Executive Director Alyson Reed x114 areed@dacorbacon.org
Director of Operations
Meg Sharley x110 msharley@dacorbacon.org
Director of Development vacant
Director of Finance
Abdul Raheem Raheem, x116 araheem@dacorbacon.org
Director of Communications & Programs
Bulletin Editor & Designer
Christine Skodon, x117 clskodon@dacorbacon.org
Staff Accountant
Alexandra Pizzi, x113 apizzi@dacorbacon.org
Administrative Assistant
Laska Hurley, x111 adminassist@dacorbacon.org
Chef vacant
General Inquiries dacor@dacorbacon.org
The DACOR Bacon House is built on the Indigenous lands of the Nacotchtank (Anacostan) and later Piscataway people. The House was built in 1825 by enslaved laborers. Enslaved people lived and worked in the DACOR Bacon House until 1862 when the District of Columbia Emancipation Act was signed.
DACOR Programs & Policies
LUNCHEON TALKS
Members, along with guests they accompany, are invited to attend luncheon talks which are held weekly throughout the year. Unless otherwise noted, these talks begin at noon with a cash bar reception in honor of the speaker. Lunch starts at 12:30 pm, followed by the speaker’s remarks which conclude by 2:00 pm; attendees are free to leave at that time.
The charge is $35 per DACOR member and reservations are required. (The charge for attending only the speaker portion of the program from 1 – 2 pm is $15.) Changes and/or cancellations to programs are announced in our e-blasts and on our website.
OTHER EVENTS
All members of DACOR are invited to attend ADST/DACOR book launch receptions, receptions for newly-commissioned FSOs, and DCM/PO receptions for DCMs and Principal Officers. There is no entry charge, but reservations are necessary. Members are also welcome at the Sunday afternoon Huston Musicales; a fee of $35 per DACOR member and $45 for guests is collected at the door. Children under 18 are admitted free.
Disclaimer: DACOR encourages vigorous expression and questioning of points of view, while striving for balance. No endorsement of speakers’ views or of their charitable, professional or commercial bona fides should be inferred.
MEMBERS’ LUNCHEONS
Members and their guests are invited to lunch on Tuesdays and Thursdays, reservations are required. Members' Luncheons include a biscuit/bread, an entree, a dessert, and a cup of coffee/tea and cost $35. A cash bar is available from 12 and lunch is served from 12:30 to 1:30.
NO-SHOWS & CANCELLATIONS NOT RECEIVED BY 9 AM THE BUSINESS DAY BEFORE AN EVENT WILL BE BILLED.
— TO MAKE OR CANCEL RESERVATIONS — Register through the Calendar of Events at www.dacorbacon.org Or contact us at programs@dacorbacon.org or 202.682.0500 x120.
DACOR routinely takes photos at its events. Members and guests should notify the DACOR photographer if they want to restrict the use of their names and images.
DRESS CODE
DACOR maintains a professional business attire dress code in the DACOR Bacon House. While suits, ties and heels are always welcome, they are not required. For individual events, or categories of events, DACOR may apply a formal business attire dress code where men are expected to wear a suit or jacket and tie, and women should wear commensurate attire. Promotional material for these events will specify that formal business attire is required. During summer months, from Memorial Day to Labor Day, business casual may be worn.
From the Executive
Since joining DACOR and the DACOR Bacon House Foundation (DBHF) in early July, I have been tremendously impressed with the sheer volume and variety of programs, services, activities and volunteer engagement in the work carried out by these two important organizations. I have also been deeply concerned about the impact of recent policy changes affecting our nation’s foreign affairs community and our diminished capacity to engage in the critical work of international diplomacy.
During this challenging time, I want to be sure that DACOR and DBHF continue to serve as a valued resource for the foreign affairs community, offering a safe harbor, professional network, social space, and continuous learning opportunities for our members and other interested parties. This will require the dedication of our staff, Board members, committee leaders and members, donors, participants in our many events, and of course, our diverse pool of active members.
