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Greetings!
We hope you can attend Wednesday's all member's meeting! Please RSVP to Aaron Jensen at [email protected].
The GLBT foreign affairs community has had some very good news in the past few weeks!
First, the Department has made security training available to all members of household.
Second, due to GLIFAA's efforts and press from Ambassador Guest's retirement, Congress is supporting our efforts to expand the MOH policy as well as changing health benefits for government employees.
Finally, the Department has changed its policy regarding the employment of HIV positive foreign service officers.
Also, Civil Service personnel should look here for information regarding legislation affecting their benefits.
Please join us Wednesday as we devise strategy to continue to advocate for our issues!
-The GLIFAA Board
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Upcoming Events All Members - Open Board Meeting
Featuring: Aaron Jensen, outgoing GLIFAA
President Ajit Joshi, outgoing Policy
Director Ashton Giese, outgoing Public Relations Director Selim Ariturk, outgoing Outreach
Chair John
Wiecking, outgoing Treasurer And you! Please join us! All GLIFAA members,
partners, and friends are welcome.
Appetizers and drinks will be
served!
We will be discussing...
- April Elections
- PRIDE Activities
- Advocacy and outreach plans
GLIFAA has held these monthly meetings in the past - we plan
to resurrect at least quarterly meetings where all members are
welcome.
Please RSVP to Aaron Jensen - [email protected]
Residence of Aaron Jensen 1427 Chapin Street NW Apt 302 Metro U
Street Cardozo
Wednesday, March 5 7:00 - 9:00 pm ----------------------------------------------------------------- GLIFAA - SAIS - Harvard - World Bank Happy Hour @ Nellie's! GLIFAA invites you to network with LGBT groups from the academic and development communities.
Wednesday, March 26 6:30 - 8:30 pm-----------------------------------------------------------------FedGlobe Happy Hour at Cobalt/30 Degrees
Join other LGBT Federal Employees for their monthly 1st Thursday at Cobalt!
Cobalt/30 Degrees 1639 R St NW Metro: Dupont Circle
Thursday, March 6 6:00 - 8:00 pm
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Send in Nominations! GLIFAA Board Elections around the Corner...
Thinking about expanding your leadership experience? Want to get involved with a group on the front lines of advocating for GLBT rights for federal employees??
Think about getting involved with the GLIFAA Board or - do you know someone who would be perfect for our board?
Send in nominations to [email protected] by March 21st!
Speak with President Aaron Jensen at State ([email protected]), Policy Director Ajit Joshi at USAID ([email protected]) or email [email protected] to get more information.
All positions will be up for re-election, including:
President Policy Director Treasurer Public Affairs Director Membership Outreach Civil Service Coordinator
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State Encorages Security Training for MOH Security-related training offered by FSI:
(a) SAFE (Safety
Abroad for Families and Employees) is the mandatory personal security training
for personnel under Chief of Mission (COM) authority. It consists of two
training modules, which can be taken separately. State career employees are only required to
take the Security Overseas Seminar. The second
(Working in an Embassy) is included in entry- level training.
-- (1) The
Security Overseas Seminar (SOS) (MQ911) is a two-day class at FSI. It is mandatory for all employees under COM
authority prior to their first overseas assignment. Family members and MOHs are also strongly encouraged to enroll. For additional information,
and a schedule of classes, please see
HTTP://FSI.STATE.GOV/ADMIN/REG/DEFAULT.ASP?EVENTID=MQ911
State employees
will be automatically enrolled upon assignment overseas.
-- (2) Working in
an Embassy (WIAE) (PN113) is an on-line, Distance Learning follow-on to SOS and
is also mandatory for personnel under Chief of Mission authority,
regardless of agency. (See above note regarding
career State Department FS employees.) While family members and MOHs are
welcome, it is most relevant to
those who expect to work within an embassy.
For additional information, and a schedule of classes, please see
HTTP://FSI.STATE.GOV/ADMIN/REG/DEFAULT.ASP?EVENTID=PN113
(b) Advanced
Security Overseas Seminar (MQ912) is open to those who have taken the two-day
Security Overseas Seminar (MQ911). It
fulfills the requirement to take the SOS program every five years and is
available on line, through Distance Learning. For additional information,
please see
HTTP://FSI.STATE.GOV/ADMIN/REG/DEFAULT.ASP?EVENTID=MQ912
(c) The Security
Overseas Seminar, Youth (MQ914) is a one-day class at FSI held in February and
during the summer months, exploring safety and security issue that our youth
may face in an overseas environment and help them identify resources to protect
themselves. In February, classes are
held for family members and MOHs in grades six through twelve. Classes in the summer are open to those in grades
two through twelve. For additional information,
please see
HTTP://FSI.STATE.GOV/ADMIN/REG/DEFAULT.ASP?EVENTID=MQ914
To enroll their family members and MOHs, and
to enroll themselves in the courses for which enrollment is not automatic,
State employees should contact their Career Development Officer (CDO). All other agencies should contact their Human
Resources office.
