U N I T E D S T A T E S D E P A R T M E N T O F S T A T E

October 2002

StateStateM a g a z i n e

A DifferentView of

Independence

8 Post of the Month: ManilaThis mission is forging an exciting new relationship with anold family friend.

11 Office of the Month:Center for Administrative InnovationAn administrative brain trust suggests imaginative solutions to vexing problems.

13 A Different View of IndependenceA blind employee hasn’t let his disability define him.

17 On Being a ‘Hubster’These officers grapple with transborder challenges.

20 Kampala Adds Antiretroviral Drugs to Its Medical PlanOne post’s compassionate program for HIV-positive FSNs.

22 EUR’s Executive FSN Corps: Bright IdeaA new program draws on a rich bank of FSN talent.

24 The Secret Is Out: This J.O. Can Cook!A junior officer gives a tense post a culinary lift.

26 ‘Our Town’A retired couple finds happiness near a university town.

27 Will They Come? A pilot program discovers a strong desire for mentors.

StateContents

D e p a r t m e n t o f S t a t e • U n i t e d S t a t e s o f A m e r i c a

StateMagazine

October 2002No. 461

C O L U M N S

2 From the Secretary

7 Direct from the D.G.

D E P A R T M E N T S

3 Letters to the Editor

4 In the News

28 Safety Scene

29 People Like You

30 State of the Arts

31 Obituaries

32 Personnel Actions

On the CoverDavid Konkel and son Brandon, 15,

canoe on Assateague Inlet inChincoteague, Va.

Photo by Joan Konkel

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Stephen Williams, program ana-lyst, appreciates the opportunityto think freely about big issues.

U N I T E D S T A T E S D E P A R T M E N T O F S T A T E

October 2002

StateStateM a g a z i n e

A DifferentView of

Independence

Participating in a Mission Habitat for Humanity project to build housesfor Manila’s poor are FSN NonieTrinidad and Tom Skipper, formerPublic Affairs information officer.

2 State Magazine

FROM THE SECRETARYSECRETARY COLIN L. POWELL

We Have a Stake inSustainable Development

Last month, at the World Summit on SustainableDevelopment in Johannesburg, I reaffirmedPresident Bush’s commitment to expanding thecircle of freedom and opportunity.

Emphasizing that good governance, wise stewardshipof the environment and freer trade are the only ways toachieve lasting economic progress, I pledged UnitedStates support to developing countries that adopt suchfarsighted policies. And I spoke of the critical role thatpublic-private partnerships must play in helping themescape poverty and achieve prosperity.

Governments from developing countries and entrepre-neurs from the private sector welcomed America’sapproach—and so, by the way, did most representativesfrom civil society and international organizations.

Johannesburg was only the latest—and not the last—stop on a long road toward creating a brighter future forthe world’s peoples. Last November, in Doha, Qatar, theUnited States successfully worked to put the needs ofdeveloping countries at the heart of global trade negotia-tions to ensure they will get the benefits of freer trade.

And last March, in Monterrey, Mexico, President Bushannounced his Millennium Challenge Initiative to workwith Congress to increase our development assistance by$5 billion per year within three years. As an incentive anda reward, this aid will go only to those nations that aregoverned wisely and fairly, are investing in health andeducation and are following sound economic policies.

The poor of the world don’t need more inflated rhetoric.They need a workable strategy to help them succeed. Andthat is what ultimately came out of the World Summit onSustainable Development—in no small measure because ofthe dedication, skill and expertise of our American delega-tion and our diplomatic team in South Africa. The Johannes-burg Plan of Implementation the conference adopted pullstogether our ideas and those of others into one documentthat reflects the best thinking on sustainable development.

I look to the men and women of the State Department,here in Washington and especially those serving in ouroverseas posts, to take President Bush’s commitment todevelopment seriously and to do your utmost to put theJohannesburg Plan into practice.

Sustainable development isn’t just a matter for ourUSAID or economics officers or our functional bureaus.Questions of development shape the overall quality ofour bilateral relationships, and they hold far-reachingconsequences for regional stability and security. All of usneed to promote development as part and parcel of ourlarger mission of advancing core American values andinterests worldwide.

Helping lift countless millions out of misery is anexpression of our nation’s deep humanitarian impulse. Italso reflects the fact that our own well being depends onthe well being of our fellow inhabitants of this planet.

An international consensus now exists on how best tomove development forward. The men and women of theState Department can make important contributions tothis worldwide effort.

I am counting on all of you to become familiar with theJohannesburg Plan. Let governments in developing coun-tries know about the resources the United States is willingto commit if they undertake political and economicreforms. Encourage NGOs and businesses to form innova-tive partnerships.

One of the challenges that draws so many of you to acareer in the State Department is the chance to make adifference in this world—in the lives of your fellowhuman beings. In the years ahead, we can help putclean water in the mouths of thirsty girls and boys, pre-vent the transmission of HIV/AIDS from mother tochild, and preserve fragile ecosystems on which thefutures of whole societies depend. In short, our workcan bring new hope to men, women and children onevery continent. ■

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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Exchanges AreBeneficial

I was pleased tosee Patty Hayes’sarticle in your July–August issue abouther experience withthe private sector in

San Francisco and to learn thatthose opportunities have returned.

In 1971, I participated in thePresident’s Executive InterchangeProgram, the first person in theDepartment to do so. Happily, myprivate sector experience, too, was inSan Francisco. Several of my PEIPcolleagues and successors went on todistinguished careers. The personfor whom I was exchanged at theBank of America later became thebank’s president.

All of us, I’m sure, gained excel-lent experience and perspective inour exchange program that stood uswell in our subsequent careers.Regrettably, the governmentwidePEIP ended a dozen or so years later.

Ralph H. GranerRetired Foreign Service OfficerRichmond, Va.

Thanks for the ReminderI want to thank Steve Hubler,

regional refugee coordinator at theU.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa, forhis letter in the July–August issuecrediting the use of seat belts withhelping him and two colleaguesavoid serious injury when theirsports utility vehicle rolled over.

30 State Magazine

O R P O R A T E P L A C E M E N T P R O G R A M :

A Cable Car

amed Opportunity

atty Hayes

s the State Department looks to the private sec-

tor for ways to manage change, its Corporate

Placement Program is a wonderful opportuni-

ty for Foreign Service officers to learn first-

hand about their corporate colleagues.

As the first human resources officer from State selected

participate in the program, I have worked for the past

ear with the San Francisco Bay Area Economic Forum, a

ublic-private partnership of business, government, uni-

versity, labor and commu-

nity leaders working to

support the economic

vitality and quality of life

in the Bay Area.

The area is rich in inno-

vation—innovation re-

flecting a highly skilled,

diverse work force, a

strong culture of entrepre-

neurship that rewards

risk-taking and collabora-

tion between academia

and private industry.

Research shows that com-

panies succeed in the Bay

Area because they main-

tain a flexible manage-

ment system that takes

change in stride. As a

result, the region is an

economic powerhouse

nationally and globally.

During my tour with

the forum, I have sur-

veyed area business lead-

ers about their innovative

employment practices and

organized a forum to dis-

cuss the findings of a recent survey on Silicon Valley

immigrant entrepreneurs and professionals who are key

drivers of the Bay Area’s high-tech industry. I have also

been updating the content of several programs on the

forum’s web site and organizing public outreach events

on subjects as varied as biotechnology, aging and genetic

diseases—a testament to the scientific research that is a

cornerstone of the Bay Area economy.

The assignment has had its personal benefits as well.

San Francisco is my hometown. I have always kept close

ties with my family and friends in the Bay Area during

my Foreign Service career,

but there’s no substitute

for being back home.

There are no downsides

to these opportunities.

They recharge the batter-

ies, provide excellent

training and renew one’s

commitment to public

service. They also put a

face on the Foreign

Service and encourage

participants to tell their

communities about the

important work of the

Department.

For more information

about the Corporate Place-

ment Program, contact June

O’Connell in the Bureau of

Human Resources at (202)

647-4523. ■

The author, a Foreign

Service officer, returns to

Washington, D.C., in

September to join the Office

of Recruitment, Exam-

ination and Employment. In the author’s

hometown, a cable

is a cable car.

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Letters to the EditorLetters should not exceed 250 words andshould include the writer’s name, addressand daytime phone number. Letters will beedited for length and clarity. Only signed letters will be considered. Names may bewithheld upon request. You can reach us at statemagazine@state.gov.

When I wrote about these vehiclesin the May issue, I failed to mentionthe importance of using seat belts.Having written extensively aboutthe subject, I considered their use soobvious that I thought repeating itwould be “beating a dead horse.”

Thank you, Mr. Hubler, for keep-ing me honest.

Wortham D. DavenportEngineerOffice of Safety/Health and Environmental Management

Credit Where Credit’s Due

I was pleased to read your July-August article on “FSI ChangesCourse.” There have been many high-ly favorable articles about the pro-gram over the years, but none has giv-

en credit where credit is due. Jaques Reinstein deserves credit

for making the program, now in its36th year, a success. Through theconcept of a rigorous economics pro-gram, he raised the economic com-petency of Foreign Service officersand of others in foreign affairs. Mr.Reinstein used the bureaucracyeffectively to establish the programand to obtain a generous budget.When selecting faculty, he set highstandards and consulted with col-lege deans and presidents beforeapproaching a faculty member.

As coordinator of the program fornine years, 1965 to 1974, I worked inan environment Mr. Reinstein hadcreated that assured the success ofthe program and its participants.

Warrick E. Elrod Jr.Retired Foreign Service OfficerLeesburg, Va.

From the EditorOctober is Disability Awareness Month in the federal government. In

the years since the passage of the landmark Rehabilitation Act of 1973 andthe Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, many disabled Americanshave entered the federal workforce. Barriers continue, however—many ofthem attitudinal.

Our cover story is about one Department employee, blinded in anaccident at age 18, who was determined that his disability would notdefine him. Instead, he concentrated on his education and earned under-graduate and graduate degrees in economics. He has since married, hasraised two sons and enjoys doing what most fathers do with their sons—shooting basketball, canoeing, fishing. With one son in college, there arethe added “joys” of moves to and from home and tuition.

We think you’ll enjoy meeting David Konkel and his family in thisissue. He’s blind, for sure, but it’s not an issue—at least not with him.

HIV is epidemic in Uganda, and the U.S. Embassy in Kampala is dealingcompassionately with the effects of the disease on Foreign Service Nationalemployees by including antiretroviral drugs in the post’s medical plan.While this is a pilot program, it may become a model for other embassies.