I am very much looking forward to collaborating with our new leadership team, including Ambassadors Tom Shannon (President) and Marcia Bernicat (Vice President), to advance our mission, ensure our financial sustainability, and meet the challenges ahead. One of our first orders of business will be to develop a new long-range strategic plan for both organizations, following on the successes and lessons learned from our prior two planning cycles. If you have ideas or thoughts about the goals and objectives that should be included in our next plan, please feel free to reach out to me or Marcia and Tom.
I want to take this opportunity of writing my first column to also personally thank Interim Executive Director and Immediate Past President, Angela Dickey, for her tireless service in both roles during this critical transition period for our two organizations. Her leadership has been instrumental in placing us on a much sounder footing to make progress going forward.
I very much enjoyed meeting many of our members at the Summer BBQ and other events I have attended this summer. I hope to meet many more of you in the coming weeks and months ahead.
Alyson Reed
x120
x125
Travel Committee
Are you interested in Tea Around Town DC?
Tea Around Town Washington, DC, takes you through the nation's capital aboard an elegant double-decker bus decorated with colorful wildflowers. Relax with teas and light bites while enjoying live entertainment and passing landmarks such as the Capitol Building, the Washington Monument, and the National Mall. If you would like to go on the 90 minute tour on December 9th or December 30th, please email Christine at clskodon@dacorbacon. org by November 9th. Please indicate which date and which experience you would like to book. The tour has two experience options: Petite at $115 and Luxe at $169 (there are sometimes sales available so the price may be less but we cannot garantee so).
Cocktails in the House
First Thursday of the Month 5 - 7 pm
Join us for drinks and great camaraderie in our beautiful, historic house. Features a cash & credit card bar.
Members are welcome to bring guests.
Logging into DACOR's Website QUICK GUIDE
• Go to www.dacorbacon.org, click Members Portal and then select the menu option you want.
• When the login page appears, enter your username and password if you have them and continue to the last bullet point below. If not, or if you need to reset them, go to the Reset Your Password section and enter your email we have on file. Click the Reset my Password button.
• Look for the reset email in your inbox. Don't see it? Check your spam folder.
• Take note of your username in the email (you can change it if you want to) and click on the reset link.
• Follow the prompts to reset your password.
• Enjoy all DACOR's website has to offer! Need additional help? Contact us at adminassist@dacorbacon.org or 202.682.0500 x111.
200 Years of DaCor BaCon House HistorY
DACOR Bacon House is celebrating its bicentennial year in 2024-2025 with a series of programs that highlight important events in the house’s history and the contributions its occupants made to our nation’s capital and to our national history. We have divided the two-hundred-year period into significant eras. For our September/October 2025 issue, we first cover the period from 1946 to 1958, when America settled into its role as leader of the free world and Virginia Bacon came into her own as one of Washington, D.C.’s premier A-list salonnieres. Then, we cover the period from 1959-1974, as Virginia Bacon reached the height of her reputation not only as A-list hostess, but also champion of the arts, preservationist and world traveler. Diplomats, European royalty, movie stars and intelligence analysts all came to her house because they knew they were in for a night of great conversation.
Terry Walz, DACOR Historian Elizabeth Warner, DACOR Archivist
1946 - 1958
Mid-Century Modern
1947
The Greatest Generation had survived an all-encompassing war victorious, and they now turned their attention to building the largest middle class and peacetime economy the world had ever seen. Meanwhile, politics went on as usual in Washington. Close to 100 people signed Virginia Bacon’s new guest book on January 6, 1947, when she held a reception at 1801 F Street to celebrate Republican success regaining control of both chambers of Congress for the first time since 1932. Welcoming new members was a biannual tradition she would carry on for several decades. Among the guests inscribing their autographs that night were her good friend Alice Roosevelt Longworth and newly-elected U.S. Representative Richard Nixon.
1949
No significant renovations had been made to the House since the 1920s, but in 1949 Virginia Bacon hired noted architect Louis A. Simon to create a two-story porch connecting the main house and carriage house (now known as the Mews). The resulting cast iron design is in the classic New Orleans French Quarter style with elaborate vine-and-grape scrollwork covering
the posts and lintels. A new stairway (later redesigned and enlarged) led from the porch down to the garden. At the time, the kitchen was still on the first floor of the House, and the cook and chauffeur lived in the carriage house. Virginia no longer kept horses on the property, but the overgrown garden was still a playground for her beloved West Highland terriers.
