing Hungary,” followed by a question-and-answer session. This interesting event will take place in the Benjamin Franklin Diplomatic Reception Room on the 8th floor of the State Department in Washington, D.C.
Please RSVP no later than Friday, September 16 to office@aafsw.org and send us your date of birth and a driver’s license or passport number to submit to the Office of Security in the State Department. There is no cost for this program.
For additional information, please click here.
Saudi Arabia Cultural Program on September 24
The AAFSW cordially invites you to join us on Saturday, September 24 at 6 p.m. for a unique Arabian cultural program at the King Abdullah Cultural Hall (KACH), followed by dinner at the Aldeerah restaurant. The KACH is a part of the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission, and is a small museum with state of the art technology, highlighting both old and modern Saudi Arabia.
Following a one-hour guided tour of the KACH, we will continue our Arabian night experience and indulge ourselves at a culinary mecca with an authentic Bedouin dinner at Aldeerah, where we will enjoy live oud music (singing by request).
RSVP by Monday, September 19 and please send a $38 (per person) check made out to AAFSW to our office at 4001 North Ninth Street, Suite 214, Arlington VA, 22203 with your selection from the menu options, available here, along with more information about what promises to be a fun night.
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Articles and Advice
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About AAFSW
AAFSW is a volunteer organization for the Foreign Service community. We provide support for spouses, partners, members of household and foreign affairs agency employees and retirees. AAFSW is a resource for information sharing, advocacy, networking, programs, scholarships and awards, and we provide a sense of community and belonging as you navigate life in the Foreign Service. Learn more at www.aafsw.org!
Art & BookFair
Save the date for AAFSW’s annual Art & BookFair!
October 7-17, 2016
Exhibit Hall,
State Department
Open to Public:
October 8-9, 15-16
10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
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AAFSW Social Media
Join our community from wherever you are!
Livelines (Yahoo Group)
livelines@aafsw.org
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fbsfacebook@afsw.org
EFM Business Owners (Facebook)
efmbusiness@afsw.org
EFM Employment Group (Google Group)
employment@aafsw.org
AAFSW Playgroup (Facebook)
playgroup@aafsw.org
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specialneeds@aafsw.org
AAFSW Boarding School Parents
(Facebook)
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(Facebook)
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(Facebook)
parents@aafsw.org
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Dear CLOs and Post Newsletter Editors
Please feel free to excerpt articles from Global Link Express and/or our website for use in your post newsletter!
We ask that you attribute these articles to the author (if applicable) and to AAFSW with the following blurb:
“This article was originally published by AAFSW, a non-profit organization connecting and advocating for the American diplomatic community. Find more articles and resources at www.aafsw.org.”
Thank you!
Contact AAFSW
4001 North Ninth Street
Suite 214
Arlington, VA 22203
Tel: 703-820-5420
Email: office@aafsw.org
Website: www.aafsw.org
AAFSW Publications
AAFSW has published several books and other items of interest to the Foreign Service community. Everything from Realities of Foreign Service Life to The Foreign Service Companion to a manual for creating post websites and Facebook groups!
We’ve created this PDF flyer for inclusion in post newsletters. Can you help us spread the word about these resources? Thanks!
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