Latest News from UAA

Note from the UAA Board

After an unseasonably cool and dry few weeks, summer returned to DC with a hot and humid vengeance:  perfect picnic weather and a reminder to prepare for the August exodus.  Read Denise Rollin’s great review, below, of USAID’s first-ever Former FSNs Family Day Picnic, organized by USAID and held on June 25^th at our favorite picnic site-–Fort Hunt Park.  In another first, the Social Committee has organized a small group visit to the National Portrait Gallery on July 11^th to view their incredible photographic exhibit “I Dream a World: Selections from Brian Lanker’s Portraits of Remarkable Black Women.”  See details below.  While many of us will be vacationing over the next month or more, your UAA colleagues will be busy:  the AGM Planning, Board Nominations, and Awards Committees are working hard to ensure a successful AGM on October 27. 

This is our last Newsletter for the summer, so we want to remind you of two more summer picnics:  on August 2, the annual ‘development wallahs’ picnic will take place in Rochester, Vermont, and UAA’s Annual Summer Picnic will take place just after Labor Day on September 9 at Fort Hunt Park in Alexandria, Virginia.  See below and the website for details.  Stay cool and enjoy your summer! 

We are a small volunteer organization with much going on – please contact members of the Board if you’d like to get involved in planning UAA activities and events.  

One final note: Consider joining and playing a role on one of UAA’s Committees. While members work hard, they also have fun and help alumni stay connected to others with similar interests and the larger USAID alumni community.  You can stay updated on the latest regarding Committees and Co-Chairs by checking the UAA website here. 

We also have a constant need for mentors for the Mentoring Program. We are a volunteer organization and appreciate any way you can help. 

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE UPCOMING UAA ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING AND ASSOCIATED SOCIAL EVENTS

Friday, October 27, 2023, is the date for the UAA’s Annual General Meeting (AGM). The Meeting will be held in-person at the Center for Global Development in downtown DC. Members who prefer to attend virtually, and those who live outside the Washington, DC area, will be able to join via Zoom. The schedule has been adjusted this year with Registration beginning at 8:30 am and the day ending with lunch at 1:15 pm to allow for extended socializing.

Note that only 2023 UAA members may attend the AGM. If you have not yet made your 2023 contribution, please do so now by clicking here. 

In brief, the agenda includes:

• Administrator Power has been invited to give the keynote address.
• USAID’s new Policy Framework focus on “progress beyond programs” will be discussed in two panels:
  • 1) How the new initiative’s objectives and rational differ from current and past practice; and
  • 2) Workforce and budget implementation challenges.
• Alumni of the Year Awards will be presented.
• Highlights of the UAA Annual Report will be provided by the Board Co-Chairs.
• Newly elected and re-elected UAA Board Members will be announced.

In association with the AGM, this year our new Social Events Committee has planned two group social events for the day before and day after the AGM.  Both are events in the planning stage with details to come later.

• On Thursday, October 26, we will take in the Rubell Museum and follow with a no host lunch in a restaurant in the area. The Museum has recently opened an exhibition of the Rubell Family’s extensive contemporary art collection. The Museum is located near the Wharf in Southwest Washington, DC. The collection is distinguished by its unprecedented range and depth, enabling the Museum to organize over 50 exhibitions during the last three decades drawn entirely from its holdings in painting, sculpture, photography, video, and installation.
• On Saturday, October 28 we’ll head for nearby Virginia wine country. We’re still checking out the vineyards and are working on making transportation available. The winery visit on Saturday will include minority-owned wineries in the DMV, such as Delaplane Cellars at 2187 Winchester Rd, Delaplane, VA, and Vino 301 wine concierge. It’ll be a beautiful autumn trip!

Plan to come for the AGM and spend some time with friends at these events.