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GLIFAA appreciates your dues!
Please Click Here to pay 2008 dues.
To review our 2007
expenses, we began using this nifty new newsletter at a small monthly
cost, donated money to the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights
Commission, sent our Director of Public Affairs and Communications to the annual
Out and Equal Conference, and kept the organization running
administratively.
The Board has bigger plans in
2008. While we continue pushing for equality of benefits
with senior management and advocate for GLBT issues, we hope to significantly
increase our outreach and visibility in Washington. GLIFAA needs
to be noticed by senior management and the gay and lesbian activist
community.
We appreciate the strong
support many of you have made over the past few years, and hope you'll join
again this year. We believe we have corrected the situation
that caused some uncashed checks in 2006. Furthermore, our new Treasurer has
expressed that although we were able to get through 2007 without your
contributions, we cannot expect the same in 2008! |
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Apply for the International Career Advancement Program!
Please take a look at the International Career Advancement Program (ICAP). The program is geared to anyone who self-identifies as a minority, makes a compelling case of being part of an underrepresented group in international affairs, and makes the argument that being part of ICAP will help his/her career and the advancement of his/her minority. The LGBT community counts!
The Graduate School of
International Studies, University
of Denver, and the Aspen
Institute invite nominations and applications for the International Career Advancement Program (ICAP). ICAP
will bring together mid-career professionals from groups underrepresented in
leadership positions in international affairs with senior officials and
policy-makers to spend one week in Aspen,
Colorado, September 20-28, 2008, discussing:
- Major international issues to be faced during
the next decade
- The credentials and experiences normally sought
for senior appointments
- Common career patterns of those achieving senior
positions
- The importance of diversity if US interest are
to be served adequately
- Career issues or problems and how they can be
addressed
- Obstacles faced by those seeking advancement and
how to overcome them
- Programs and policies designed to increase
diversity at senior levels
The purpose of ICAP is to help bring higher quality
and greater diversity to the staffing of senior management and policy-making
positions in international careers in the US, both governmental and
private. The aim is to assist highly
promising mid-career professionals advance to more senior positions in
international affairs. Those selected
for the program pay for their own travel and must pay a $150 registration fee
but their room, meals and program expenses in Aspen are provided by the program. Applicants should:
- Have a demonstrated commitment to increasing the
quality and diversity of senior leadership in the US in international affairs
- Be US citizens or permanent residents
- Be professionals who have been or are now in
international careers, with 3 to 15 years of working experience
- Have an interest in a long-term career in
international affairs
- Have credentials and achievements that indicate
potential for the highest levels of administration and policy-making
- Be committed to providing support for their
peers and mentoring those junior to them
For an application form, go to http://www.du.edu/~trowe/icap or write
or email:
Professor Thomas Rowe, Director International Career Advancement Program Graduate School of International Studies, University of Denver 2201 South
Gaylord Street Denver, Colorado 80208 E-mail: [email protected]
Completed Applications
are due by May 5, 2008
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Congress Supporting Changes to State MOH policy
Miami-Herald: "Ros-Lehtinen, others protest "inequitable treatment of gay and lesbian Foreign Service Officers"
On Thursday, U.S. Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Tammy Baldwin, Howard Berman and Gary Ackerman sent this letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice:
"We have followed with great interest and concern the media coverage of the workplace inequities facing gays and lesbians in the U.S. Department of State. As in the case of Former Ambassador to Romania Michael Guest, the inequitable treatment of gay and lesbian Foreign Service Officers (FSOs) and their partners should not be allowed to lead highly qualified employees to leave the State Department at a time when their service is needed more than ever. Many of these inequities could clearly be remedied through your leadership as Secretary, without legislative changes. We write to highlight basic and common-sense policy changes that beg your prompt attention and ask that you act to make eliminating inequities facing gays and lesbians at the State Department a priority.
"By not including same-sex partners in the definition of an "Eligible Family Member" (EFM), the Department excludes them from many of the benefits, protections, and services that are enjoyed by family members of married FSOs, and that are important to the safety, effectiveness, and morale of our communities abroad."