Do junior officers have secret lives? Well, we know of at least one whodoes—and we’re willing to divulge it if for no other reason than to shareone of his recipes. We are not cooking the books here. This chef’s for real.

These are just some of the stories that await you in this issue.

October 2002 3

I N T H E N E W S

A lengthy mid-August deluge brought six months ofrain to Prague in just six days, exceeding the Czech capi-tal’s last big flood in 1890 and forcing thousands of citi-zens to flee their homes for higher ground. Countrywidedamage was estimated at between $2 and $3 billion.

The U.S. Embassy in Prague responded to requests forpumps, fans and medicine and conveyed a U.S. govern-ment cash donation to the Czech Red Cross. Embassyemployees and their families donated money and formedcleanup crews called the “muckrakers” to restore the artmuseum and the park on historic Kampa Island.

U.S. Embassy Responds to Prague Floods

Doha Moves Into New Digs

Doha graduates to mission status in official ceremony.

Employees in Doha, the capital of the Persian Gulfnation of Qatar, have moved from temporary portablefacilities on the chancery’s desert construction site intotheir new embassy.

The move is a tribute to a team of engineers, builders,designers and security personnel who worked nonstop formore than two years to construct the facility that combinesregional architecture with state-of-the-art technology. Thefacility includes comfortable workspaces, conference andmeeting accommodations, and public access areas.

4 State Magazine

The new chancery also boasts a collec-tion from American and Qatari artists.

The new chancery accommodates thedramatic growth in personnel during thepast three years—from fewer than 20 U.S.and 35 Foreign Service National employ-ees to almost double that number today.Last April, Doha graduated from SpecialEmbassy Program status to mission.

Qatar, where there is a sizable U.S. mili-tary presence, attracted global attention inNovember 2001 when it hosted the fourthministerial conference of the World TradeOrganization. It is now preparing for the2006 Asian Games.

I N T H E N E W S

Youths Earn Awards

Under Secretary for Management Grant S. Green Jr.

presented the 2002 Foreign Service Youth Awards at aspecial ceremony in the Department’s Treaty Room. Theawards recognized Foreign Service teens worldwide whodemonstrated outstanding leadership and made signifi-cant contributions to their embassy communities,schools, local communities and peers. Winners received a$1,000 savings bond.

Sisters Anne and Eva Kolker, ages 15 and 13, shared onefirst-place award. The daughters of U.S. Ambassador toBurkina Faso Jimmy Kolker and Britt-Marie Forslundearned the award for helping orphans during the summermonths and for organizing activities for embassy andinternational children living in Ouagadougou. They werealso recognized for establishing a program to welcomenew students to the Copenhagen International School, theschool they attend while their parents are stationed inOuagadougou, and for collecting money, clothes and toysin Denmark for the orphans in Burkina Faso.

The other first-place award went to Eric Wanner, 17,son of Colin Wanner and Dale Wanner, now serving atthe American Regional Information Management Centerin Frankfurt, Germany. He won the Youth Award for hiscommitment to the teen population at his post and forhelping the consulate community, one of the largestForeign Service posts in the world. Eric saw an under-stimulated, incohesive community of teens and workedwith the community liaison office in Frankfurt to devel-op the first “Teen CLO Program.”

Tristan Allen, son of John and Susan Allen posted inPretoria, South Africa, earned honorable mention for assist-ing orphans, underprivileged youth and younger studentsat his school. Chelsea Hudson, daughter of Charles andKathy Hudson in Havana, received honorable mention forworking with her peers at school and for the time she spentmaking younger children at the post feel at home. JosephJackson, son of William and Ann Jackson in Addis Ababa,was recognized for establishing a much-needed school in alarge, underserved community outside of Addis Ababa.

Mr. Green also presented a certificate of appreciation toMichael Yamamoto, son of Ambassador Donald andMargaret Yamamoto in Djibouti, for his outstanding EagleScout project raising international awareness in his NorthernVirginia community by helping people understand theworld around them and the Department’s work abroad.

The Foreign Service Youth Awards are sponsored by theForeign Service Youth Foundation, the Department ofState Family Liaison Office, the Associates of the AmericanForeign Service Worldwide, Harry M. Jannette Inter-national and Wood Wilson Company, Inc., of Dallas, Texas.

Foreign Service Youth Award winners who attended the award ceremony are, from left, Eva and Anne Kolker, Chelsea Hudson andMichael Yamamoto.

Sign Up Now for Long-Term Care InsuranceDuring a special open season that ends Dec. 31,

federal employees may sign up for the new federallong-term care insurance program—the first signifi-cant expansion of federal benefits since the ThriftSavings Plan of the 1980s.

By enrolling during the open season, current federalemployees complete only an abbreviated form to electa variety of options to cover services—from nursinghome and home health care and assisted living facili-ties to adult day care, caregiver and respite care.Besides federal employees, those eligible include mem-bers of the uniformed services, annuitants, spouses ofemployees and annuitants, children 18 and older, par-ents, parents-in-law and stepparents of employees.

Enroll online at www.ltcfeds.com. To receive aninformation kit and application, call toll-free 1-800-582-3337 (voice) or 1-800-843-3557 (TDD).

Applications are unavailable in the Department.

The Foreign Service Youth Foundation, a nonprofitorganization, was founded in 1989 to inform, advocate anddevelop outreach activities for the youth of all U.S. foreignaffairs agencies. For further information about FSYF andits programs, please contact: Kay Eakin, President, P.O.Box 39185, Washington, DC 20016; e-mail: fsyf@fsyf.org;web site: http://www.fsyf.org; phone: (301) 404-6655.

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October 2002 5

I N T H E N E W S

Sofia Breaks Ground for New Chancery

Construction begins at the site of the future chancery, scheduledfor completion in 2004.

The U.S. Mission in Bulgaria, which includes about adozen agencies, is currently spread among 10 aging andvulnerable buildings around the city. The buildings lackappropriate setback and other features to properly pro-tect personnel from bombs or chemical agents. But moreimmediately, the scattered nature of the buildings hin-ders the mission’s productivity.

To remedy this situation, ground was broken in Junefor a new chancery building—the first U.S.-constructedbuilding in Bulgaria.

The mission will rest on a 10-acre compound—pur-chased in May of 2001—and will include a state-of-the-

6 State Magazine

art perimeter security system, a 15,122-square-yard chancery and warehouse, and housing for aMarine contingent. The new office building isexpected to be completed in August 2004.

Charles E. Williams, director of OverseasBuildings Operations, spoke at the groundbreak-ing ceremony, stating that the new mission “willprovide a meaningful infusion of financial andhuman resources for the country.” He saidapproximately 350 local workers will be em-ployed, and construction materials such as con-crete, steel and gravel will be purchased locally.

“Working together on this project, we hope,will be a sparkling symbol of the fruits of coop-eration between our two countries,” Mr.Williams said.

Also on hand for the groundbreaking wereAmbassador John D. Negroponte, U.S. representative tothe U.N.; James W. Pardew, U.S. Ambassador to Bulgaria;Solomon Passy, Bulgarian minister of foreign affairs; andStefan Sofianski, mayor of Sofia.

OBO has established an office in Sofia to ensure thatthe construction of the chancery compound is completedon time and within budget.

Beginning in autumn of 2004, embassy employees willno longer work in kludged-together office spaces thatresemble attic apartments. Instead, they will be underone roof with new security and technology—and nestledin the shadow of Mount Vitosha. —Keith Hughes

CFC Gets Under Way

The Department’s Combined Federal Campaign is

under way with a goal this year of $1.905 million—a 3 percent increase over last year’s contributions.

In the aftermath of the tragic events of last Sept. 11,federal employees in the National Capital Area gavemore generously than ever before in the history of thecampaign—contributing $50 million.

The only authorized canvass of federal employees inthe work place, the CFC supports some 3,000 nonprofitorganizations locally, nationally and overseas. Employ-ees may elect to support specific organizations or to con-

tribute to the general campaign.Employees are encouraged to use payroll deduction

when contributing to the CFC.Ambassador Ruth A. Davis, director of the Foreign

Service and director of Human Resources, kicked off thecampaign on Sept. 30, noting that the Department has astrong tradition of generosity and one of the highest perperson average donations of any federal agency.

The Department last year won the coveted PacesetterAward by exceeding its assigned goal if $18 million bymore than 3.5 percent.

DIRECT FROM THE D.G.AMBASSADOR RUTH A. DAVIS

Recognizing Excellence

Most people think that the State Departmenthas only two ways torecognize excellent em-

ployee performance: promotion andgood assignments.

I don’t quarrel with either. We have athird way, however, and I encourageall of our leaders and managers—CivilService and Foreign Service—to use itmore frequently and imaginatively. I’mreferring, of course, to the Depart-ment’s awards program and, moreimportant, to the need to have our bestpeople nominated.

Before this column reaches you, theDepartment will have held its annualawards ceremony. We will have recog-nized the DCM of the Year, the OMS of the Year and CivilService Secretary of the Year and presented the DirectorGeneral’s Award for Reporting—to name just a few.

It is critical for managers to take the time to forwardthe names of good candidates. I would like to see moreexamples of the situation we faced this year in our selec-tion of the DCM of the Year. We received 23 nominations,including ones from large, medium and small posts. Wehad nominations from every geographic area of theworld, and those nominated ranged in rank from O-2 toMinister-Counselor. The number and quality of the nom-inations challenged the awards committee and enhancedthe award’s prestige.

As you consider the awards program at your particu-lar post or in your bureau, I urge you to focus specialattention on the performance of our Foreign Service spe-cialists and our Civil Service and Foreign ServiceNational employees. We need more and better nomina-tions, quite frankly, in all these categories. I wouldremind you, too, that Civil Service employees are eligiblefor many of the Department-wide awards.

All of us know the critical importance of our specialistsand how much we rely on them in our worldwide oper-ations. Whether it’s the Diplomatic Security Employee ofthe Year, the Thomas Morrison Information ManagementAward or our OMS and Secretary of the Year awards,

they are all essential to our mission.Recognizing these high achievers vali-dates the One Team, One Mission con-cept.

There’s something else worth men-tioning. In addition to the honorinvolved, these awards carry withthem significant cash stipends as well.

When we recognize our FSNs, bothat post and here in Washington, we aresaying “thank-you” to the thousandsall over the world who help us repre-sent America, present America’s story,expand trade and public diplomacyopportunities and respond to the logis-tical and administrative needs of anoverseas U.S. presence. The FSN of theYear Award is not the only one avail-

able, either. One of the two annual Swanee Hunt awardsgoes to an FSN to recognize work in advancing the statusof women.