2023 UAA Awards Program

In 2023, the UAA will continue to recognize significant contributions by UAA members through its signature Alumni of the Year Awards. Since the inception of the Awards Program in 2014, the UAA has recognized and celebrated new paths taken by USAID alumni to provide service to their communities and to make lasting contributions to others at home and abroad.  To see the 2023 UAA Awards Program guidance please click here.

For the Alumni of the Year awards, your help is requested in identifying individuals whose post-USAID activities are truly exemplary and highlight the quality of our alumni community. We ask each of you to consider nominating (or self-nominating) someone you know who is deserving of this recognition.

The Awards Committee will accept nominations for Alumni of the Year, beginning now until July 31, 2023. Send nominations electronically to: awards@usaidalumni.org. The award winners will be announced at the Annual General Meeting in October.  

First UAA Social Committee Casual Event

On July 11 the UAA Social Committee organized a summer group trip to the National Portrait Gallery. Seven UAA members participated in this inaugural event. The group in the photo was joined by Alfreda Brewer. The Gallery’s Director of Docents and Interns arranged for a knowledgeable docent to guide us through the Gallery, providing a comprehensive overview of the exhibitions. We were particularly interested in the exhibits “One Life: Frederick Douglas” and “I Dream a World: Selections from Brian Lanker’s Portraits of Remarkable Black Women (Part II).” After the museum tour, we gathered at Jaléo in Chinatown, where we enjoyed a fabulous tapas lunch and engaging conversations and where we were joined by UAA member Joan Johnson.   

“I Dream a World” is a captivating exhibition showcasing photographs of African American women who have made significant contributions as writers, entertainers, athletes, activists, and politicians. For additional commentary on the exhibit with photos click HERE.   

UAA Representatives Meet with New Class of C3s

USAID’s 36^th class of the Career Candidate Corps (C3), with 21 dynamic new recruits, began its orientation on June 20, 2023.  On July 6, UAA members Terry Myers, Stu Callison, Gail Spence and Steve Haykin along with Lynn Vega, who is still an active USAID FSO, met with this group at the DACOR-Bacon House.

The C3s were seated at four tables and the UAA members rotated among tables to field questions on the role of diplomacy in development and careers representing the US government overseas, and realities that USAID FS officers must face as diplomats, not just development experts, in the field. Among the questions posed by the C3s: What will my first Mission Director want to learn about me in our first meeting? Does one ever get used to long-distance flights?  Their relationships and work with permanent FSN staff members within USAID Mission, how to rely on their knowledge of local conditions, country needs, professional counterpart contacts and expertise.  Some of them were concerned about who would get credit for jobs well done when working together.  The point made was that every country was different, and the residual knowledge of the FSNs is a vital resource for a newly assigned FSO to get up and running and become successful in a new country situation.  There were also interesting questions about flexibility within the bureaucracy, how constrained they might be, whether and how to change backstops and assignments, and even what is lifelike after a career in USAID.  

Near the end of the meeting, participants were given an overview of DACOR and continued discussions during a happy hour.

Class 36 includes 8 backstops: BS 02 Program Officers (4); BS 10 Agriculture Officers (2); BS 40 Environment Officers (2); BS 50 Population/Health/Nutrition Officer (1); BS 60 Education Officers (2); BS 85 Legal Officer (1); BS 70 Humanitarian Assistance Officers (3); and BS 76 Crisis, Stabilization, and Governance Officers (5).The C3s speak 21 languages, have worked or studied in 57 countries and have diverse work experience.  It is a remarkable group with a wide diversity of experience.  We had a number of first-generation Americans (maybe five or six, at least two who had been in the US for just over a decade), lots of Payne fellows, many with internship experience in Missions as part of the program).  Given the time they have already spent with USAID, it was striking to see how many questions they still had and how eager they were to ask questions of a retiree.