Two of the seven pages from Virginia Bacon’s guest book containing signatures from January 6, 1947, when she gave a huge reception for newly-elected and returning Republican members of Congress. Alice Roosevelt Longworth appears middle right below her daughter Paulina Sturm.
Pages from a diplomatic passport issued to Virginia Bacon in 1956, when she attended the coronation of the king of Nepal as Special Ambassador of the President
Continued on the next page.
permits to transport the tree and set up the three cranes necessary to hoist it over the garden wall and into place. Legend has it that Virginia facilitated the necessary municipal approvals by contacting her friend First Lady Mamie Eisenhower. The installation caused barely a ripple in her plans. Several days later she hosted dinner for three dozen people; two weeks after that she invited 100 guests to a party in honor of Metropolitan Opera General Manager Rudolph Bing. The willow oak still stands, now taller than the House itself with a spread that covers more than half the garden.
Left: Ca. 1980 photo o fthe New Orleans porch and stair to the Garden, looking northeast. Above: The Willow Oak in its full glory shades more than half the garden at 1801 F Street. The New Orleans porch and staircase are in the background left. (Photo by Elizabeth Warner)
Early 1960s
By the time 1959 eased into the 1960s, Virginia Murray Bacon had lived at 1801 F Street for more than a quarter century, burnishing its reputation as one of the premiere social addresses in Washington. She was fierce and uncompromising in her devotion to the historic character of her home and gardens, and she railed against the encroachment of modern buildings she dismissed as “vertical ice cube trays”. Her ownership of several easements and adjoining lots gave her certain leverage over developers. Most notably, she was able to stipulate in that an office building erected on her northern border could not have any windows below the sixth floor on the side facing her property. The developer was also required to replace several full-grown magnolia trees that died during excavations, and to repair damage to Mrs. Bacon’s 1954 Silver Wraith Rolls Royce caused by
Dr. Leonard Tuchin snapped this engaging photo in 1968 of a boy making eye contact with one of Virginia Bacon’s beloved “Westies” through the window of her Rolls Royce. The photo won a contest held by the Washington Star
1959-1974
The Grandest of Grandes Dames
some falling scaffolding. The Rolls Royce was an indelible mark of Virginia’s persona, waiting patiently outside embassies, hotel ballrooms and Elizabeth Arden salons, ready to set sail with its owner to her next appointment, for which she was almost always late.
1967
Now in her 70s, Virginia Bacon was still hosting salons, dinner parties and other events at 1801 F Street practically every week when she was in town. She was also beginning to think about her legacy and the future of her cherished Federal mansion, which was becoming a residential redoubt surrounded by a flotilla of commercial buildings. She wanted to find a suitable steward who would agree to take ownership of her home and continue its traditions. Virginia Bacon’s driving purpose always was to gather together the most interesting people to discuss the most important issues of the day. The journalist Lisa Sergio, who had once interviewed Mussolini, said of a dinner held in June 1967 just after the Six Day War that the guests, who included Italian Amb. Egidio Ortona, Amb. Lucius Battle, Columbia professor Zbigniew Brzezinski and Amb. Henry Cabot Lodge, remained “to compare notes and even argue well into the night.” Oh, to be a fly on the wall.
Page from Virginia Bacon’s engagement books detailing arrangement for a salon she held on June 21, 1967, shortly after the Six Day War.
A page from one of Virginia Bacon’ appointment books in September 1969 detailing an itinerary for the day that included a trip to see archaeological sites at Ghazni, a picnic lunch and a visit with the King of Afghanistan.
1969
And there was always the siren call of foreign travel to exotic lands. When you have friends in high places, you learn of opportunities too good to resist. In the fall of 1969, a tiny newspaper item announced that a group of “45 archeologists and eminent scholars from the Smithsonian Institute” had embarked on a three-week tour of antiquities in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The expedition included Virginia Bacon, who did not have a college degree but knew S. Dillon Ripley, the museum’s renowned secretary. In addition to touring various excavations and transiting through the Khyber Pass, our intrepid group enjoyed picnic lunches in the desert, a visit with Afghan King Mohammad Zahir Shah, and a stop in Teheran on the way home to take in some crown jewels and visit with another shah, which was a reunion of sorts as Virginia had first met Mohammad Reza Pahlavi some 20 years earlier on another trip to Iran.