Getting the right people nominated for the rightawards is something that we cannot do exclusively herein Washington. No matter how smart we think we areabout what is going on in the world, the fact of the mat-ter is that only the leaders and managers at our overseasposts who know their top performers are. Identifyingthem and putting their names forward in the awardprocess is one of the best ways you have to show howmuch you value their contributions.

And while I’m on this subject, I want to let you knowthat the people most likely to win are those whose nomi-nations are carefully written, that follow the nominationguidelines and portray real persons performing at topefficiency in their chosen professions. You cannot simplyrecycle that EER, change or scramble a few superlativesand put it in the mail. Keep in mind that the members ofthe awards committees are themselves often the previousrecipients of awards. They can tell the difference betweengood writing and hastily scribbled fluff.

For those of us in public service, the gratitude of ourcountry is and will always remain our highest reward.But respect and recognition from our colleagues is notonly welcomed, it is treasured. ■

October 2002 7

Post of the Month:

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Members of the Veterans Affairs staff aftertrekking on Mt. Famy in Laguna, Philippines,as part of a team-building retreat.

Because of flight schedules, most Americans arrive in Manila at night amid glowing

green Starbucks signs, bright yellow arches and glassy high-rise condos—impressions

hard to dislodge.

The familiar Western architecture, goods and government along with English as a second

national language, however, may be misleading. For beneath the Western veneer is a unique

By Chiara Ricciardone

M a n i l a

please stay.” Secretary of State and Mrs. Powell proudly display their giftsflict-affected southern Philippines. Filipino Muslims and Christians aliked the cooperation of U.S. and Filipino forces in the joint “Shoulder to (“Balikatan”) counter-terrorism exercise.

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and indelible culture. The Filipinos have assimi-lated elements from both the Spanish, who ruledthe Philippines for more than 300 years, and theAmericans, who governed the nation from 1898to 1946. A popular quip describes the nation’shistory as “350 years in a convent and 50 years inHollywood.”

Nonetheless, pulsing underneath the Spanishand U.S. overlays is an indigenous Malay-relatedculture that includes ancient Islamic elements. TheFilipinos have a way of taking what is best fromtheir roots and creating their own distinctive cul-ture—even the McDonalds in the Philippines fea-ture various “McDo” meals of rice and your choiceof meat, a typical Filipino dish. Reciprocally, theFilipinos have boomeranged their own “Jollibee”fast-food chain to the United States.

During the half-century of direct U.S. influence,the United States cultivated a long-standing andcomplex relationship with this extraordinary coun-try of more than 7,000 islands, 80 million peopleand perhaps as many as 160 languages. A “reluc-tant imperial power,” the United States from the outsetsought to bestow both independence and democracy onthe Filipinos…but, as author and Foreign Service spouseStanley Karnow describes, very much “in our image.”

With 36 agencies and offices, close to 300 Americans and1,000 Foreign Service National employees, Manila is one ofthe Department’s largest posts. And it’s no wonder—thereare 2 million Filipino-Americans in the United States (thelargest ethnic community after Mexican-Americans) andmore than 120,000 U.S. citizens residing in the Philippines.Taking a corporate approach, the embassy clusters agen-cies thematically at country team meetings, facilitatingcooperation in reaching the mission’s goals of mutual

“Yankee,from conwelcomeShoulder

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Boracay Island is a popular retreat.

security, mutual prosperity and service to both U.S. andFilipino publics.

The mission hosts the only overseas office of theDepartment of Veterans Affairs, providing vital medicaland personal services for some 18,000 U.S. and Filipinoveterans and their widows. Filipinos have a long history ofmilitary loyalty. They fought with the United States duringWorld War II, Korea and Vietnam and are now helping inthe fight against global terrorism.

The Regional Printing Center provides global printingand distribution services for overseas and domestic publi-cations. While smaller branches of the center exist in Viennaand Washington, D.C., Manila’s is the flagship facility.

Manila also boasts one of State’s largest and busiestconsular sections, offering some unique services. Many ofthe Americans living in the Philippines are elderly warveterans and their family members. Because thePhilippine government lacks the infrastructure to servethe far-flung islands, American Citizen Services officerspay visits about four times annually to areas with lots ofAmericans. A 24-hour appointment phone line enablesconsular employees to initially screen and organize250,000 nonimmigrant visa and 45,000 immigrant visaapplications each year, eliminating the historic snakinglines of applicants on the streets. A busy fraud preventionunit includes both consular and security officers andworks closely with U.S. law enforcement agencies at post.

Junior officers acquire valuable experience and traininghere. Under a unique rotational program, J.O.s work stintsin different consular offices (nonimmigrant visas, immi-grant visas, American Citizen Services and fraud preven-tion) before going on extended “excursion” assignments toother sections of the mission. J.O.s frequently meet withhost country cabinet officers and agency chiefs.

The U.S. Agency for International Development helpsprotect the environment, improve family planning and

October 2002 9

Rescued American missionary Gracia Burnham, held hostage along withher husband Martin by the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group for over a year, iswheeled to a press conference by Dr. Bruce Muller, regional medicalofficer. Also present are, left to right, information officer Frank Jenistaand registered nurse Cobie Muller.

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health care and strengthen the economy, especially in the poverty-stricken and conflict-affected region ofMindanao in the southern Philippines. The area includesBasilan Island, where a terrorist group held Americanmissionaries and where USAID’s Livelihood Enhance-ment and Peace program is helping to reintegrate formercombatants into the economy.

To avoid Manila’s famously sticky traffic, employeesstart their busy days early (7:30 a.m. or before) and try to

Resting above the crater lake of Taal Volcano are, left to right, summer inteRachel Donahue, the author, Ambassador Ricciardone, Isaac Mussomeli, MAlexis Mussomeli and Deputy Chief of Mission Joseph Mussomeli.

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10 State Magazine

leave around 4:30 p.m. But only the computers shut downthen! Manila is bursting with world-class restaurants withThird-World prices, vibrant nightclubs and bars, andmodern shopping malls. There are many spas, too, offer-ing affordable manicures, pedicures, facials and massages.

Beyond Manila, the country offers sumptuous anddiverse landscapes such as the historic mountaintopAmerican residence in Baguio, summer home of the U.S.Governor General before the establishment of thePhilippine government and site of the formal surrenderin 1945 of the Japanese Imperial Forces in the Philippines.Instead of palm trees there are pines and evenings coolenough to invite a fire. The Philippines is also a beachlover’s paradise. Resorts offer world-class scuba diving

and provide a respite from the fast-pacedlife in Manila. Declared one of 17“megadiverse” nations by ConservationInternational, the Philippines aboundwith fabulous travel opportunities.

The closing of Clark Air Force andSubic Naval bases in 1992 removed a fac-tor that both defined and limited U.S.-Philippines relations during the ColdWar. Since President Gloria MacapagalArroyo announced her unequivocal sup-port to fight terrorism, bilateral relationshave begun a new phase in a maturingrelationship. Focused on a more bal-anced and complex mix of mutual bene-fits and goals, the U.S.-Philippines rela-tionship makes Manila one of theDepartment’s most exciting and mean-ingful posts. ■

The author, a student at Swarthmore Collegein Pennsylvania, was an intern in the Com-munity Liaison Office during the summer.

Camille Purvis, a junior officer in the political section, poses with astreet vendor after driving a hard bargain for sugarcane.

rn Alexis Monquez,arie Ricciardone,

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Office of the Month: Center for Administrative Innovation

Center Thinks Outside the Box

CAI employees, from left, Monique Austin,Pamela Marsh, Matthew Burns, Alaina Teplitz,Stephen Williams and Alan Greenfield think outside “the box.”

aui

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Story and photos by Matthew Ryan

The Bureau of Administration’s Center forAdministrative Innovation is more like a consult-ing company than part of a government agency.CAI’s mantra is “think outside the box.” They viewDepartment employees as their

customers and their mission as improv-ing support to the front lines.

Quality improvement is not a short-term problem. It requires more than aquick fix. When Bill Eaton became assis-tant secretary for Administration, heenvisioned a new office dedicated solelyto finding ways to deliver better service.“We needed a team that didn’t haveoperational responsibility limiting theircreativity.”

Thus, the CAI was born.After naming Matthew Burns as

director, Mr. Eaton required only that CAI have practi-cal goals and deliver quick results. Mr. Burns said hespent the first six months determining what to do andhow best to do it. The director began by requesting

“We hchallenge o

assumptenvision theof the futur

to best suStephen

friends and colleagues to recommend the most creativepeople they know.

The CAI is a project-oriented organization. The CAIteam identifies areas that need improvement, brainstormsways to improve productivity, corrects deficiencies andimproves quality of life for employees and families.

Among its many projects, CAI hasheld two “good ideas” workshops thatbrought together Foreign Service, CivilService and Foreign Service Nationalprofessionals to suggest improvementson delivering services effectively. CAIsummarized the conclusions in tem-plates to give overseas service providerstips on common activities like welcom-ing new arrivals, managing a ware-house, enhancing customer service,moving to a new office building orautomating at-post financial operations.

CAI put other suggestions in alibrary, which contains about 100 “good ideas” on howto provide better service—including documents, linksand contacts to help posts quickly adopt these newmethods.

ve to r current

ons and diplomacy e and how port it.”illiams

October 2002 11

Sharing a laugh at the CAI open house are Bill Eaton, left, assistant sec-retary for Administration; Matthew Burns, director of the CAI; and GrantGreen, under secretary for Management.

The center is also pursuing a pilot project for ISO 9000certification for the services embassies provide their cus-tomers. The international management standard certifiesthat an organization has quality control standards, includ-ing documentation, trained people and an outside auditor.The U.S. Embassy in London achieved the first ISO 9000certification (for general services officer) on its own, andCAI analyst Janice Fedak is working on piloting the con-cept in Vienna, Brussels and Warsaw.

As a member of the American Productivity and QualityCenter, the Department, through CAI, is sponsoring thestudy, “Using Knowledge Management to Drive Inno-vation.” The center is working with five expert knowledgemanagement organizations—3M, Boeing, NASA JPL, WorldBank and Millennium Pharmaceuticals—to learn how theyhave improved the quality of their services.

Alan Greenfield, a program analyst, led the effort topromote an efficient post profile database system. Thesystem, created by an overseas bureau, allows posts toquickly construct detailed spending requests, budgetsand personnel numbers. Once fully implemented, it willimprove the quality of data throughout the departmentand minimize the number of times the same informationhas to be entered in various places.

