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Townsend Smith Swayze of Tunbridge, Vermont and White River Junction, Vermont died on August 4, 2022 at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in the company of his wife, Felicity Swayze, his son Peter Swayze, and his daughter India Swayze.

T, as he was known, was born in New York City on July 17, 1937.   T was a world-famous rower who competed nationally and internationally into his 80’s.  He began his rowing life at Harvard College as captain of the undefeated 1959 heavyweight crew.  He graduated from Harvard cum laude in 1959.

He subsequently earned Masters degrees at Oxford’s Wadham College and at Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School prior to joining USAID in November 1963.  In January 1964 he took up his post in New Delhi as Special Assistant to the USAID Director Tyler Wood, and then for John Lewis. He returned to Washington in March 1967 to be Pakistan Desk Officer.  In 1971, T and his colleagues managed to have aid to Pakistan suspended to prevent it being used in ways detrimental to East Pakistan.  Late in 1971 he resigned from the foreign service in protest over US policy which failed to recognize the genocide occurring in East Pakistan.  He then joined the World Bank where he spent 27 years before retiring in 1998.  He and Felicity then moved to Tunbridge, their second home.

In 2012 T was one of 60 honored guests invited to Dhaka by the Government of Bangladesh for presentation of a special award recognizing their role in supporting the liberation of Bangladesh from West Pakistan.  T, a very modest man, was particularly proud of this award.

He is also survived by granddaughter Savitri Mann, of Tacoma, Washington and grandson Ivan Mann, of Minneapolis, Minnesota.  A memorial service will be scheduled for the fall of 2022.

UAA’s Development Issues Committee organized a July 14, 2022 event on “Impacts on Developing Countries of the Impending Food Security Crisis Exacerbated by Climate Change, the War in Ukraine and Supply Chain Issues.”

Discussion leaders were Mike Michener, Deputy Assistant Administrator of USAID’s Bureau for Resilience and Food Security, Paul Dorosh, Director of the Development, Strategy and Governance Division of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and Dina Esposito, Vice President for
Technical Leadership of Mercy Corps.

Stephen Giddings, Development Issues Committee (DIC) Co-Chair welcomed discussion leaders and provided an introduction of the distinguished guests to open the discussion.

Paul Dorosh of IFPRI began the discussion with a power point presentation of the results of a study funded by USAID on the impact, titled “Russia- Ukraine War and the Global Crisis: Impacts on Poverty and Food Security in Developing Countries”.  (The power point presentation will be made available on the UAA website.) He explained that the study was organized in three phases:

1) Impact analysis which uses country models to assess the impacts of global shocks on economies and populations.
2) Policy response analysis compare the effectiveness of policy response by governments and development partners.
3) In-depth analyses with partners to tailor scenarios to policy and investment options.

The study covered numerous countries in sub-Sahara Africa, some Asian countries and Guatemala in Central America.

Phase 1 of the study findings included the following:

The study looked at shocks caused by the war in Ukraine and climate change, in particular the price of wheat which rose by 100% from June 2021-June 2022. The study also included data at the macro, micro, GDP and household level.

From the data, Mr. Dorosh pointed out that in the agri-food system GDP, some countries GDP dropped.  He briefly reviewed the agri-food system and the drivers that impact this system.

Drivers of econ issues differ. For example, the rise in fuel prices after GDP and the increase in trade and transport cost affect all market products in the economy. The shocks also affect the cost of fertilizer and the price of food.

He said households are hit twice with two shocks: 1) the rise in consumer prices and the 2) the drop in income. He stated also that fuel prices also affect both non-urban and urban household.

The study indicates that poverty has increased because of the shocks in all countries reviewed. One sees new poor as one consequence, mostly in urban areas. Malnutrition is on the rise as a result of higher food prices. Mr. Dorosh said that currently there are 19.2 million more undernourished people. In
looking at diets, the quality of food consumed has declined.

Phase 2: Policy Analysis/government response.

Mr. Dorosh mentioned that the study indicates that the country response varies based on the structure of the economy. He suggested that there is a need to better identify the most affected populations to create safety nets.

Dina Esposito from Mercy Corps and a former senior USAID Officer continued next with the discussion.  She highlighted that there are underlining causes of food securities. She also reminded the audience that there have been global food crises before Ukraine. Ms. Esposito emphasized how the issues related
to food, fuel and fertilizer are affected by “the 3 Cs” Covid, conflict and climate change. She summarized some key consequences as a result of the current situation.