1974
In addition to the numerous foreign leaders that Virginia Bacon met during her life, her roster included just about every U.S. President from Theodore Roosevelt on down, as well as their wives. Her strong advocacy for the arts and historic preservation earned her an appointment by President Eisenhower to the commission that created the Kennedy Center, which opened its doors in 1971. Virginia likewise found common ground with Lady Bird Johnson on her beautification program
for the nation’s capital. Her friendship with Richard Nixon was especially warm. She rode home aboard his vicepresidential plane one evening after a dinner they both attended in New York. He sent her a crate of oranges from California. She was one of only 10 guests at a White House dinner in January 1969 to celebrate Nixon’s inauguration as President, sharing the table with Henry Kissinger and Alice Roosevelt Longworth. But according to her long-term butler Amy Crews, Virginia made a dramatic show of breaking with Nixon after Watergate by throwing a framed portrait of him in the wastebasket. ▶ To be continued in the November edition . . .
Virginia Bacon, seated second from left, joins then-Vice President Richard Nixon, center, and others for lunch in the Senate Dining Room in May 1953.
eDuCation
Solomon Bennett
Georgetown University
Graduate School Focus: Labor Rights Diplomacy, U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle East and Africa
Undergraduate School: University of Massachusetts Amherst
Hometown: Lenox, MA
A 2025-2026 Graudate Fellow and Recipient of a Ben H. & Clare Roy
Thibodeaux Memorial Fellowship
• What has been the most memorable moment for you during your studies?
In a course focused on the United Nations and global institutions, I wrote a policy memo recommending the formation of an International Labour Organization (ILO) mobile inspection unit in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to investigate and remediate labor rights violations in the mining sector. The project allowed me to expand my understanding of labor rights issues in the context of armed civil war and conflict financing. My presentation of the memo before the class—for which I was allowed no notes or slides—helped to strengthen my ability to deliver concise, in-depth explanations of policy issues under pressure. This memorable experience refined my functional focus and inspired further inquiry into the relationship between diplomacy, labor rights, and trade.
• Where have you worked or interned during your studies? What have you gained from the experiences?
This past summer, I interned with the International Trade Administration, Office of Middle East & Africa. I served as an acting desk officer for the Ghana desk and partner posts in Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. In this capacity, I had the opportunity to participate in bilateral roundtables with the President of Senegal and the President of Mauritania. I learned in-depth about U.S. trade policy in a tumultuous trade environment while deepening my regional focus. This fall, I will be interning with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), where I look forward to gaining meaningful
experience in protecting the right of workers to join a union and collectively bargain.
• What are your goals for the future?
My educational and work experience has sparked a deeper interest in the intersection of trade and labor rights—catalyzed by topics including the U.S.-MexicoCanada Agreement (USMCA) Rapid Response Mechanism to enforce workers’ free association and collective bargaining rights and global supply chain due diligence initiatives. I hope to contribute to efforts to elevate the standard of living for working people both at home and abroad through diligent trade policy and innovative diplomacy while helping to reshape U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and Africa. I aim to pursue a career in diplomacy at the Department of Labor, Department of State, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative Labor Office, the International Labour Organization, or an international union.
• What has your scholarship/fellowship allowed you to do that you would not otherwise have been able to do?
The DACOR Bacon House Foundation Fellowship has made it possible for me to rely less on federal student loans to attend graduate school, putting me in a better financial position both as a current student and upon graduating. As a first-generation college graduate and graduate student from a working-class family, this support plays a vital role in allowing me to further my education and advance my commitment to public service.
DACOR Bacon House Foundation
Scholarships & Fellowships 2025-2026
A list of other award recipients can be found in the July/August 2025 edition of the DACOR Bulletin. Those listed below are more recent updates received from schools.
▶ Foreign Service Dependent Scholarships
These awards are funded by bequests from Heyward Gibbes Hill and Virginia Thurgood Bingham for undergraduate students. The Foundation’s contribution for this program, for children of Foreign Service members administered by the American Foreign Service Association, totals $40,000.