For example, State Department phone books identifykey officers at posts. RPS, which updates the phonebooks, used to manually research and update this infor-mation. By using the post profiling system and puttingthe information on the web site, posts can help reduceRPS’s labor and also reduce their own cable traffic.

CAI will soon link electronically to other offices,including Human Resources and Overseas BuildingsOperations, to automate reporting, reduce post work-loads and improve the accuracy of data in Washington.

One of Mr. Greenfield’s current projects is to initiate acontinuous process improvement program, known as thesix sigma process. The process “gives people tools to ana-

12 State Magazine

Monique Austin, program analyst, is redesigning the bureau’s web site, amoprojects.

lyze how they can better meet customer needs—how andhow well you deliver services with the goal of incremen-tal improvements,” according to Mr. Greenfield.

Monique Austin, another program analyst, startedwith CAI in March. Her first project involved re-engineering the Bureau of Administration’s web page.

Ms. Austin finds it beneficial that CAI has many employ-ees on temporary assignments to the center, includingPresidential Management Interns who bring fresh perspec-tives to the office. “These employees appreciate their timewith us because they can participate in a project from startto finish,” Ms. Austin said. “We appreciate their ideas andenergy and encourage them to take the innovations theyhave learned at CAI back to their own offices.”

Christina Somma, a program analyst, sits on the commit-tee for International Cooperative Administrative Support

Services. The committee provides quality serv-ices to posts at the lowest cost, while attempt-ing to ensure that each agency bears the cost ofits presence overseas. Under ICASS, agenciesreimburse State for services provided.

Dhyana Parker, office manager since lastDecember, said, “I’ve been with State for 12years and this is the best office I’ve everworked in. We all enjoy being here.”

Mr. Eaton is impressed with the CAI teamand their results.

“Some employees were offered positionsat CAI,” he said, “but they felt it was toorisky for their careers. If you’re unwilling totake a risk, you can’t be creative. The peoplewe have took that risk and they are great.” ■

The author, a graduate student at the Universityof Kentucky’s Patterson School of Diplomacy andInternational Commerce, was an intern at StateMagazine this past summer.

ng her many

October 2002 13

David and Joan Konkel outside their home in Washington, D.C.

His disability has never defined him.

Phot

o by

Car

l Goo

dman

A DifferentView of

Independence

By Carl Goodman

It was the summer of 1970. He was studying eco-nomics at the University of California atBerkeley. She was an elementary school teacherfrom San Francisco taking courses for certifica-tion. They shared a rooming house on fraternityrow with others and together frequented coffee-houses, theaters and restaurants.

He remembers her as “smart and cultured.” She remem-bers him as “intelligent and self-confident.” For him, atleast, it was love at first “sight.” They would marry fouryears later.

His description is metaphorical, of course, consideringhe had lost his sight years earlier while “hot rodding” inthe foothills of San Jose. His Triumph TR3 spun out on aturn and flipped over several times, crushing his jawboneand pinching his optic nerve.

He was 18 and fresh out of high school, where heexcelled at basketball, and played the fiddle and sang bassin a bluegrass band called the Green Mountain Boys. Helay in a coma for a week. When he left the hospital threemonths later, he entered an orientation center in Albany,Calif. There he learned to use a cane. The real emphasiswas on “independence.” If you used a dog, the center’s

14 State Magazine

David Konkel plays fiddle and sings bass with the Green Mountain Boys in

Fam

ily p

hoto

philosophy went, you would be dependent on the dog.With a cane, you’re pretty much on your own.

The center’s lesson on independence has remained withDavid Konkel. At Berkeley, where he used taped texts andstudent readers, he co-authored a proposal that receivedfederal funding for a Center for Independent Living. TheBerkeley facility became the model for 470 such centersworldwide. But Mr. Konkel was determined not to let hisdisability define him. He chose instead to focus on hisgraduate studies in economics. A professor who wouldhave a profound influence on his approach to economicanalysis, William A. “Bill” Niskanen, now chairs the CatoInstitute, a Washington think tank.

On a recent Sunday morning, sitting on the patio oftheir century-old row house in Washington, D.C., withhis wife Joan, now a sculptor and mother of their twosons, he talked about his life before and after he receivedfour degrees from Berkeley—the last a doctorate in eco-nomics in 1977.

He was 11 when John F. Kennedy was elected Pres-ident and considers himself part of the Kennedy “gener-ation.” President Kennedy certainly “enhanced my inter-est in national government,” he said.

He flirted briefly with the private sector, even flying toNew York to interview with a large international banking

a local coffee shop in San Jose, Calif., in 1967.

Photos from their family album capture joyful moments for the Konkels at the TidalBasin in Washington, D.C., top, and in Cozumel, Mexico, in the mid-70s.

Fam

ily p

hoto

s

firm. The interview went well enough, but hefound the bustling city much too crazy for raisinga family.

He finds Washington’s streets friendly and com-mutes by bus from his home in Georgetown to andfrom his office at the State Department, where he isdeputy director of economic analysis in the Bureauof Intelligence and Research. Except for one yearwith the International Trade Commission, he hasworked at the Department since 1977. As for choos-ing a career in government, he’s “never given it asecond thought.”

Earlier, while conducting research for his dis-sertation, Mr. Konkel and his wife spent a year inSantiago, Chile. She had traveled widely as ayoung girl with her grandmother and enjoyedthe experience of living abroad. He found thecountry “difficult.” People tended to “overreact”

Joan's mother, Mildred Bright, accompanies the Konkels to an exhibition of her daugsculpture at the Renwick Museum in 1984.

Fam

ily p

hoto

to his disability. That “uncomfortable” experi-ence, coupled with the requirement of beingavailable worldwide, may have influenced hischoice of a Civil Service career over one in theForeign Service, where a number of blindemployees now serve.

The Chilean experience hasn’t precluded interna-tional travel for the Konkels by any means. Theyhave vacationed in the snow-capped mountains of

hter's

Switzerland and on the sunbathed beaches ofCozumel—“assignments” over which theyhad complete control.

Once dependent on paid and volunteerreaders, Mr. Konkel accomplishes all of hiswork today using a complement of comput-ers. His work environment, he said, is “dra-matically different” from what it was 12years ago. His is truly a paperless office.

The city’s streets may be friendlier thanthe corridors of the Truman Building duringrenovation. With so much constructiongoing on, he has to be careful to avoid acci-dents. But they have happened. He lost atooth walking into a protruding metal pipeleft unattended and bruised himself onanother occasion when a stepladder, left in ashopping cart, caught him in the throat.Fortunately for Mr. Konkel, the shoppingcart moved, cushioning the blow.

October 2002 15

The Konkel family, David, Joan, Brandon and Warren, assembles for a family1996.

Fam

ily p

hoto

Ordinarily, with his cane he can hear where a wall endsand an open corridor begins. When negotiating familiarterrain, he depends on mental pictures he has drawn ofthe places. It is the unexpected obstacle, particularly onesuspended in the air, that his cane cannot detect.

Patricia Pittarelli, who manages the Department’s dis-ability program in the Bureau of Human Resources’s Office

16 State Magazine

of Employee Relations, meets periodicallywith building managers and supervisors tomake them aware of potential hazards toemployees with disabilities like Mr. Konkel’s.

Mr. Konkel treads a well-worn path to theDepartment’s fitness center, where he worksout each noon, lifting weights and using thetreadmill. Asked how much he bench press-es, he deflects the question by applaudingone of his colleagues, Eric Altbach, who han-dles 330 lbs.

In addition to this daily exercise, the talland trim Mr. Konkel enjoys Virginia’sEastern Shore, where the family has a secondhome on tiny Chincoteague Island. Heshoots baskets in the back yard and boatsand fishes in the inlet waters with sonsBrandon, 15, and Warren, 19, a college stu-dent in upstate New York. On occasion, heand his wife ride their tandem bike on thetrails that snake through the woods on

Assateague Island, home to the legendary wild ponies.At sunset, when the crowds have gone, the former blue

grass band leader-turned economist enjoys walking quietlyon the beach with the woman he first “saw” in college. ■

The author is editor of State Magazine.

photo in

Where’s the Mouse?

So with all of thosecomputers on his

desk, where’s themouse?

David Konkelcouldn’t use amouse even ifhe had one.Besides, there’s

nothing a mousecan do that a key-

board can’t. Andthat’s how Mr.

Konkel, who is blind,sends commands to his three

computers to prepare economic analyses for the Bureauof Intelligence and Research.

And what about those headphones? No, he’s not lis-tening to bluegrass music (even though he once had hisown bluegrass band). Instead, he’s using screen-reading

software to tell the computer what words to speak or togo to the next line or sentence. With a speech synthesiz-er built into the computer, he can “rip” through docu-ments at 450 to 500 words per minute without losingany clarity. That isn’t possible with a tape recorder orhuman reader.

Until 12 years ago, Mr. Konkel relied on humanvoice to navigate his work-a-day world. Much of itwas attributable to the classified environment wherehe worked—where all the computers were copperwrapped or tempest protected. To install a speech syn-thesizer required opening the computers. Initially, heused a computer with a synthesizer in a room housingthe bureau’s mainframes. But the room was noisy andisolated.

When the National Security Agency determined thattempest protection was unnecessary, Mr. Konkel re-turned to his desk, where he is now more productive andcontent with the synthesized voices of Uppity Ursula,Rough Rita and Perfect Paul, and not even a mouse.

On Beinga ‘Hubster’

Abidjan hub officer Richard Hawkins discusses a village reforesta-tion project with Robert Gnande, president of an lvorian NGO.

By Charles O. Cecil

This officer is assignedto a bilateral mission,has regional responsi-bilities and promotesa global agenda.” Sostated the “special cir-

cumstances” section of theemployee evaluation report ofa regional environmental offi-cer. In a nutshell it summedup the challenge and scope ofeach of the 12 “environmentalhub” positions that exist atselected posts around theworld.

Some environmental prob-lems need regional ratherthan national (single-country)or global solutions. Environ-mental hub officers promoteregional cooperation in usingand managing scarce waterresources, tracking illicit tradein endangered species andcombating illegal fishing orlogging.

The science, technologyand health arenas hold otherexamples where coordinatedregional responses are likelyto be more effective than a

“

series of bilateral actions. Theyinclude information technolo-gy systems, genetically modi-fied organisms and regionalcoordination in the education,screening, treatment and pre-vention of AIDS/HIV.

