A Record of Success and Tenacity

Elected on a platform of change, I am proud of my record as AFSA VP during the past year and a half.

Immediately after taking office, I expanded communication with members by inviting members to participate directly in AFSA's State Standing Committee and in specialized advisory committees, on issues affecting specialists, families, GLBT members, FS parents, DS Special Agents, members with disabilities and others. The State Standing Committee meets with me monthly and other committees provide input on a regular basis.

I negotiated new core precepts (skills required to promote any FS member) to recognize that technical and logistic abilities are as important as writing and negotiating skills, that dealing with other-agency officials is as demanding as dealing with other-country officials, and that technical analysis is as demanding as political or economic analysis.

I successfully urged the Department to roll back the 5% low-ranking rule, reducing it to 2%, a number within the normal range that would be low-ranked anyway.

I prevented the Department from reducing out-of-cone options for specialists and have been steadily lobbying to increase ways for specialists to advance through a satisfying career. As a result, HR is reevaluating carrer paths for a variety of specialist groups, and DS is currently studing advancement options for STSers.

I opposed making ePerformance mandatory overseas last year, and worked hard throughout the year to ensured that eperformance was not made mandatory until major flaws were corrected.

I worked with OBO to increase efforts to provide seismically resistant housing and to consider previously unconsidered safety issues, with MED to reduce the stigma of PTSD, and with DS to codify procedures for restoration of Special Agent credentials after they had been suspended for any reason (important for continuation of LEAP pay).

I worked with HR to develop a course on correct supervision of colleagues, lobbied for visa help for non-American same-sex partners, and worked with the Disability Action Group to begin to level the playing field for disabled employees.

I initiated discussions which are moving forward, to centralize training funds to enable OMS employees to get the training they need, taking the funding, and the decision to allow or deny training out of Post hands and giving it to HR.

I obtained agreement from FSI to include English as a Second Language as an online course available to EFMs.

I successfully lobbied for recognition of workplace bullying as a form of workplace violence.

As positions opened up on the AFSA board due to normal rotations, I appointed DS Special agents and specialists to round out the most diverse AFSA Governing Board in AFSA's history.

Not all my efforts met with success. My efforts to eliminate the TIC for Diplomatic Couriers have been unsuccessful to date, though we were able to convince HR to include consideration of this in a currently-ongoing review of specialist employment terms.

My efforts to persuade OBO to provide larger housing to OMS and other specialists with 15 years of experience or more, fell victim to budgetary concerns.

But these issues are not forgotten, and I will continue to lobby for them and other issues for as long as I am in office.