• Seventy percent of all hungry people are in conflict areas. Other countries affected by conflict, include Somalia which imports almost 90% of its wheat from Russia and Ukraine.
• Climate shocks are resulting in large scale droughts, for example in Afghanistan.
• Instability in Sri Lanka has risen as a result of shocks.
• The United Nations has reported that more than two hundred thousand individuals are already in famine conditions.

In looking at the results, Mercy Corps is advocating for the following: 1) for more systemic changes, 2) increased support to market systems as integral to efforts to increase agricultural production and distribution of food and 3) integration of greater peace building efforts in conflict areas.  In reference to social protection, she said that there is a need for relief and development working simultaneously.  Ms. Esposito stated that peace building of governance needs to go along side to protect investments made in global food security which is a multidisciplinary problem.

Ms. Esposito concluded by asking a question, “Where is the call to action?” Global hunger is one of the world’s most solvable problems and we actually know a lot about ways and means to address the crisis.  But something is missing “at the top” to implement solutions and make things happen.

Stephen Giddings highlighted Ms. Esposito’s comments that food security is a multi-faceted problem involving climate, conflict, peace building, market systems health systems and others and requires multi-disciplinary solutions and specifically appreciated her need for a “call to action.”

Michael Michener, the final discussion leader discussed what USAID was currently doing to address the growing global food security crisis. He started with highlighting the three topics his discussion would cover the Agency’s expansion of its Feed the Future initiative, supplemental funds, and Ukraine and the
worsening of food prices which are contributing to food insecurity.

Mr. Michener pointed out that twenty million people in Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia are facing starvation. Forty million more have been pushed into poverty. He added that Biden announced at the G7 meeting two weeks ago the expansion of the Feed the Future initiative and the addition of eight new countries. These new countries include Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Zambia, Nigeria, Niger, Senegal, Uganda, and Ghana.

He said that accountability is a hall mark of USAID’s Feed the Future approach. Solutions must be created to meet the specific needs of a country. The initiative expansion would focus on mitigating the global fertilizer shortage and increased high level engagement to address food insecurity and helping countries to move away from dependency on Russia for fertilizer. The expansion will also support the development of better drought resistant seeds, as well as increased access to local sources of fertilizer and better seeds. The expansion will focus on helping farmers in Ethiopia with vouchers and starter kits, as well as rehabilitating a hundred water sources.

Michener indicated that the expansion will also help sustain high level global engagement and strengthen global food security policy.

Mr. Dorosh of IFPRI added that microlevel interventions are crucial and welcomed as well.

The discussions by the three leaders were followed by a Q and A session with UAA participants. Stephen Haykin began the questions with the first one by UAA member Gerald Bowers. He asked how has export driven development strategies affected food security rather than approaches that focus on in-country self-sufficiency. Mr. Michener of USAID responded that Trade is important in promoting agriculture exports even if there are food security issues to promote growth. USAID collaborates regularly and closely with 11 other USG agencies (USDA, Feed the Future, etc.).

UAA member Gail Spence posed the question of should USAID and donors focus greater on creating a critical mass of in-country technical and non-technical expertise so that countries can take more ownership and leadership in addressing food security. Mr. Michener said that USAID’s Farmer to Farmer program is being expanded to focus more on this issue as well as providing more direct funding to local organizations. Mr. Dorosh of IFPRI added that USAID also supports country strategy programs to build in-country capacity to do research, policy-oriented capacity with government and universities. For example, he noted that its work in Rwanda to build policy capacity is having a big impact on food security.

Ms. Esposito pointed out that sometime the issue is not lack of technical knowledge but better governance to address food security. It can also be a resource problem or a process issue, as well as whose voice is being heard in making the decisions.

Stephen Haykin added that looking at the domestic side may be inciteful too as politicians try to increase the use of ethanol. Mr. Dorosh jumped in and reminded UAA participants of the importance of keeping international markets open.

Mr. Michener said that in focusing on ethanol that it makes no sense to take food out of the market for fuel. He suggested that there is a need to look more at biofuel, renewable fuel and as a means to break the cycle of agriculture’s dependency on fossil fuel.

UAA member, Paula Feeney asked about the importance of including nutrition into the focus of food security upon which Mr. Michener agreed and said that there will be more and more synergies of the two.

Stephen Giddings concluded the discussion with thanking again the distinguished guests for agreeing to speak and providing a most informative discussion on current global food security situation and the UAA members for attending.

Margie C. Jaspersen of Bethesda, MD, died peacefully after a brief illness on June 3, 2022. She and her husband, Frederick Jaspersen, lived in Bethesda for many years after living abroad for his career as an economist.