Hub officers also promotecloser relations, stability andsecurity among foreign gov-ernments in their regions.Their work serves broad U.S.interests while advancing theobjectives of the regionalbureaus that own the posi-tions and the Bureau ofOceans and InternationalEnvironmental and ScientificAffairs, which provides sub-stantive support.

Currently, there are 12 hubpositions based in Abidjan,Addis Ababa, Amman, Ankara,Bangkok, Brasilia, Budapest,Copenhagen, Gaborone, Kath-mandu, San Jose and Tashkent.

Hub officers have a regionalmandate while environment,science and technology officerswork on bilateral issues, pro-moting cooperation betweenthe U.S. government and thehost country.

October 2002 17

Johnson discusses efforts to preserve Thailand’s dwindling hardwoodg a visit to Kao Yai National Park in the country’s northeast.

Kathmandu hub officer Michael DeTar discusses U.S. arsenicremoval technology with youngscientists from JadavpurUniversity, Calcutta.

Phot

o by

Ted

Osi

us

Secretary of State Warren Christopher announced thehub idea in a speech at Stanford University in April 1996.Though they are often called “environmental hub offi-cers,” it quickly became apparent that their main concernswould be oceans, science, technology and health issues.

“Science is needed to investigate problems, while tech-nology is applied to mitigate them,” says Andrew W.“Andy” Reynolds, deputy adviserin the Office of the Science andTechnology Adviser to theSecretary of State.

“The opening of new lines ofcommunication between govern-ments is necessary to combat ille-gal, unregulated and unreportedfishing—one of the most seriousproblems in achieving sustainablefisheries,” according to Mary BethWest, OES’s deputy assistant secre-tary for oceans and fisheries.

Similarly, the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic demands attentionin U.S. foreign policy as a problemthat knows no boundaries andneeds to be addressed regionally.

Wherever there are U.S. interests,hub officers work with nationalgovernments, regional organiza-tions, environmental nongovern-

U.S. Ambassador Darryl N.forests with officials durin

18 State Magazine

mental organizations, donor organizations and the busi-ness community to promote, develop and supportregional political dialogue and cooperation on trans-boundary issues.

The hub officer in Amman, Jordan, for example,brought together Palestinian, Jordanian and Israeli offi-cials to discuss common water problems. Last year, his

Hub officers’ jobs often take them beyond the capital city to fascinatinglocations in a nation’s interior. Bangkok hub officer Ted Osius visited

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Ted

Osi

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counterpart in Bangkok proposed and OES funded thefirst workshop in Southeast Asia for law enforcementofficials to discuss common approaches to combat illegaltimber operations. In Brasilia, the hub officer helped tounite Latin American countries in combatting illegal traf-fic in endangered species. The hub officer in AddisAbaba, meanwhile, organized a workshop on marinefisheries enforcement involving officials from 11 coun-tries in the region, the U.S. Coast Guard and severalregional and international organizations.

When surveyed recently, current and former hub offi-cers saw their assignments as career enhancing. Aftertheir tours, Deborah Seligsohn and George Sibley com-pleted a year of graduate work at Princeton University.Ms. Seligsohn is now in line to be an environmental, sci-ence and technology counselor in Beijing while Mr. Sibleywill be principal officer in Calcutta. Larry Andre, mean-while, is moving from Addis Ababa to Freetown asdeputy chief of mission.

Richard Hawkins, Abidjan hub officer, relocated thissummer to Santo Domingo as section chief in narcoticsaffairs with responsibility for drug and crime affairs inthe Dominican Republic and Haiti. Mr. Hawkins alsocredits his hub work for his multifunctional promotion toO-2 in 2001. “I believe the hub job showed that I couldoperate successfully in a loosely defined environmentwith many players and high stakes,” Mr. Hawkins said.

Other hub officers note that the regional nature of theirwork causes them to travel frequently, creating opportu-

Ted Osius gives his mount a grateful pat for carrying him into the forestof Burma’s Bago Yoma Mountains, north of Rangoon.

this hill-tribe village in Burma while surveying a forestry project.

Phot

o co

urte

sy o

f Ted

Osi

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nities for them to become known by numerous ambassa-dors and deputy chiefs of mission, establishing relation-ships that may prove useful in their careers anddemonstrating their own capabilities to more than a sin-gle set of rating officers. ■

The author, a retired former ambassador, helped review theregional environmental hub program for the Bureau of Oceansand International Environmental and Scientific Affairs.

Getting TogetherThe first worldwide conference of regional envi-

ronmental officers in Budapest this past Junereviewed issues concerning hub officers and

compared success stories and problems encoun-tered in their work.

Mary Beth West, deputy assistant secretary foroceans and fisheries, who chaired the conference,offered a number of suggestions for making hubofficers even more effective. “Hub positionsdemand officers who are innovative and entrepre-neurial in promoting regional dialogue,” she said.“We all have a stake in their success. Thus, in con-junction with the regional bureaus, we want to givethem as much help as we can.”

In six years, the hub officers have demonstratedtheir worth and promise. In a multi-polar world ofrapidly increasing complexity, their responsibilitiesare certain to increase. The hub program is the kindof targeted instrument and approach the Depart-ment will need in order to play a leading role insolving transnational problems.

October 2002 19

Kampala IncludesAntiretroviral Drugs

in Medical Plan

By Jacqueline Holland-Craig

HIV is epidemic in Uganda, where the firstcases of HIV/AIDS were reported in thecountry in the early 1980s. AlthoughUganda has succeeded in reducing the

prevalence of HIV among adults over 30 to less than 9

20 State Magazine

Driver Frank Katabazi appreciates receiving ARV drugs through the U.S. Emba

percent, the repercussions of the disease on the nationhave been profound.

Most Ugandan families have taken in several orphansof siblings or close relatives, and many colleagues andfriends have HIV/AIDS. The cost of good medical care ishigh when compared to salary levels, and this is espe-cially true for HIV/AIDS care.

ssy’s medical plan.

U.S. Ambassador to Uganda Martin Brennan shakes hands with driverFrank Katabazi, an HIV positive employee now receiving ARV drugsthrough the embassy’s medical plan.

The U.S. Embassy in Kampala established an HIV/AIDS committee to draft a policy to help local employeesdeal with the effects of HIV/AIDS and to create a positiveworking environment within the mission.

At about the same time, the Department adopted a policy that prohibited pre-employment testing forHIV, authorized antiretroviral (ARV) drugs to preventmother-to-child transmission of the disease and coveredthe treatment of all opportunistic infections thatoccurred because of the weakened immune systems ofthose infected with HIV.

The embassy’s HIV/AIDS committee included theseelements in the post’s HIV/AIDS policy, but committeemembers felt strongly that the mission should go furtherby making ARVs available in the post’s medical plan toall employees infected with HIV. This action would notonly reduce illness and prolong the lives of employeeswith HIV/AIDS, it would maintain a healthy, well-trained embassy workforce and enable employees to con-tinue to support their families.

The Department’s Office of Medical Services, whileagreeing that ARVs were efficacious, believed most ThirdWorld medical institutions were unable to adequatelytrack patients, monitor the effects of the complicateddrug cocktail and ensure continued treatment to preventresistance. Under such circumstances, poor treatmentmight be worse than no treatment. In addition, there wasconcern about the potentially huge budgetary impact ofsuch a program. In 2000, ARV annual treatment costapproximately $4,000 per patient.

The committee discovered, however, that because ofprice reductions and the availability of generic medica-tions, ARV costs in Uganda had dropped to approxi-mately $700 per patient in 2001. The HIV/AIDS com-mittee calculated costs and determined that theembassy would be able to afford ARV treatment foraffected employees, presuming that the rate of infectionof staff was similar to the rate in the country as a whole(because of confidentiality policies, post managementdid not know the precise rate of infection).

Constrained by these budget limits, embassy manage-ment offered Foreign Service National employees thechoice of extending ARV treatment to family membersunder a co-payment scheme. The FSNs preferred toretain their original benefit levels and administer ARVsto employees only, with no co-payment. They hopedthat costs would prove lower than feared and that fam-ily members could soon be included fully in the newprogram.

The final step was to get MED’s approval thatUgandan facilities were capable of successfully moni-toring patients on ARV treatment. Fortunately, theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention’s office inUganda had been tracking ARV treatment closely formore than two years and published two studies show-ing a success rate similar to rates in Europe and NorthAmerica. MED used these findings to authorize thetreatment. The embassy’s health practitioner certified to

the Department that ARVs were available in Ugandaand the program could work. With this background, theBureau of Human Resources’ Office of OverseasEmployment authorized including ARV treatment inthe post’s medical plan.

The embassy implemented the plan carefully, knowingthat the results of this pilot program would have far-reaching effects on other embassies (Kampala was thefirst embassy authorized to administer ARVs, but otherembassies had been doing so if existing insurance poli-cies included the treatment as a prevailing practice).

Not only did the embassy need to track the costs todetermine if family members could be added, but theyalso needed to ensure that employees received the rightdoses and followed the directions for taking the medica-tions. All this had to be accomplished while preservingpatient confidentiality.

The insurance company made the appointments,began tracking treatment dates, established viral loadand cell count test appointments, collected results andfollowed patient progress. The company will provide theembassy a summary of costs and success rates whilestrictly protecting patient confidentiality. The insurancecompany took on this task at no greater cost because theyexpect the embassy program, if successful, will be a mod-el for other employers in Uganda. This will be good forbusiness, good for employees and good for Uganda. ■

The author is the administrative officer at the U.S. Embassyin Kampala.

October 2002 21

EUR’s Executive FSN Corps:

BRIGHT IDEA

t

By Fran Gidez and Xan Stepp

Late in 2000, in response to the growingdemand for administrative support, theexecutive directorate of the Bureau ofEuropean and Eurasian Affairs formed the“EUR Executive FSN Corps.” This talentedteam of 12 Foreign Service National em-ployees–-professionals experienced in the

areas of human resources, general services, financialmanagement and facilities management—would answercries for help for administrative advice and training frommissions within the bureau.

Post managers nominated the “best and brightest”from various administrative areas with the understand-ing that these FSNs would traveland train in the field for up tothree weeks a year. The FrankfurtRegional Support Center wouldpay all travel and per diem costsfor the FSN Executive Corps.

Corps members are manage-ment consultants who receive FSItraining and handle a variety ofchallenging situations. At the mostbasic level, they support otherposts by e-mail or telephone. Whenthe situation warrants, they travelto EUR posts to consult with staffmembers, suggest customizedsolutions to post challenges, con-duct on-site training and offer oth-er forms of hands-on assistance.Additionally, the Executive FSNCorps conducts short (two- tothree-day) workshops in perform-ance evaluation, customer serviceand team-building skills.