A Unique Event:  Picnic for Former USAID FSNS

On Sunday, June 25th, a memorable event took place at Fort Hunt Park in Virginia. Under the leadership of Counselor Clinton White, a group of USAID headquarter staff organized the inaugural Foreign Service Nationals Family Unity Picnic. It was an impressive turnout of nearly 500 former FSNs and family members, representing Cambodia, Nepal, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, Haiti, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Guinea, South Africa, Honduras, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Jordan and more. 

Counselor White invited representatives of the UAA to attend. The UAA members enjoyed catching up and re-establishing connections with former FSNs. It was a joyous and nostalgic gathering, filled with laughter, stories, and the shared bond of their past experiences in international development. 

The picnic was a delightful culinary experience, with attendees bringing and sharing many delectable dishes from around the world. Privately funded by USAID staff, this event will hopefully become an annual tradition. It provided an opportunity for many colleagues who hadn’t seen each other in 20-30 years to reconnect. It was especially heartwarming to witness former FSNs who had settled in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area, raising families, sending their children to prestigious universities, purchasing homes, and relishing the benefits of living in the US.

Spring Reception

On June 1, the USAID Alumni Association (UAA) Spring Reception had a record turnout.  Sixty-four plus attended in person and ten more were on-line!  Many former USAID employees came to celebrate each other and the Agency to which we dedicated our careers.  Chris Milligan was an excellent MC and Michele Sumilas, Assistant Administrator for Policy, Planning and Learning (PPL), updated us on the Agency’s policy framework and development priorities.  Laura Jagla, Communications Director in the Office of the Chief Diversity Officer, shared the avenues the Agency is taking to embed DEIA principles throughout the Agency.  Christophe Tocco, Deputy Assistant Administrator for PPL, rounded out the discussion highlighting development challenges in various parts of the world.  Aaron Williams introduced our special guest for the day, Henrietta Holsman Fore, former USAID Administrator and CEO of UNICEF, who was the original impetus for the establishment of UAA.  She expressed her continued commitment to development and her appreciation of the work of USAID foreign service officers.  The rest of the time we socialized and enjoyed catching up with long lost colleagues.  The weather cooperated and turned in a beautiful day for our reception held in DACOR Bacon House’s lovely garden.

Emergency Relief Funds for Ukraine:  for FSNs and for Ukrainian Citizens

For information about contributing to relief of the Ukraine emergency, including the FSN Emergency Relief Fund and ways to support the people of Ukraine compiled by DACOR Bacon House Foundation’s Development Office, click here.

UAA Partnership with American University Library Archives

Since 2019 the American University Library Archives have welcomed donations of AID alumni personal memorabilia of their USAID service. The UAA has now established a partnership with the Archives to support the preparation, processing, and making available to researchers of these papers, including those donated by the UAA and by individual alumni and others.  We envision the program will continue for five or more years; after two years the Archivist and UAA will assess the program’s effectiveness before committing for the additional years.  The UAA has pledged an initial sum of $10,000 over two years ($5,000 each year) to finance student interns to help prepare and organize these papers and make them more easily available. The funding for this program is drawn entirely from contributions made to the AID history project, which included the clear hope that the book would stimulate further study and understanding of AID’s more than 60 years of development history. AID alumni are strongly urged to consider donating their memorabilia to this collection. (See https://usaidalumni.org/uaa-and-american-university-archives-opportunity-for-usaid-alumni/)

UAA/DACOR Development Dialogue: 

Dr. Liesbet Steer, “The Vision of Universal Education: What Went Wrong and How to Fix It?”

On Friday, July 21, 2023, a small but highly appreciative audience at a hybrid lunch program at DACOR was treated to a marvelous presentation on “The Vision of Universal Education: What Went Wrong and How to Fix It?” featuring Dr. Liesbet Steer. For the past seven years she was the Executive Director of the Education Commission, an international initiative driving progress on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #4 for inclusive and equitable quality education, and she is the newly appointed President & CEO of the Education Development Center.  Her Power-point presentation offers a very clear and forceful account of the current state of education globally and what must be done to strengthen it and its close ties to other key SDGs.  See Liesbet’s slides and hear her talk by clicking here.