Michael Jordan andersson
nolan cushing
ruby Jane hishMeh
everett nils Johnson
Kevin eMil Keene
aMartya alexander lessard
Martha grace Morrill
sebastian Pucher
behailu savall Wedd
gladys huza shengero
isaiah shin
alessandra veveiros
vivian Jane younger
Webster University
Virginia Tech
The American University of Paris
Williams College
Pennsylvania State University
University of Southern California
George Washington University
University of Nebraska – Lincoln
Virginia Tech
University of Massachusetts Lowell
University of California San Diego
John Cabot University
University of Southern California
▶ Metro Undergraduate Scholarships Continued
saMir FlaMer
Howard University
Changing Faces at DACOR
THANK YOU AND GOOD LUCK TO:
Megan Darlington acted as Interim Administrative Assistant and Assistant to DACOR President Angela Dickey over the summer. During this time, Megan assisted members, supported staff, and helped update various processes at DACOR.
Megan came to DACOR from Meridian International Center where she worked as a Senior Program Coordinator on State Department-funded international exchange programs. Unfortunately, she was furloughed in February of this year. Previously, Megan was a Program Assistant at the Women’s Foreign Policy Group and participated in the Fulbright Program as an English Teaching Assistant in Perm, Russia. She has a Bachelor of Arts from Indiana University and a Master of Arts in International Affairs from the American University School of International Service.
We thank Megan for her hard work during important and sometimes difficult transition months at DACOR. And, we wish her the best of luck with her new position as a Military Personnel Exchange Programme Support Officer at the British Embassy in Washington.
Nobu Smith interned with DACOR's front office this summer. He is a rising junior at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, double majoring in Asian Studies and Political Science with a strong focus on foreign affairs, particularly in Southeast Asia. During his internship, he explored the roots of international politics, engaged with retired foreign service officers, and actively sought opportunities to deepen his understanding of the field. Nobu has studied both Mandarin and Japanese, aiming to better understand the historical and cultural contexts of China and Japan and their roles in shaping modern international relations. Planning to study in Japan this coming fall, Nobu is eager to explore politics from multiple angles and believed the DACOR Bacon House was the ideal place to do so.
Thank you to Nobu for his much needed assistance this summer. We were delighted he was able to learn so much by meeting our members and attending programs. Good luck to Nobu on his study abroad!
Audrey Straw was the Program Assistant at DACOR from December 2023 - July 2025. Audrey was invaluable to the Program team, assisting before, during and after events with all elements of programs. Her warm presence was appreciated by attendees. Audrey was a great writer and penned many articles for The DACOR Bulletins. She was always willing to help with whatever we threw at her!
While working at DACOR, Audrey also completed a Master of Arts in International Development, concentrating in Inclusive Development and Conflict, at The George Washington University Elliott School. In August, Audrey moved back to her home state of Massachusetts while she explores employment opportunities in international development, foreign affairs, and/or theater administration.
DACOR staff and members, particularly those in the Program Committee, thank Audrey for her dedication to DACOR during her long tenure as Program Assistant. We also wish Audrey the best of luck as she figures out her next steps.
WELCOME TO:
Carolyn "Carly" Ouellet has joined the DACOR Bacon House Foundation Office of Development as a Development Assistant. Previously, Carly worked within the Office of Partnerships at Detroit Public Schools as a development associate and grant writer working with private, state, and federal funders. Her work included strategizing funding for k-12 programming including school health clinics, clean school bussing, school safety, and out-of-school time. Her other professional experiences include time with the National Park Service, Americorps Vista, and the Michigan State Appellate Defender's Office. Carly is currently a Master's candidate at American University's School of Public Affairs studying public policy and is a graduate of Michigan State University (BA, 2021).
Ava Barron is the Archives Intern at DACOR Bacon House for the Fall Semester. She is a senior at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly SLO). She is majoring in Communication Studies and minoring in Anthropology and Geography. Ava chose to major in Communication Studies because she felt it was broad enough to support any one of her many (career) interests. These include, history, cultural studies, diplomacy and foreign relations. Adding the Anthropology and Geography minor in her Junior year at Cal Poly SLO has helped her better understand how she wishes to use her communication skills moving forward. She hopes to someday work with an organization such as the United Nations or National Geographic; anywhere that gives her the opportunity to travel and learn about other peoples, cultures and histories.