Slightly more than a year into theprogram, corps members alreadyhave helped posts draft positiondescriptions and job classifications,identify local training needs and

“We solve pr

that oposts exp

and we h

managmasterown p

Tom Facilities and

U.S. Embass

22 State Magazine

prepare FSN performance evaluations. Corps financialexperts have assisted posts in preparing budgets and train-ing voucher examiners and cashiers. The team’s generalservices professionals have strengthened internal controls,procurement and contracting operations in the posts theyhave visited. The corps’ facilities managers have helpedwith special maintenance and renovation projects, devel-oped purchasing agreements and maintenance contracts,and assisted with budget building. In the area of employ-ee development, experienced corps trainers have conduct-ed customer service and team-building workshops tai-lored to the needs of the post.

What do the corps members get from their experience?“I was honored to have been selected for the EURExecutive FSN Corps,” said George Mathew, a contract

specialist from Vienna. “I felt theDepartment recognized my skills,abilities and contribution as a valu-able employee. I was proud to beable to share my knowledge withmy colleagues in other posts, but atthe same time, visiting their uniqueenvironments provided me with atremendous learning experienceand new ideas that I was able tobring back to Vienna.” TrevorBennett, a general services special-ist in London, commenting on theweek he spent helping an FSN inDushanbe in the property manage-ment unit: “…the short week…gave me far more job satisfactionthan I have had for many years. Tohear later that the FSN I workedwith received an award from hisambassador made me very proud.It really is a wonderful feeling to beable to pass your knowledge on toFSNs who are so keen to learn.”

The FSN Executive Corps hasgreatly enhanced the FrankfurtRegional Support Center’s abilityto assist posts with discrete, one-

help oblemsther eriencehat ave ed to in our osts.”TaitMaintenancey in Berlin

or two-week projects where the corps’ talents are needed.The Executive FSN Corps was so successful in EUR thatthe Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs requestedguidance in developing a similar program. The FSNTraining Cadre (see sidebar) is WHA’s way of capitaliz-ing on FSN expertise.

Since its founding, the EUR Executive FSN Corps hashelped bureau posts use their resources, human and

material, more effectively and efficiently. This fall, EURplans to expand the corps and to institutionalize the bestpractices they have introduced. ■

Fran Gidez is the human resources training and developmentofficer at the Regional Support Center in the U.S. ConsulateGeneral in Frankfurt. Xan Stepp was an intern assigned tothe consulate during the summer.

HELPING OURSELVES: THEWHA FSN TRAINING CADRE

By Jennifer Bantel

One of the components of the Bureau of WesternHemisphere Affairs’ training plan was the creation ofa skilled and dedicated team of Foreign ServiceNational employees who would organize and conducttraining sessions in their area of expertise. Based onthe successful EUR Executive Corps, WHA’s FSNTraining Cadre now has 19 skilled employees withexpertise in all of the administration subfunctions,office management and public diplomacy.

WHA gives cadre members the tools they need to bethe best facilitators possible. They take the ForeignService Institute’s basic facilitation and delivery skillsworkshop when they join the cadre, and they receivetraining in leadership and in their field of expertisethroughout their participation. As members, theyshare their knowledge and experience with their col-leagues in the bureau through one-on-one, group andregional training sessions.

By the end of September, cadre members will haveconducted more than 30 training sessions and trainedmore than 400 employees in the region, demonstrat-ing the bureau’s commitment to professional devel-opment for all of its employees. In addition toimproving skill levels and job knowledge throughoutthe hemisphere, the program has increased coordina-tion and best-practice sharing at participating posts,all quantifiable outcomes. The WHA FSN TrainingCadre offers another example of the wealth of talent-ed and enthusiastic employees working in thebureau.

For more about the WHA FSN Training Cadre, visitWHA’s Intranet web site at http://website.wha.state.gov/Leadership/FSN_training.htm. WHA employeescan contact their post management officer for trainingand support through this program.

The author is a post management officer in the Bureau ofWestern Hemisphere Affairs’ executive directorate.

NOTES ONREGIONAL TRAINING

By Aida de Castellanos

The experiences from the training I have conductedin several Latin American countries have been reward-ing. During 2002 I have trained several hundred nation-al employees in leadership, conflict management, teambuilding, positive communication, customer service,delegation of duties, supervision, coaching and FSNposition management.

Participants learn how to become better supervisorsand employees, and they acquire skills to build a strongerteam spirit among their colleagues. They also share expe-riences and make new friends from similar cultures.

They have other things in common: they all work forthe U.S. government, they are familiar with proce-dures and guidelines, and some find their duties simi-lar. Most of all, they share the same language and aremore receptive when the instructor comes from a Latinculture and is one of their own. They are very moti-vated when they see their trainer is a national employ-ee from another post able to adapt the subject matterto their culture.

Many participants express their appreciation forthe interest the bureau shows in making trainingavailable at their post in their language. This makesthem feel important.

The training has shown excellent and very quickresults. The participants are already making sugges-tions to others about how to handle situations familiarto them. They know their FSN colleagues in neighbor-ing countries are only an e-mail away.

When participants return to their countries they stayin touch with their colleagues and the trainer to sharetheir experiences after the seminar. They feel proudwhen they can make useful suggestions to their super-visors or peers, sometimes for the first time.

The author is a human resources management specialist atthe U.S. Embassy in Guatemala City and a member ofWHA’s FSN Training Cadre.

October 2002 23

THIS J.O. CAN COOK!T H E S E C R E T I S O U T:

Story by WendyChamberlinPhotographs by Sgt.Michael Schellenbach

Robert Sanders may bean economic officerby day, but by night

he is a gourmet chef. Just asBabbette brought joy to thedour Danish village in thefilm “Babbette’s Feast,” histalents are a welcome tonic tothe U.S. Mission in Islam-abad’s daily worries ofnuclear war, suicide bombersand absent families.

The public saw therelentless series of crises inPakistan after Sept. 11. Lessevident was the nonstopstream of high-ranking visi-tors and temporary-duty personnel. With no residencemanager and a bare-bones staff, the ambassador paidscant attention to planning dinner menus—that is, untilMr. Sanders volunteered his extraordinary talents asmaster chef.

Regular guests who had been overheard grousing snide-ly that the food at the ambassador’s residence was taste-less and colorless knew things had changed after savoringthe chef’s pear, onion and cheese strudel hors d’oeuvres.Mr. Sanders’ baked squash soup with red pepper coulisand shrimp with almond sauce elicited applause.

Robert Sanders puts the finishing to

24 State Magazine

Mr. Sanders, 33, whogrew up in Santa Ana,Calif., follows his role mod-el, California cuisine creatorAlice Waters, in making hisfirst priority dishes that usefresh local products. Hisfresh cherry and apricotcobbler, for example, capi-talized on northern Pak-istan’s celebrated May fruitseason. During the wintermonths, confident of therefrigeration during thelong road trip from theKarachi port, he used freshshrimp and fish. Prudently,he shifted to pastas lightlyflavored with fresh toma-toes as a first course duringthe hotter summer months.

Mr. Sanders, whowatched Julia Child on PBS,takes care that the ambas-

sador’s guests do not leave with an uncomfortablystuffed feeling that leads to a fitful night’s sleep.“Portions should be sized so that guests anticipate thenext course,” insisted the Georgetown University gradu-ate, citing his second priority.

In setting priorities, Mr. Sanders exercises diplomacyby accommodating the cultural preferences of his hostcountry guests while still representing American cuisine.In Pakistan, for example, chicken is more of a delectabletreat than a good beefsteak. For this reason, his pestochicken breast is a popular dish.

uches on the soup course.

ed, head chef; Said Masih, kitchen assistant; and Robert Sanders prepareer gourmet meal.

Moreover, the chicken recipe illus-trates his fourth principle: make themeal special by using spices andvegetables common to U.S. cookingbut that may be difficult to find inthe local market. Here he gets a help-ing hand from longtime residencehead chef Mahmood Ahmed, whotrained the embassy gardeners tocultivate fresh basil, parsley, mint,iceberg lettuce, arugula and spinach.

“Food should not interfere with theconversation,” is his fifth rule of goodentertaining. “After all, we wantguests to wrestle with the unfoldingevents in Afghanistan rather than alobster shell.” He achieves both ele-gance and ease, for example, with hisgrilled fish with cilantro chutneysteamed in banana leaves. QueenNoor of Jordan praised the dish high-ly during her visit.

Color, too, makes meals moreexciting, and the junior officer enjoys the rich orange oflocal carrots for his pureed carrot with ginger and orangevegetable side dish, sometimes adding candiedkumquats to chicken breasts as well.

Of course, the size of the function determines themenu to a certain extent. The junior officer and his headcook would only attempt the poached peach in acaramelized sugar cage dessert for small partiesbecause of the difficulty in making the delicate cage.

From left, Mahmood Ahmthe main course of anoth

This delightful dessert illustrates the chef’s final rule innew-age American cuisine: presentation. Local favoritelamb chops stand at attention around a puff of mashedpotatoes and his strawberry shortcake builds to a daz-zling tower.

Mr. Sanders leaves Islamabad in December for Beirut,where his reputation as an accomplished chef is likely toarrive before he does. ■

The author is former U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan.

GRILLED FISH WITH CILANTRO CHUTNEY IN BANANA LEAVES(6 Servings)

F O R C H U T N E Y:1 (1- by 1-1/2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled5 garlic cloves1 fresh hot green chile such as jalapeno or serrano, trimmed1/2 cup chopped fresh coconut3 cups fresh cilantro sprigs1/3 cup fresh mint leaves1/4 cup white-wine vinegar1 teaspoon sugar1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

P R E PA R E G R I L L .

M A K E C H U T N E Y: Finely chop ginger, garlic, chile and coconut in a food processor. Add cilantro and mint and process untilchopped. Add vinegar, sugar and salt, and blend chutney well.

P R E PA R E F I S H : Cut banana leaves into 6 sheets (12 inches by 10 inches each). Arrange in a stack with a short side nearest you.Season fillets on both sides with salt and pepper. Spread 1 slightly rounded tablespoon cilantro chutney on top of a fillet,then invert onto center of a banana leaf, arranging fillet crosswise. Spread another slightly rounded tablespoon of chutney ontop of fish. Fold bottom edge of leaf over fish and fold in sides over fish, then fold package away from you, enclosing fish. Tiepackage (in both directions) with a 24-inch piece of kitchen string. Repeat with remaining fillets, chutney, and banana leaves.

