Victor Masbayi was born in Nairobi, Kenya in 1951; he lived there with his family throughout his undergraduate college education…
Food for Thought: A Woman in African Agricultural Development
In 2003, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) allocated up to $650 million worth of food aid to…
60 Minutes in Central America: The Politicization of Development During the Cold War
Complex geopolitical realities, poor leadership, and economic dysfunction characterized the Cold War in Nicaragua, Honduras, and El Salvador. USAID (United…
FLOTUS For a Night—USAID Employee Stands in at First Ladies Conference
When USAID employee Judith Gilmore was asked to play First Lady of the United States (FLOTUS), it wasn’t because a…
Jakarta on Fire: The May 1998 Riots and Indonesian Revolution
Shawn Dorman watched as Jakarta descended into violent chaos and destruction overtook the city. At the conclusion of the May…
“Encouraging” Soviet Workmen in 1984—Vodka, Cigarettes, and Snow Plowing in Soviet Russia
The currency of Soviet Russia was the ruble—or was it? When General Services Officer Robert Weisberg was posted to the…
“She’s Not a Woman, She’s a Diplomat”—Navigating Saudi Arabia in the 1980s
A car full of armed guards trailed after Janice Bay as she defiantly walked down the gate-lined road away from…
Diamonds, Coal, and the Dutch Queen—NBC’s First Female Broadcaster Escapes The Netherlands in 1940
Reporting live from a shortwave radio station near the German border at the beginning of World War II, NBC’s first…
Fighting LGBT Discrimination, and Fighting to Stay in the Foreign Service
Up until the late 1990s, Foreign Service careers were denied to openly gay men under the pretense of security concerns.…
Thanksgiving: How U.S. Diplomats Celebrate an American Tradition Around the World
Gobble, gobble! Thanksgiving is a unique American holiday — one that U.S. embassies, foreign service families, and American expats of…