AFSANET from the USAID Vice President

May 2, 2007

Please send any questions or comments to AFSA/USAID Vice President Francisco Zamora at fzamora@usaid.gov.

(1) The New Vanguard is Out : The second issue of The Vanguard is now out. As you may recall, this is a newsletter produced by the AFSA staff at USAID to fill the gap left by the untimely demise of FrontLines. Please find the new issue here (PDF 558 KB).

(2) Under New Management : As you all know at this point, USAID Administrator Randall Tobias resigned on April 27, citing personal reasons. While AFSA laments the poor situation left behind by his departure we look forward to working with acting Administrator James Kunder, who seems to want to involve us more closely in Agency business. A good sign is that Mr. Kunder asked to meet with AFSA on the first day of his new position as Acting Administrator. We should be meeting early next week and will report to the membership on this meeting.

(3) Foreign Affairs Day : AFSA encourages all to attend this Friday’s annual Foreign Affairs Day. This year, we will be adding three names to the memorial plaque of Foreign Service colleagues who have given their lives in the line of duty. Among this year’s honorees is USAID’s Margaret Alexander. The plaque ceremony will begin at 10:20 am in the C Street lobby of the State Department. Undersecretary Nicholas Burns and acting USAID Administrator Jim Kunder are expected to be in attendance.

(4) Pension Advice : AFSA’s retiree division has gathered some very useful advice for those of you receiving a federal pension. Please give that a good look here.

(5) What Happened to the Blog? Many of you have asked why I have not updated the VP blog lately. The AFSA election committee has asked me not to update it during election season to avoid any semblance of impropriety, and I have agreed. It should be back live early next month.

(6) Stop By : As always, we welcome visitors at the AFSA office, which is located in RRB 2.10-C. I am available via phone at 202-712-1631 and via e-mail at fzamora@usaid.gov. Senior Labor Management Advisor Doug Broome is at 202-712-0947 or dbroome@usaid.gov. The main AFSA/USAID number is 202-712-1941, while AFSA HQ is at 202-338-4540.