Grill fish, turning over once, until cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes (untie 1 package to check doneness). Cut string beforeserving and transfer packages to 6 plates. The banana leaves are inedible, but they make a nice presentation.

F O R F I S H :1 (1-lb) package frozen banana leaves, thawed6 (6-oz) pieces white fish fillet (1 inch thick) such as wahoo,

cod, or halibut

S P E C I A L E Q U I P M E N T

kitchen string

October 2002 25

26 State Mag

Jim and Millie Ca

O U R T O W N

The new, “blue”Jim Carter.

The ideal place to retire is a small town with a large

university, according to James W. “Jim” Carter,who retired from the Foreign Service in 1995.

Mr. Carter and his wife Millie chose Bryan, Texas,for their retirement home. Its sister city, CollegeStation, is home to Texas A&M University. The com-bined population of the two cities is about 125,000.There are five golf courses, low living costs and unem-ployment rates, and “great winter weather.” They also“get some of the best of world culture at half the price”and the opportunity to pursue intellectual interests.

But that’s not all college or university towns offer,says Mr. Carter, a consular officer for most of his 34years. Employment is another benefit. He foundemployment as an international student adviser at theuniversity within a year of moving there. After a yearin the job, he decided that what he really wanted to dois law enforcement.

Today, he’s a sworn peace officer and criminal investi-gator. And when he’s not at that job, he’s helping Millierun a bed and breakfast and quilt shop out of theirhome, earning a second college degree and volunteeringfor countless civic events.

azine

rter in front of their Wilderness Bed and Breakfast in Bryan, Texas.

The B&B, he readilyadmits, is just a sideline andan excuse to own a five-bedroom house to display“all the stuff we accumulat-ed” during those tours inChile, Mexico, Argentina,Jamaica, South Africa, Burma,Japan and the Philippines.They get some guests fromoverseas, but most are Texansin town for a university event.

You may reach the Cartersby e-mail at jwcarter@tca.net.

Editor’s note: This is the firstin a series of occasional articlesabout retirees and their choiceof retirement spots. If you wishto contribute a short pieceabout your town and why youchose to retire there, pleasewrite or e-mail the editor.

Will They Come? Officials Find Desire for Mentors

participate in a Civil Service mentoring forum. They are, from left, Donnal Lawrence, Carmen Montgomery, Beda Matthews and Maureen Ruppert.

Phot

o by

Mar

k St

ewar

t

By Susan Beffel

If you build it, will they come?That was the question members of a committee respon-

sible for the Department’s new mentoring program forCivil Service employees were asking each other at their firstgeneral session last March. The program had formal struc-ture, clear goals, eye-catching handouts, management sup-port and more. All that was needed now were participants.

To help bolster their belief in what they were doing, oneattendee, Deborah Jackson, said mentoring had changedher life. She participated in a mentoring program in 1998at the former U.S. Information Agency, where she over-came her shyness by interviewing nearly two dozen seniorofficials on how to develop her career. Among the sugges-tions she received was a weekend program at TrinityCollege, where she is now a part-time student majoring ininternational studies.

The current pilot mentoring program for Civil Serviceemployees, an initiative of the Bureau of HumanResources’ Office of Civil Service Personnel Management,matches mid- or senior-level employees, or mentors, withemployees, or protégés, who can learn from their experi-ence. The Bureau of Consular Affairs competed success-fully to host the pilot. As a result, only CA Civil Serviceemployees in the Washington area could apply to be pro-tégés. For mentors, however, the pilot program drew onCivil Service and Foreign Service employees throughoutthe Washington area.

The idea originated with Laura Sells, then acareer development specialist in CSP, who pro-posed such a pilot in her application for a fellow-ship from the Council for Excellence inGovernment. To help her design such a mentoringprogram, she enlisted the help of a seven-membercommittee from a cross section of the Department.

The committee agreed that its primary goalwas to foster career development at all levels ofthe Department. That included energetic new-comers and rising stars as well as those who feltstuck in place. They also wanted to help partici-pants understand the Department’s culture, val-ues and relationships; increase communicationthroughout the Department; support successionplanning; foster diversity and aid in recruitmentand retention.

The committee looked at 20 public and privateorganizations with mentoring programs to seewhat worked and what didn’t—and what might

EmployeesButler, Pau

succeed at State. They chose a formal, one-on-one pairingof mentors and protégés that would last one year, with apilot program starting this year and a Department-wideprogram next year.

They designed forms, drafted memos, answered ques-tions, researched vendors to facilitate the potentially over-whelming paperwork and selected one with online appli-cations. Members of the committee briefed the directorgeneral, who approved the pilot program. The committeebriefed bureau executive officers and reviewed applica-tions from bureaus before selecting Consular Affairs tohost the pilot.

The call for applications last March resulted in 24 pairsof mentors and protégés.

A full-day training session on making the most of men-toring included a forum in July featuring mentoringauthor Gordon Shea and a visit to the Career DevelopmentResource Center. Other quarterly sessions will include amidyear energizer and a final evaluation of the pilot.

Meanwhile, an eight-member implementation committeethat’s overseeing the pilot and planning its future is lookingat ways to expand the program to include Civil Service pro-tégés from all bureaus.

To learn more about the pilot program or how to set upyour own informal mentoring, visit HR’s Intranet site athttp://hrweb.hr.state.gov/csp/cs_mentoring.html. ■

The author is an employee in the Office of Civil ServicePersonnel Management.

October 2002 27

Clean Water on TapSafety Scene

By Rudy Marrazzo and Claire Huson

The ancient mariner lamented the fact that there waswater everywhere but not a drop to drink.

Americans are luckier. The municipally treated waterthey drink from the tap in this country must meet feder-al standards that cover a variety of contaminants. Whilethe water sources may vary from rivers and lakes toponds, reservoirs, springs and wells, under the federalSafe Drinking Water Act, local water treatment authori-ties must provide their customers with an annual reporton drinking water quality.

Just as water sources vary, so do contaminants. Virusesand bacteria from sewage treatment plants, septic systems,agricultural livestock operations and wildlife, for example,are microbial. Others are inorganic—such as salts and met-als that may be naturally occurring or result from urbanstorm water runoff, industrial or domestic wastewater dis-charges, oil and gas production, mining or farming.

Pesticides and herbicides are contaminants that maycome from agriculture, urban storm water runoff and res-idential uses. Organic chemical contaminants includesynthetic and volatile organic by-products of industrialprocesses, petroleum production, gas stations, urbanstorm water runoff and septic systems. Finally, radio-active contaminants can be naturally occurring or resultfrom oil and gas production and mining additives.

Annual reports on drinking water quality, usually mailedto the customer’s home, list substances detected in the treat-ed water and indicate whether the levels exceeded theallowable EPA maximum contaminant standards and whatcorrective measures were taken if needed. Water authoritiesare required to notify the public immediately when a con-taminant level exceeds an EPA standard and poses a publichealth risk. Persons whose water supply comes from a pri-vate well are urged to have their water tested periodicallyfor contaminants. Local and state water authorities andpublic health offices, as well as the EPA Drinking WaterHotline, (800) 426-4791, are good sources for advice on wellwater quality and for dealing with detected contaminants.

While the local tap water at some overseas posts is con-sidered potable, at a large number of posts the local wateris unsafe. Posts either treat the water centrally to achievepotability by using point-of-entry systems or installpoint-of-use devices at sink locations. Some resort to pur-chasing or producing their own bottled water.

Bottled water is only as good as its source, and, accord-ing to the Natural Resources Defense Council, municipaltreatment plants are the source of more than 25 percent ofbottled water in this country. The National Sanitation

28 State Magazine

Foundation identifies bottled water that complies withEPA drinking water standards. If you can’t find NSF-certified bottled water, look for international brandsbecause they, too, must meet FDA standards to be sold inthe United States or use a brand used by reputable airlines.

Overseas, some post health units test local bottledwater periodically for bacteria. The results have beenreassuring at some posts and scary at others.

Long-term use of bottled water can be expensive. Apoint-of-use treatment device, or POU, to complement orreplace bottled water is frequently a wise investment.Many general service officers at overseas posts choosePOUs, particularly for residences.

To know whether a POU is suitable, you need to firstidentify the problems with the drinking water to be cor-rected. Is it microbiologically unsafe? Are bacteria, proto-zoans or viruses present? Is lead being introduced by thefaucet or old plumbing solder? Or do the chlorine or oth-er chemical odors simply irritate you?

POUs typically employ one or more treatment tech-niques, from microfiltration, distillation and reverseosmosis to carbon absorption filtration, iodine resin orultraviolet radiation. Distillation and reverse osmosis areboth very thorough treatments, while the others may beadequate for certain needs.

Distillers are very popular at overseas posts because oftheir thoroughness, simplicity and relatively low mainte-nance. Where water is microbiologically safe, however, someof the pour-through pitchers sold in grocery stores are verypractical and effective at removing particulates and lead andimproving taste. While microfiltration can eliminate sedi-ment, bacteria and cysts, tiny viruses remain. Ultravioletradiation can kill bacteria but not cysts. All POUs requiremaintenance to ensure good-quality drinking water.

A Canadian health support bulletin noted that “travelbroadens the mind—but loosens the bowels!” Turista,Montezuma’s Revenge and Delhi Belly are familiar terms.

But diarrhea isn’t funny. Some measures you can taketo prevent it include boiling water for at least three min-utes before drinking, making ice or using it to brush yourteeth; carrying your own bottled water or drinking bot-tled or canned water, soda, juice or hot beverages; avoid-ing frosted or iced glasses; drinking only small quantitiesof fluids if you are unsure of the hygiene; and not swal-lowing water while bathing, showering and swimming.

Obviously, as the ancient mariner suggested, water iseverywhere but it’s not all safe to drink. ■

The authors are environmental health specialists in the Officeof Safety, Health and Environmental Management.

People Like YouPeople Like You

Phot

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Dav

e Kr

ecke

Terry Blatt models her “stress dress” in her office.

Life’s a StitchThe second in a family of eight children, Terry Blatt

was smaller than some of her younger siblings andsuffered from the humiliating practice of hand-me-

ups. To stretch the family’s clothes budget, her parentspassed slightly worn, out-of-style clothes the youngerkids had outgrown up to Terry for further use.

By the time she was 11, she realized the only way shewas going to have clothes that were truly her own was tomake them herself. No close family member could sew,so she taught herself. She started with a relatively simplepattern for a dress and still remembers her joy in discov-ering that her first effort was a presentable dress shecould wear comfortably to school. Soon, she was makingall of her skirts, dresses and blouses.

