“We are building a team that looks like America, led by extraordinary public servants.”
– Secretary of State Antony Blinken

In our “Disabilities Powering Diplomacy” series, we feature U.S. Department of State employees who identify as having a disability. We share a bit about their careers and their contributions to a more secure, prosperous, and democratic world.

Alex Barrasso, Senior Advisor for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs

Alex smiles at the camera; he is white and has straight brown hair, a mustache and small beard with some silvery hairs, a light blue dress shirt, and a patterned tie in muted colors.Alex joined the State Department in 1999 and has served in Saudi Arabia, Brunei, Czechia, Colombia, Singapore, and Thailand. He serves concurrently as Chair of theDisability Action Group. From 2019-2021, Alex directed a $1.1 billion program on critical infrastructure protection and public security in Riyadh. He speaks Czech, Spanish, Thai, Italian and German. During his free time, Alex enjoys chess. He has won the U.S. Chess Championship for Blind Players five times. (Last updated August 2023)

Angela Cannella, Special Emphasis Program Manager, Office of Civil Rights
Angela smiles at the camera and has olive-colored skin, brown eyes, and wavy hair that is both brown and light-colored down to her shoulders. She wears a dress shirt and coat and poses in front of the flags in the State Department lobby.Angela focuses on the Federal Women’s Program (FWP), Individuals with Disabilities Program (IWDP), and Hispanic Employment Program (HEP) within the Data Analysis, Management, and Outreach section in the Office of Civil Rights. Angela advocates for equity in the federal government workforce. Outside of work, Angela loves to travel around the world, spend time outdoors, enjoy adventures, and try new things every day. (Last updated August 2023)

Mariyam Cementwala, Senior Policy Advisor, Secretary’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion

Mariyam is a brown-skinned Muslim woman with a warm smile and brown eyes, wearing a dark purple hijab with silver patterns, and holding a long, white cane. She stands in front of a sky-blue background with clouds.

Mariyam is headed to U.S. Embassy Georgetown to lead the Political-Economic Section. As Senior Policy Advisor in the Secretary’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion, she has delivered creative solutions to champion empowering and equitable work environments and driven organizational change. A trained lawyer, Mariyam draws from more than 20 years of experience working with diverse groups of international professionals in the public and private sectors. Her life experience includes being the youngest person in the room drafting the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and becoming the Department’s first visibly disabled female diplomat of color. (Last updated August 2023)

Robb Dooling, Technical Editor, Bureau of Intelligence and Research

Robb is white with curly blond hair, light orange facial hair, a pink shirt, and a red tie. A cochlear implant is visible on his right ear. He stands in front of the flag of Washington, DC.

Robb identifies as Deaf and queer and works as a Technical Editor in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research. Robb likes to joke that his job is a Deaf person teaching English grammar to a hearing person. He also supports other State Department bureaus in interviewing disability rights activists from around the world. Robb has worked at the Department of State for seven years and enjoys bicycle adventures in his free time. (Last updated August 2023)

Traci Goodrich, Equal Employment Opportunity Specialist, Office of Civil Rights

Traci is white with long and dirty blond hair just past her shoulders, blue eyes, a blue jacket, and a black shirt. She smiles at the camera and stands on a street with trees in the background.

Traci is Deaf and a native user of American Sign Language. As an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Specialist, Traci serves as a member of the Informal Team where she manages and provides oversight for the State Department’s global EEO program. She also serves as one of the Department’s trainers for EEO Briefings, domestic and international. Traci has worked at the Department for three years and enjoys playing with her dog Aspen, hiking the National Parks, and traveling. (Last updated August 2023)

Catherine Elias Kay, Senior Advisor, Secretary’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion

Ms. Kay, a white woman, smiles in front of a U.S. flag and blue background. She is middle-aged with shoulder-length straight auburn hair and wearing blue glasses, pearl earrings, and a salmon blazer over a beaded white blouse.

Ms. Kay is a Senior Advisor in the Secretary’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion. She has Type 1 diabetes, degenerative disc disease, and long COVID. Ms. Kay joined the Foreign Service in 1992 and specializes in political affairs. She has served in Iraq, Morocco, Greece, South Africa, Slovenia, Canada, and Romania, the Secretary’s Policy Planning Staff and Operations Center, plus five regional and functional bureaus. She has earned over a dozen performance awards. Ms. Kay holds degrees from U. Chicago and U. Wisconsin-Madison and served fellowships at Georgetown and Aspen Institute. She and her husband have two children. (Last updated August 2023)

Arisa Nakamori, Human Resource Specialist / International Compensation Manager, Office of Overseas Employment in the Bureau of Global Talent Management

Arisa is Asian with a peachy undertone and has black straight long hair. She wears a dark grey dress with a black blazer and a pearl necklace and earrings, standing in front of the flags in the State Department lobby.Arisa has served in the State Department for 13 years.  She strives to recruit and retain the most diverse talent and supports Locally Employed staff at missions worldwide.  Arisa is fluent in Japanese and Japanese Sign Language.  She was born in California and raised in Japan.  Arisa enjoys spending time outdoors, traveling, cooking delicious food, and making memories with her family and friends. (Last updated August 2023)

Wayne Rongero, Team Lead, Diplomatic Pouch Mail

Wayne has brown skin and brown eyes, straight black hair, a white and gray striped dress shirt, and a State Department lanyard. They pose in front of the flags in the State Department lobby.

Wayne is Filipino-American, fully deaf in the left ear, and wears a hearing aid in the right ear. Wayne is fluent in American Sign Language. They have been a Service Source government contractor for 12 years, with 8 of those years being at the Department of State. Being a part of Service Source and working for the Department of State has given Wayne excellent work experience for which they are thankful and proud. (Last updated August 2023)

Doug Surette, Foreign Service Specialist / Diplomatic Technology Cybersecurity Officer, Bureau of European Affairs and International Organizations

Doug poses with Secretary Blinken: both gentlemen stand shoulder-to-shoulder, grin at the camera, and wear dark jackets, dress shirts, ties, and flag pins. Doug is white with brown eyes, silvery hair, and glasses.

Doug supports Missions Finland, Russia, and Belarus in his current role. Doug also represents the Department at Deaf events and supports international disability rights work across the Department. Doug started his career in 2012 and in each mission he’s served at, he has done something unique for local Deaf individuals. (Last updated August 2023)

Cara Yar Khan, Senior Advisor on International Disability Rights, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor

Cara is a South Asian bi-racial woman with green eyes, medium tone skin, and dark curly hair tied up. She wears a bright blue high-collared dress and large blue and diamond cluster earrings. Cara started her career in 2001 with the United Nations World Food Programme in Ecuador, followed by private sector leadership roles and work with UNICEF in Angola, China, Madagascar, Mozambique, Thailand, Haiti, and USA. Cara has a master’s degree in international public policy from John Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies in Italy. (Last updated August 2023)

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