A 1981 graduate of Georgetown University in linguistics, Margie worked for the U.S. Government in several different agencies. She retired early in the 1990s from USAID, where she specialized in Middle East reporting.

Early in her married life, Margie lived for several years in Latin America, supporting her husband during his State Department and subsequent World Bank postings. Upon returning to the States and after retiring from her professional life, Margie and Fred enjoyed extensive travel and an active social life.

Margie is survived by her sisters, Betsy in Maine and Melissa in South Carolina, as well as Fred’s daughter, Katharina, of Guatemala. Her sisters-in-law, Lucy and Barbara, live in California. Locally she is survived by Fred’s niece, Alida Anderson, and nephews, Frederick Anderson and Eric Anderson.

Margie will be interred in Maine with her husband later this summer. She was a beautiful soul, within and without.

A memorial service is planned for 11:30 a.m. on August 19 in the Auditorium at Brookside Gardens Visitor Center in Wheaton, MD.

Published by The Washington Post on Jul. 23, 2022.

David Shear, of Alexandria, Virginia, died on July 5, 2022, at the age of 90.  Born in New York City, he grew up in northern New Jersey — still rural at that
time — where he developed a deep love of the environment and became an avid fisherman and outdoorsman.

After working his way through NYU, David received a Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship to Harvard University, where he earned an MA in history.  His keen interest in Africa, particularly the history of colonialism there, led to his role as a researcher at Boston University’s African Studies program.

Recruited by the Kennedy administration, he joined the nascent U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in 1961. During a distinguished 23-year career, with postings to Nigeria, Tanzania, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal, he became known as an innovative leader in development planning and management.  He served as director for Africa programs and policy and established the first Regional Economic Development Services Office (REDSO). His leadership of drought relief in the eight African Sahelian states resulted in the creation of the Sahel Development Program, which included the Club Du Sahel, an international consortium of donor countries and development agencies.  For this effort, he and AID colleague Don Brown shared the prestigious Rockefeller Public Service Award.

David’s last State Department assignment was as USAID Mission Director in Dakar, Senegal, where he was promoted to career minister, then the highest grade in the U.S. Foreign Service.  The U.S. Ambassador to Senegal at the time, Charles W. Bray, described him as “the single most impressive career public servant I have met in 23 years in government … having a rare — almost unique — capacity to combine profound knowledge of his subject matter, and a rigorous and analytical intellect, with purposeful energy and a strong managerial hand.”

Following these years of public service, David joined the International Management and Development Group, where he served as president. He led a program to alleviate widespread unemployment among Senegal’s youth.  He also helped create the New Nigeria Foundation, which established community-based health clinics in over 80 villages, treating more than a million people.  The foundation continues to serve the Nigerian people today.

In 2008, David worked with the UN Foundation to help establish an overall management plan for the Friends of the Global Fund Africa to fight HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis throughout the continent.

As a visiting professor at the (then) Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University, he taught graduate courses for eight years, emphasizing the practical,
problem-solving applications of development economics.  Most of his students chose careers in public service and went on to leadership roles, a legacy which pleased him immensely.

In 2005, David’s love of nature and commitment to sustainable international development converged when he joined the Jane Goodall Institute in the U.S., first as a board member and then as its chair, positions he held for 15 years.  In 2012, learning of a planned highway that would have bisected the Serengeti and disrupted the annual animal migration in that rare and essential ecosystem, he worked closely with Goodall to mobilize international support that saved the Serengeti by proposing an acceptable alternate route.

David was an avid (maybe even slightly obsessive) fisherman, casting his line in waters on every continent but Antarctica.  His house and garden in the mid-
century modern community of Hollin Hills provided him, his wife, Barbara, and their family with a strong sense of community.  He was a founding member of the Friends of Hollin Hills and toward the end of his life, he devoted himself increasingly to the community in which he and Barbara had lived, off and on,
since 1968, with many dogs, cats, and visiting grandchildren.

David is survived by his wife of 67 years, Barbara (whom he met in first grade); his two daughters, Elizabeth (John Bredin) and Jessica; grandchildren Phoebe, Stephen, and David Bredin; brother Morris and sister-in-law Lucille; as well as cousins, nieces, and nephews.  David’s life will be celebrated at 3:30pm, October 30, at the Hollin Hall of Mt. Vernon Unitarian Church.

John R. Oleson, a retired US Foreign Service Officer and Development Advisor, died on July 6, 2022 in Towson, MD, of complications related to dementia. He was 91.