Development Issues Committee

The Development Issues Committee, on June 28, hosted Andrew Herscowitz, Chief Development Officer at the United States Development Finance Corporation. The session was well attended, with insightful opening remarks and rich discussion. Mr. Herscowitz presented a critical, yet optimistic assessment of the USDFC. He noted that the USDFC is making very positive contributions, yet its instruments are not very widely understood, even within the international development community. He discussed the ways in which the USDFC is becoming more deliberate in setting development goals by sector and the need for efforts to be strengthened to support upstream development of potential transactions. Part of the discussion focused on the role of equity investment in the USDFC toolkit, its limits and how its use is constrained by its underlying financing rules. USDFC supports training across international affairs agencies and meeting participants supported the idea of directing training resources to Foreign Service Nationals. The recording of the session can be found here.  

UAA DACOR Development Dialogue: 

      Steve Sinding

Steve Sinding, “Whatever Happened to the Population Explosion and Where Are We Today”

On Monday, June 5 a UAA/DACOR Development Dialogue audience at DACOR and online were treated to a brilliant tour d’horizon of the population issue by Steve Sinding. He is very well known in USAID and population communities for his leadership roles, both at USAID and the International Planned Parenthood Federation, as well as in many other important positions over his long career. As was very evident in Steve’s fascinating talk, no one is more qualified than Steve to review the remarkable history of the population issue and its current state.  This was also the first trial run of a Monday morning 10:00 to noon coffee session, which gave Steve a chance to speak at length on “Whatever Happened to the Population Explosion and Where Are We Today”. To see the entire program, click here.

“The Enduring Struggle:  The History of the U.S. Agency for International Development and America’s Uneasy Transformation of the World “

by John Norris

John Norris‘ book, The Enduring Struggle – The History of the Agency for International Development and America’s Uneasy Transformation of the World, was published in July 2021. In a short review, Foreign Affairs wrote:  “This comprehensive history of the U.S. Agency for International Development…deserves to be read by all students of U.S. foreign policy.”  A very positive review of The Enduring Struggle by Mary Jane Maxwell has recently been published in the Journal of World History.  (Read it here.)  Copies may be purchased from the publisher at a 30 percent discount by using the form at this link.  Alumni with suggestions for events that will popularize the book or to generate reviews should send their suggestions to Alex Shakow at ashakow@comcast.net. 

Additions to the Bibliography of USAID Authors

Five interesting books have recently been added to the Bibliography.  Former mission director Bill Frej has published two award-winning photography books: Travels Across the Roof of the World: A Himalayan Memoir and Seasons of Ceremonies:  Rites and Rituals in Guatemala and Mexico.  Thomas Johnson has written an intriguing:  Common Place: The Public Library, Civil Society and Early American Values.  Stu Callison has added his 1983 Land-to-the-Tiller in the Mekong Delta:  Economic, Social and Political Effects of Land Reform in Four Villages of South Vietnam, the 7th book on Vietnam in our collection.  Finally, former RIG officer Jose Pena’s memoir is entitled In Pursuit of Improvements:  A Memoir Based on a Forty-Year Foreign Service Officer’s Career with the U.S. Agency for International Development and as an International Financial Consultant.  

A sixth new book has just been added:  Hank Bassford has self-published his 2023 memoir, Ordinary Man, Extraordinary Journey, about his adventures as a Peace Corps volunteer in India followed by a 26-year career as a USAID Foreign Service Officer.  

Finally, Aaron Williams recent book, A Life Unimagined: The Rewards of Mission Driven Service in the Peace Corps and Beyond has also been added to the Bibliography of USAID Authors. Aaron’s excellent memoir includes his 24 years with USAID and his service as Peace Corps Director. Aaron is also a “founding parent” of UAA. Read more HERE. 

Please forward notice of any new books to Jpielemeie@aol.com.