Ms. Blatt, a team leader in the Bureau of Educationaland Cultural Affairs’ International Visitor program, triedknitting but tired of searching for the proper equipmentand instructions for a left-handed knitter. Later, while liv-ing in Chile as a high school exchange student, shelearned to crochet from the mother of the family whosehome she was sharing.

She recalls her busy college and graduate school years assomething of a hiatus in her sewing. But after earning herdegrees, she went to work at the Pentagon, where shenoticed a particularly well-dressed female assistant secre-tary. Always interested in style, she asked the woman whereshe bought her clothes. “Oh,” the assistant secretary replied,“I don’t buy my clothes. My mother makes them for me.”

It was a reawakening of Ms. Blatt’s own talent, areminder that she was also capable of creating works of artwith needle and thread. She took her equipment out of

mothballs andstarted sewingagain. Whenfriends got mar-ried or had chil-dren, Ms. Blattwould design aunique, person-al gift in theform of a pieceof clothing or aquilt, drawingthe pattern free-hand at first and

Terry Blatt hand-stitched this colorful abstractquilt.

Phot

o by

Ter

ry B

latt

then adjusting it to the size of the recipient. Invariably, shestitched the finished product by hand, without resorting tobulky machines that confined the creative process to acramped sewing room. She could work on her creationswherever she went, even at the bedside of a close familymember suffering from a serious illness.

Indeed, of all her sewing creations, Terry Blatt is mostproud of a dress she made for herself while caring firstfor her ailing brother and then for her mother. For twohours a day for eight months, she labored at their bed-sides, keeping them company and caring for their needsas she stitched a beautifully upbeat dress covered withstriking flowers reminiscent of Van Gogh’s sunflowers. Itwas truly a labor of love, therapy for Ms. Blatt’s grief justas her presence was therapy for her brother and mom.Like Van Gogh’s Van Goghs and Picasso’s Picassos, TerryBlatt’s “stress dress,” as she calls it, was much too per-sonal to part with. She still wears it to work on occasionto the delight of her colleagues who know and appreciatethe story behind it. —Dave Krecke

October 2002 29

STATE OF THE ARTS

◆ Oct. 30 Francesc de Paula Soler, the Poet of the Guitar

◆ Nov. 6 Memorial concert for composer Eugene Sheffres

◆ Nov. 20 Concert pianist Eric Zuber

◆ Dec. 4 Soprano Cynthia Young and mezzo-soprano Barbara Schelstrate

◆ Dec 18 Christmas concert with Nick Greanias and Friends

Upcoming Calendar

Performances are on Wednesdays at 12:30 p.m. in the Dean AchesonAuditorium.

A Salute to the Sergeant Major

By John Bentel

The State of the Arts Cultural Series and the ForeignAffairs Recreation Association recently honoredSgt. Maj. Walter Bruce on his retirement with a

piano recital by students from Georgetown Universityand the Department of State.

The thank-you to the sergeant major for his work whileon detail from the Pentagon came from students rangingin age from 5 to 82.

Marcus Brown, 5, son of employee Julia Brown, kickedoff the recital with a robust Sing a Song of Sixpence, fol-lowed by Callan Yanoff and Logan Yanoff, a brother-sister team, who played music by Faber and Poe.

Richard Livingston, a retired Foreign Service officer,gave a lively rendition of Rollin’s Waltzing the Blues while

30 State Magazine

Five-year-old Marcus Brown takes a bow after his performance.

Jonathan J. Rhodes fromGeorgetown played Kaba-levsky’s Waltz. Anne Herr, ananalyst in the Bureau ofIntelligence and Research,performed a very polishedAutumn Is Here by Gillock.Former Senator Charles H.Percy inspired the audiencewith his patriotic offerings,while J. P. Singh, an assistantprofessor at GeorgetownUniversity, played threeselections, including theArabian Nights.

As part of the salute, Chuck Johnson performedThompson’s Tango Carioca followed by Sara Ludin, whoplayed Lavalle’s The Butterfly, Opus 18, and Rachmaninoff’s18th Variation from Rhapsodie on a Theme of Paganini.

When Juliette Jarvis performed Take Five by Desmond,the audience swayed with the music. The audience alsoresponded favorably to Sarah Rahal when she playedRachmaninoff’s exquisite Elegie, Opus 3, no. 1. Pianist KotoKimura performed the First Movement of the sonata byHindemuth.

In a final salute to Sgt. Maj. Bruce, Kinisha LatoyaForbes performed three selections by Bach, Mozart andShostakovich, followed by Wayne Dorsey’s performanceof Chopin’s Polonaise in A flat major, Opus 53 (Heroic).

The series recently hosted the American debut per-formance of Chinese-born diva Shu-Cheen Yu, who wasaccompanied by pianist Li-Ly Chang. During her appear-ance, she performed Caccini’s Ave Maria, Puccini’s O MioBabbino Caro and Signor, Ascolta and a crowd-pleasingselection of Chinese folk songs.

The author is a computer specialist in the ExecutiveSecretariat.

Soprano Shu-Cheen Yu sangopera and Chinese folk songs.

O B I T U A R I E S

William O. Boswell, 89, a retired Foreign Service officer,died Aug. 8 in Bethesda, Md. He joined the ForeignService in 1938 and was assigned to Le Havre,Georgetown, Lisbon, Paris, Rome and Milan, where hewas consul general, and Cairo, where he was deputychief of mission. In Washington, D.C., he directed theOffice of Security and the Office of InternationalConferences. Mr. Boswell was also elected president ofthe American Foreign Service Association.

John R. “Jack” Davis, 70, a retiredForeign Service officer, died Aug. 18at Black Butte Ranch near Sisters,Ore. He served in the Navy duringthe Korean Conflict and joined theForeign Service in 1962. During his25-year career, he served in Mexico,Argentina, Costa Rica, Ghana andthe Sinai Peninsula. After retiring,Mr. Davis served as a substance

abuse counselor for the CIA.

Stella Elizabeth Davis, 85, a retired Foreign Service officer,died July 14 in Albany, Ga. A cultural and public affairsofficer, Ms. Davis served in the U.S. Information Agencyfrom 1951 to 1973 with assignments in South Africa,Ethiopia, Kenya, Vietnam, Tanzania and Ghana.

William I. Graham, 82, a retiredForeign Service staff officer, diedJuly 18 in Sarasota, Fla. He joinedthe Foreign Service in 1946 andserved in Addis Ababa, Tangiers,Beijing, Hong Kong, Vienna,Tokyo, Okinawa and Porto Alegre.He retired in 1970.

Raymond L. Harrell, 96, a retiredForeign Service officer, died Aug.15 at his home in Cocoa Beach, Fla.Born in the Philippines, the son ofan Army officer, Mr. Harrell servedas an officer in the Navy duringWorld War II and joined theForeign Service shortly afterwards.He served in Bogota, Havana,Mexico City and Bonn before retir-

ing in 1974.

John R. Horan, 85, a retired ForeignService officer, died May 30 of astroke in Point Roberts, Wash. Hejoined the Foreign Service in 1945after serving three years with theArmy Air Corps during World WarII. He was posted to London, Rome,Prague, Paris, Vienna, Lisbon, TelAviv, Panama City, Naples,Hamburg, Munich, Trieste and

Vancouver. After retiring from the Department in 1975, Mr.Horan worked for the Department of Justice for 20 years.

Arthur G. Huddle Jr., 63, husband of retired ForeignService communications specialist Edith Quick Huddle,died May 30 in Carrollton, Texas, of non-Hodgkins lym-phoma. Mr. Huddle accompanied his wife on assign-ments to Spain, Germany, Finland and Switzerland.

Donald Kreisberg, 68, a retired Foreign Service officer, diedJune 8 of congestive heart failure in Chevy Chase, Md. Heentered the Foreign Service in 1958 and retired in 1987after serving in Munich, San Salvador, Manila, Santiagoand Curacao. Before joining the Foreign Service, Mr.Kreisberg served as an officer in the U.S. Army inGermany and Pakistan. After retiring, he escorted per-forming arts groups on tours throughout Latin America,Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean for the U.S.Information Agency.

October 2002 31

O B I T U A R I E S

Sue Merrick Maule, 69, wife ofretired Foreign Service officerRobert W. “Bill” Maule, died Aug. 4 in Bremerton, Wash. from pancre-atic cancer. She accompanied herhusband on assignments inBrussels, Baghdad, Port-au-Prince,Vienna, Beirut, Montreal, Londonand again in Montreal, where Mr.Maule served as consul general.

Richard Queen, 51, a retired Foreign Service officer, diedAug. 14 at home in Falls Church, Va., from complicationsrelated to multiple sclerosis. In 1979, he was takenhostage with 65 other embassy employees in Tehran.After 250 days in captivity, Mr. Queen was released whenIranian doctors discovered he had an undetermined ill-ness that turned out to be multiple sclerosis. After theremaining hostages were released Jan. 20, 1981, heresumed his career, serving in London and Toronto. Hishealth continued to deteriorate, and he served in theBureau of Consular Affairs in Washington, D.C., until hisretirement in 1995.

32 State Magazine

Elsie M. Quick, 89, a retired ForeignService officer, died June 20 inNorth Carolina after a long illness.An employee of the War Depart-ment before and during World WarII, Ms. Quick joined the Depart-ment in 1949 as an economic ana-lyst in the division of functionalintelligence, the predecessor of theBureau of Intelligence and Re-

search. In 1960, she joined the Foreign Service and wasassigned to Seoul, Copenhagen and the Bureau of AfricanAffairs in Washington, D.C. She retired in 1970.

Foreign Service Retirements

PERSONNEL ACTIONS

Bocskor, David P.Brigman, William M.Carpenter, Richard A.De Brosse, Ronald P.de Pinedo, Jacqueline Dowling, Thomas E.

Fleming, William D.Harrison, Beverly O.Karlen, Dale A.McCallie, Marshall F.Morris, Dale C.Newman, George P.

Perry, Robert C.Smithson, Lucille M.Valenti, Rose MarieWillis, Mark W.

Civil Service RetirementsArtis, Annie M.Carter, Mildred A.Castello Branco, HairamCatlett, William H.Gillespie, Vivian SueGunn, Joyce Johnson, Nellie M.Malkin, Joanne R.

McDaniel, Joyce D.Robinson, Inez P.Roh, Sigmund S.Short, Robert C.Smoaks, Joyce L.Stormont, Russell M.White, Elizabeth Ann