He was born on October 12, 1930 in Waukesha, WI, to Emil Oleson, a dairyman, and Arline Oleson (née Wittig), and was raised with a sister, Monica Steger. His family then moved to New Jersey where he attended the public schools of Elizabeth and Cranford. He went on to attend Harvard College where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and graduated with high honors in Economics in 1952. After attending the University of Copenhagen for a year under a Fulbright fellowship, he entered Harvard Law School where he was elected to the Board of Student Advisors and graduated with honors in 1956. He was then admitted to the Illinois bar and became an associate of a major Chicago law firm.

While at law school, he met Mary Elizabeth Russell of Saco, ME, then attending Wellesley College, and they married in 1957.

In 1958, he joined the career foreign service of the Department of State. He had assignments in the Bureau of Economic Affairs in Washington, DC, and in its overseas missions in Bilbao and Mexico City. In 1965, he transferred to the Agency for International Development. He initially was an Attorney Advisor to the Bureau of Latin American and Caribbean Affairs and then became the regional legal advisor to the USAID Missions in Colombia and Ecuador while stationed in Bogota. He later became the Assistant Director for Operations in the USAID Mission to Colombia until his return to Washington in 1970 to attend the Department of State’s Senior Seminar in Foreign Policy. Upon graduating the following year, he undertook a series of overseas assignments as Director of the USAID Missions to Paraguay (1971 – 1973), Bolivia (1973 – 1976), and Honduras (1979 – 1981) and as Deputy Director of the USAID Mission to Egypt (1976 – 1979). His time in Egypt spanned the several years leading to and just after the Camp David Accords during which time the US assistance program to Egypt was increased enormously.

John and Mary returned to the DC area early in 1982, residing in Chevy Chase, MD. After serving as Director of the Office of Central American Affairs and of the Office of Andean Affairs in USAID’s Bureau of Latin American and Caribbean Affairs, he became that Bureau’s Deputy Assistant Administrator for Program.

He retired from the Senior Foreign Service in 1985 with the rank of Minister Counselor. Remaining in the DC area, he undertook an active career of consulting on various aspects of development work. He was particularly active in efforts in Latin America involving reforms to the justice sector. He retired from consulting work in 2000 whereupon he and his wife moved to Baltimore.

John and Mary loved to visit museums and attend theater, concerts, and opera in Baltimore, Washington DC, and New York City; they maintained their life-long love of travel both throughout the US and abroad; and, they delighted in attending and following the activities of their three beloved grandsons.

John has been predeceased by his parents and his sister, Monica Steger Rusk, as well as her husband, Daniel Rusk. He is survived by his wife of sixty-four years; his daughter, Lisa Meagher, and her husband, Brendan; his sons, Neil and Eric Oleson; and his grandsons, Declan and Finnian Meagher and Jasper Davenport.

In keeping with his wishes, a memorial service will not be held. In lieu of flowers, please send a donation either to Harvard University or the educational institution of your choice or to one of his favored charities: AMFAR, AFSC, the ACLU, the Center for Constitutional Rights and the United Way.

(Published by The Washington Post on July 17, 2022.)

There will be a memorial service for Hugh Sheridan “Sher” Plunkett on Saturday, July 30, 2022, 1 pm to 4 pm, at the Springfield Golf and Country Club at 8301 Old Keene Mill Road, Springfield, Virginia.  Those interested in attending the memorial service can RSVP Peggy Plunkett at plunkettpj1@hotmail.com.

Sher passed away unexpectedly on December 24, 2021, at his home in Springfield, Virginia.  He lived an extraordinary life as an anthropologist specializing in Asian studies with field work in India and Pakistan and as a Foreign Service Officer with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

After undergraduate and graduate degrees at University of Chicago, he went on to complete a doctoral program at the University of California – Berkeley.

In 1975, Sher began working with USAID Pakistan and was commissioned a Foreign Service Officer. After Pakistan, he served as an anthropologist/evaluation officer in USAID Bangladesh and later became a visiting professor at Colorado State University.

During a four-year assignment with the Science and Technology Bureau in USAID Washington, Sher was a major player in the design and implementation of a landmark environmental program – DESFIL (Development Strategies for Fragile Areas).

USAID Nepal was his next assignment where he applied his social and cultural analysis skills to establish sustainable irrigation models still in use today.

From 1993 through 1998, Sher returned to Washington and worked on a major technical assistance program supporting USAID missions throughout Latin America.

During this period, he also worked on a major reengineering initiative.

Sher’s last overseas assignment in USAID was in Peru managing the Alternative Development Program where his efforts resulted in a significant increase in the incomes of small scale farmers.  