You can read the entire letter here
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Ambassador Guest on XM Radio
Listen to Ambassador Guest on "The Agenda with Joe Solmonese" February 18th on XM Radio here: http://www.theagendaonxm.org/audio-archive/
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US Drops Ban on HIV Positive Diplomats From the Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Under pressure from a
lawsuit, the State Department is changing rules that had disqualified HIV-positive people
from becoming U.S. diplomats.
Effective Friday, the department removed
HIV from a list
of medical conditions that automatically prevent foreign service candidates from meeting an employment requirement that they be able to work anywhere in the
world.
The change was made after consultation with
medical experts and in response to a lawsuit filed by an HIV-positive man who
was denied entry into the foreign service despite being otherwise qualified, the
department said.
Prospective diplomats with HIV will now be
considered for the foreign service on a case-by-case basis, along with those
with other designated ailments like cancer to determine if they meet the
''worldwide availability'' standard, it said.
Officials denied that the policy had ever
intentionally discriminated against HIV-positive people and noted that the
policy had applied only to incoming diplomats, not those who had contracted the
virus or other diseases while in the foreign service.
''We have a policy requiring that all
foreign service officers be worldwide available as determined by a medical
examination at the time of entry into the foreign service,'' said Gonzalo
Gallegos, a State Department spokesman. ''That has not changed.''
The department's chief medical officer had
''revised its medical clearance guidelines on HIV based on
advances in HIV care and treatment and consultations with medical experts,''
Gallegos said. ''The new clearance guidelines provide that HIV-positive
individuals may be deemed worldwide available if certain medical conditions are
met.''
The decision was hailed by Lambda Legal, a
New York-based group that advocates for the civil
rights of homosexuals, bisexuals, transgender people and those with HIV and
represented the plaintiff in the lawsuit against the State
Department.
''The new guidelines mean that candidates
for Foreign Service posts who have HIV will now be
assessed on a case-by-case basis, as the law requires,'' said Bebe Anderson, the
organization's HIV project director. ''At long last, the State Department is
taking down its sign that read, 'People with HIV need not
apply.'''
The change in policy came less than two
weeks before the trial in the lawsuit brought in 2003 by Lorenzo Taylor, a
trilingual international affairs specialist who passed the difficult foreign
service application process but was rejected after he told the department of his
HIV status.
''Now people like me who apply to the
Foreign Service will not have to go through what I did,'' Taylor said in a
statement. ''They and others with HIV will know
that they do not have to surrender to stigma, ignorance, fear or the efforts of
anyone, even the federal government, to impose second-class citizenship on them.
They can fight back.''
Lambda Legal said the suit had been settled
''partly due to the new guidelines,'' but the State Department said the policy
switch was not part of the settlement.
''The change simply reflects medical
advances in the area of HIV care and maintenance,'' Gallegos said.
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FSO or MOH Blogging?!
Michelle Schohn is looking for FSOs and/or MOHs with blogs about their experiences abroad!
The MOH Network has been having a lively discussion on Yahoo-Groups and the Board encorages MOHs to participate! Email moderator [email protected] if you cannot access the homepage of the network Please provide identifying information (employee of which
organization, or MOH of which employee who is at which organization) so that
you can be verified prior to being part of the group.
For those of
wanting to "institutionalize" your experiences, here is one great
example: lifeafterjerusalem.blogspot.com.
Michelle Schohn is
looking to create links from her blog to any of the blogs of other FSOs
and/or MOHs, in particular who have stories about MOH issues. If you
have a blog and are willing to let Michelle put a link to your blog on her
blog, please email her.
And if you're still not convinced,
Michelle, a Public Diplomacy professional, says "I think blogs are a good
way to let people know what life is like in the FS, whether as an employee,
spouse/partner (same or opposite sex) or family member. And for those of us
with MOH or partner issues, it is an excellent way to get the word out on what
we deal with!" "The MOH Network" is a discussion group for all individuals who fall into the classification of Members of Household as defined in 3 FAM 4180 and their partners/sponsors. A MOH is anyone accompanying a Foreign Service Officer to post. This includes parents, partners, (opposite sex, same sex), and children over age 21. In other words-anyone who is not mentioned on an officer's orders. The MOH Network is a venue for MOHs to seek out resources and information. It is also a place for individuals to share strategies, vent frustration and most important - find support.
Employees are requested to please share this
information with their family members.
Sign up: [email protected]
Contact: [email protected] |
Did you serve in Iraq or Afghanistan??
GLIFAA would like to compile a list of GLBT members who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan. Even if you feel that you do not want to provide your name, please let us know so you can be counted. This type of information will help show our leadership the committment that gay members have to our work - as well as show a real need to provide equal treatment. Please email [email protected]
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