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15
AFSA Awards:
Recognizing the Best
E
ach year since 1968, AFSA has honored those in the Foreign
Service community who have demonstrated intellectual cour-
age, exemplary performance and outstanding service.
Winners of AFSA’s Constructive Dissent, Exemplary Per-
formance and Lifetime Contributions to American Diplomacy
Awards are recognized each June at a ceremony in the Benjamin
Franklin Diplomatic Reception Room at the Department of State.
Charles Stuart “Stu” Kennedy received this year’s Lifetime
Contributions to American Diplomacy Award
in recognition of a distinguished Foreign Service
career and a lifetime of public service. Kennedy
retired from the Foreign Service in 1985 with
the rank of Minister Counselor. He created the
Foreign Affairs Oral History Collection while
serving as managing director of The George
Washington University’s Foreign Service His-
tory Center. The program moved to the Associa-
tion of Diplomatic Studies and Training in 1988,
where Kennedy continues to serve as its director.
The ADST Oral History Collection now includes
more than 1,800 entries, which are all posted
on the Library of Congress website (http://
memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/diploma-
cy). It is fitting that during its 90th anniversary
year, AFSA recognized Kennedy for his invalu-
able contribution to keeping the stories of the
Foreign Service alive.
Recognizing Dissent
AFSA offers four awards for constructive dissent to Foreign Ser-
vice members who work constructively within the system to
change policy and performance for the better. Such dissent may
be made in any nonpublic channel, including meetings, emails to
superiors, memoranda, telegrams or via the State Department’s
formal Dissent Channel. These awards are unique within the fed-
eral government.
These awards are not necessarily given each year, but only when
a deserving candidate is identified. In 2014, following a robust
publicity campaign of AFSAnet email messages, cables and
Foreign
Service
Journal
articles, AFSA received nominations in all catego-
ries. And, for the first time since 2006, we bestowed all four awards.
The
W. Averell Harriman Award
for entry-level Foreign Ser-
vice officers was given to William O’Bryan, who convinced Mis-
sion Saudi Arabia to start attending trials of human rights activ-
ists, giving the mission a window into the Saudi legal system that
did not previously exist.
David Holmes received the
William R. Rivkin Award
for mid-
level officers. Holmes argued that the division of authority be-
tween the Office of the Special Representative for Afghanistan and
Pakistan and the Bureau of Central and South Asian Affairs was
hindering U.S. diplomatic priorities.
The
F. Allen “Tex” Harris Award
for Foreign Service Special-
ists was awarded to Nick Pietrowicz, who raised important con-
cerns about the need to balance human rights and respect for
the rule of law in U.S. programs that provide counterterrorism
assistance to other countries.
Ambassador Jonathan Addleton, a USAID FSO, was awarded
the
Christian A. Herter Award
for a senior Foreign Service of-
ficer. Addleton’s belief that the State Department’s complex system
for reviewing requests by Foreign Service personnel to speak and
write is overly risk-averse and inhibits rapid responses led him to
urge a systematic review of the department’s public affairs policy.
Recognizing Outstanding Performance
AFSA gave three awards for exemplary performance in 2014.
These awards highlight the professionalism and spirit of service
and volunteerism found within the Foreign Service community.
The
Avis Bohlen Award
for an eligible family member of a
Foreign Service employee went to Kari Osborne for her volunteer
work in Mexico City.
Mary Kay Cunningham won the
M. Juanita Guess Award
for
a community liaison office coordinator for creating a supportive
and positive environment while serving as CLO in Kabul.
The
Nelson B. Delavan Award
for a Foreign Service office
management specialist was given to Carol K. Backman, who used
her exemplary computer skills to great effect at Embassy Ankara.
Sinclaire Awards
AFSA is also proud to recognize Foreign Service employees for
Awards and Plaques Committee:
(from left) Perri Green, Kit Norland, Daniel
Martinez, Eva Groening, Amb. Ed Marks, Robert Silverman, Amb. John Limbert,
Janice Bay, Amb. Ed Peck, Ruth Hall, Allison Lee, Adam Center, Anthony
Fernandes. (
Not pictured:
Joseph Bristol.)