He returned to Washington DC in 2002 and finished his career working with colleagues in the Latin America Bureau.

 

Douglas Sheldon, who served for 29 years as a USAID direct-hire employee and 11 more years as a PSC, died on May 18, 2022 from prostate cancer.

Mr. Sheldon was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Colombia, 1973-1975, and joined USAID as a Controller in 1975.  His postings until retirement in 2004 included U.S. Representative to the World Food Program (Rome, 1996-1999) and USAID Mission Director in Ethiopia (1999-2003).  After retirement from direct-hire status, his PSC assignments included work with the USAID missions in Nicaragua, Burundi, and Haiti.

A loving father, wonderful friend, and dear husband, he was asked in his final moments what his favorite memory was, and he responded, “Being granted the privilege to help so many people overseas with our food aid programs was one of my favorite and, surely, fondest memories.”

On March 31, 2022, UAA’s Jim Bever spoke to a group of 40 “Road Scholars” in Washington, DC, on the importance of US foreign assistance and USAID. This is one of a planned series of talks that AFSA has requested UAA to conduct. Road Scholar is a non-profit that since 1975 has been creating experiential learning opportunities for “lifelong learners”, previously under the name Elderhostel.  Jim has scheduled future talks in June.

By all accounts, the April 7th “virtual’ Retirement Ceremony honoring over one hundred SFS/SES 2017-2021 retirees, was a resounding success. Over 400 retirees and USAID staff participated in the webinar. Administrator Samantha Power spoke (from Moldova, bordering Ukraine) in the Ceremony, as did Deputy Administrator Paloma Adams-Allen, new Assistant to the Administrator for Human Capital & Talent Management Adetole Abiade, and our own UAA Board Members Anne Aarnes. Ten SFS/SES retirees, well balanced among men, women, gender and diversity, shared their thoughts on their most memorable moments with USAID and on why USAID remains important. Chat rooms re-connected hundreds of colleagues from around the world.

This long overdue service recognition Ceremony effort, co-led by Tom Nicastro of our Membership Committee and Jim Bever of our Board, was a result of strong UAA initiative and welcoming Agency endorsement, bringing to fruition yet another feature of our UAA-USAID MOU together. UAA’s co-hosting of the ceremony built upon over six months of intensive effort at all levels between UAA and USAID. UAA will continue to support the desire by USAID senior officials to reinstate the Retirement Ceremony as an annual affair and to open it up to honor all levels of FS and GS retirees in the future. Please click here to view the event .

Funds for Ukrainian FSNs:  For those UAA members looking for a concrete way to support our colleagues, we wanted you to know that an FSN Emergency Relief Fund has recently been established. Given the extraordinary scale of the humanitarian disaster in Ukraine, the Department of State has created a Ukraine-specific account of the FSN Emergency Relief Fund, which will be used to provide immediate and direct support to all of our FSN colleagues. As you may recall, this is the Department of State’s official charitable mechanism to provide disaster assistance to all local employees of all U.S. government agencies and is funded entirely by voluntary private contributions both from within and outside the U.S. government.  The Ukraine FSN Relief Fund Committee, which includes representation from USAID Management and USAID FSNs, will oversee this effort. Contributions to the Fund are completely voluntary. They can be made via check or credit card. All donations to the Fund are tax-deductible and can be made by Civil Service, Foreign Service, FSN, and contractor staff, as well as the public.

Donations can be made via the following methods:

1. Secure online donations:  Donors can use pay.gov to make secure online electronic donations to the FSN Emergency Relief Fund. Payments can be made here directly from your bank account or by credit or debit card. In the comment box on the donation form, please indicate that your donation is for the Ukraine FSN Emergency Relief Fund.
2. Checks:Please send checks to: Department of State Gift Fund Coordinator M/EDCS, Room 1821, 2201 C Street NW, Washington DC 20520.  Make checks payable to the U.S. Department of State and indicate “Ukraine FSN Emergency Relief Fund” in the memo field.
3. Cash donations overseas:  Cash contributions in dollars or local currency can be made through your embassy or consulate cashier.

Funds for the People of Ukraine:  The DACOR Bacon House Foundation Development Office has compiled ways to support the people of Ukraine based on advice from well-connected Ukrainian-Americans, including the entities listed here.  In-kind support is also possible through AmazonSmile.

Thank you for supporting our colleagues. Please feel free to share this email with others, including those contractors who may have worked with the USAID Mission in Ukraine. The information is also posted on our website landing page https://usaidalumni.org/.