Diplomat in Residence – DC Metro
(DC, DE, MD)
Tours: Belgrade, Yugoslavia (Consular and Management rotation); London, UK (Management); Majuro, Marshall Islands (Management); The Hague, Netherlands (General Services Officer); Ankara, Turkey (Human Resources Officer); Foreign Service Institute (Orientation Officer); Nogales, Mexico (Principal Officer); Nassau, Bahamas (Deputy Chief of Mission); Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs (Office Director, Executive Director); Bureau of Administration (Chief of Staff, Deputy Assistant Secretary).
Career Track: Management
Years of Service: 35
Prior Experience: I worked my way through college as a real estate agent. Upon graduating I worked for Unisys Corporation prior to joining the Foreign Service.
Languages: Spanish, Dutch, Serbo-Croatian, and Turkish
Education: Degrees (Bachelor’s) in business/finance and Spanish from Brigham Young University
Interesting Experience: For me, it’s the “little things” that make the difference. Experiences at corner grocery stores, street markets, churches, and barber shops. Even though most of my hair has long since disappeared, I’ve especially enjoyed developing relationships with the various barbers I’ve known over the years. Their insights into the community, society, and language all come in short fifteen-minute lessons every two weeks where I have sat as a truly captive audience of one. Over the course of years, these relationships have deepened and led to visits to homes, family celebrations, life events, and a deeper appreciation of the journey that is a career in the Foreign Service. Tip your barber!
Last Post: Deputy Assistant Secretary for Logistics Management.
Why I Chose a Foreign Service Career: I spent two years in Izmir, Turkey as a teenage “Army Brat” during which I had the opportunity to spend an afternoon observing the operations at our consulate and was fascinated as I watched foreign service officers issuing visas, birth certificates, and passports. I learned how these State Department professionals also visited hospitalized and imprisoned Americans and was amazed by the idea that I could spend a career devoted to such work. It amazed me that one could even get paid to learn new languages and spend years living and traveling around the world. It seemed too good to be true; but the more I learned about the Foreign Service, the better it sounded. In the years since, it has yet to disappoint.