Ava was born and raised in San Diego, California and has therefore lived on the West Coast all her life, besides a short stint when she studied abroad in Florence, Italy. There, she attended several classes – her favorite being her Art History course because of its unique interactive element in which she and her peers were able to visit churches, museums and other historical Florentine landmarks. She hopes to someday return to Florence and explore more of Europe. Listening to the members of DACOR recount their experiences in various foreign affairs offices has further fueled her ambition.
Outside of school, Ava volunteers for a pet boarding facility where she is in charge of socializing dogs and cats while their owners are away for extended periods. Ava has always loved animals – she owns a dog, cat, and two hermit crabs – and she often frequents the San Diego Zoo. During her time in Washington D.C., Ava wishes to visit the National Zoo. She also is looking forward to traveling around D.C. to explore the museums, landmarks and flea markets/vintage stores. Overall, she is thrilled to have the opportunity to live and work on the East Coast for a semester.
Olivia DeCesare is the Marketing Intern at DACOR for the Fall Semester. She is a senior graduating from Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts, this fall. She is majoring in Political Communication, with a minor in Environmental Studies. Originally from Youngstown, Ohio, Olivia often visits home to her Mother, two older brothers, and their dog Max.
On campus, Olivia was heavily involved in the Emerson community preceding her Fall in Washington. Continuing her career from high school, Olivia is the President of the Emerson College Debate team, and is ranked third globally in IPDA debate. She was the Executive Secretary of the Student Government Association, where she kept the community organized and on schedule— especially for their ambitious goal to allocate $1M towards financial aid. She also served as the Vice-President of the Communications, Politics, and Law Association, where she coordinated professional development workshops and directed yearly networking trips from Boston to Washington. Olivia also served as the Programming Vice-President of her sorority, Alpha Epsilon Phi, where she organized large-scale events each semester for members and guests.
Off campus, Olivia has been passionate about exploring professional avenues. She worked in congressional offices for U.S. Representative Stephen F. Lynch and Senator Elizabeth Warren, and worked locally with the Mayor’s office and departments in Boston City Hall.
Outside academics and professional endeavors, Olivia enjoys drawing/painting, cooking, eating out with friends, and traveling.
After graduating this semester, Olivia plans to take the LSAT and attend law school the year after next. In the meantime, she hopes to pursue more professional endeavors promoting societal welfare using her political communication degree and expertise.
Darly Otero is the DACOR Bacon House Foundation Development Intern for the Fall Semester. She is a senior at the University of Colorado Boulder who is passionate about working with underprivileged communities, language acquisition, and cross-cultural communication. Her experience includes teaching internationally in Russia, retail and hospitality, as well as working with food and housing-insecure students and communities. Currently, she works as a Downtown Ambassador for her hometown in Boulder, Colorado, helping visitors to navigate around the area as well as keeping it a safe and clean place for locals and tourists alike.
At the moment, Darly is finishing a degree in International Affairs. She has paired that with a double major in Russian Studies in order to specialize on Eastern European culture and politics, and is also working on a Peace and Conflict Studies certificate.
Goli AMERI
WelCome neW memBers
Goli Ameri is the founder of tech company StartitUp, an AI-driven mobile platform empowering millions of solopreneurs to turn a profit and thrive. Previously, she served as Under Secretary for Humanitarian Diplomacy at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Geneva (2010-2012). She was appointed by President George W. Bush as Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs (2008-2009); U.S. representative to the 60th UN General Assembly (2006); and Public Delegate to the 61st session of the UN Commission on Human Rights (2005). She was introduced to DACOR by Marie Royce.
Lori BALLARD and Jack BALLARD
Lori Ballard is a medical provider working at an embassy with the U.S. Department of State. She first learned about nurse practitioners working with The State Department while accompanying her husband on a Fulbright scholarship to Kenya in 2013. She used the next 12 years to get her Master's degree in Nursing Education and become a nurse practitioner. She has volunteered to take nursing students to Kenya several times, then worked as a nurse practitioner in a small non-profit hospital in the United Arab Emirates, until a position in the State Department opened to work in an embassy.
David BERNSTEIN
David Bernstein’s career in international aid has consisted primarily of working on large, government-funded programs on both the technical (MEL) and operational sides. His portfolio has spanned multiple sectors, including environment, governance, and private sector development. His geographic focus has been primarily in Latin America but also includes West Africa and the Middle East. His last two positions have been Senior Project Associate on the Caribbean and South America Team for DAI Global LLC from 2023-2025 (U.S.-based position) and member of the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Team for Nathan, A Cadmus Company, from 2022-2023 (U.K.based position). Mr. Bernstein has a graduate degree in Development Management from the London School of Economics.
Lisl BRUNNER and Jose IGLESIAS
After obtaining her J.D. with a focus on international law, Lisl Brunner worked as an attorney and Human
Rights Specialist at the OAS for five years, focusing on accountability for crimes against humanity in the Americas and later on freedom of expression. Subsequently, she supported multinational technology and telecom companies in implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights as part of a global multistakeholder organization. At AT&T, she has worked on EU policy, global data protection law, implementing the UN Guiding Principles; and currently on compliance with global export control, sanctions, anti-corruption, and ESG laws. She has also served on OECD expert and working groups, and on the Advisory Network of the Freedom Online Coalition. She is currently a member of the Women's Foreign Policy Group and Women in International Trade. She was introduced to DACOR by the Women's Foreign Policy Group and Jared Hughes.
Elizabeth BUCKNOR
Elizabeth Bucknor is an International Affairs Specialist at the U.S. Department of Education, where she leads multilateral engagement with the UN, UNESCO, and APEC. Her regions of oversight include the Middle East, South Central Asia, and the Asia Pacific. Previously, she served as Education Partnership Director with the Australian Trade and Investment Commission. In 2024, she proudly served as part of the U.S. delegation to UNGA79.
Joseph CARROLL and Bradford CRAIG
Joseph Carroll is a federal civil servant and attorney with over a decade of public service experience in Washington, DC, New York City, and Philadelphia. He has held positions at the U.S. Department of Transportation, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and the U.S. Coast Guard. His work has focused on civil rights, regulatory compliance, and public policy. He is currently based in Washington, DC and serves as a Program Analyst at the Federal Highway Administration while pursuing a part-time Master’s degree in international affairs at the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University. His partner, Bradford Craig, has been a trademark and copyright attorney since 2012 with a global practice focused on transnational intellectual property issues within domestic and international regulatory environments. He was introduced to DACOR by Jared Hughes.
Timothy CASEY and Elizabeth CASEY
Timothy O. Casey has 20 years of experience in foreign affairs. He established the John Main Center at Georgetown University with Canadian and UK partners while an undergraduate in 2005, and developed the program alternating as a director and board member between 2010 and 2017, working in the UK, Ireland, Italy, Canada, and other countries to foster peace and understanding across religions and cultures. He also taught meditation to refugees and survivors of torture. Starting in 2017, he worked with Accra Metropolitan Assembly in Ghana to produce two documentary shorts. One, entitled Change Agents (2018), won a Pulitzer Center Honorable Mention in Innovation. Another, entitled Women of Burden (2021) received 19 official selections in international film festivals and 11 awards including 5 for best documentary short, 2 for best producer, and a prestigious Gabriel Award. He currently is working with the Department of Global Health at Georgetown University and on a documentary in Vietnam. He was introduced to DACOR by Patricia D. Norland.
Jill DOUGHERTY
Jill Dougherty was a correspondent for CNN domestically and internationally for 30 years, with postings at the White House, State Deptartment, Hong Kong, and Moscow. She is currently an adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service and a CNN on-air contributor in Russia and the region. She was introduced to DACOR by Christine Skodon.
Hon. Hugh T. DUGAN and Dr. Ute DUGAN
Hugh Dugan has performed at the highest levels of U.S. foreign affairs, including 26 years as U.S. Delegate to the United Nations. He was a Foreign Service Officer with the State Department from 1983 – 2015. He served as Acting Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs at the State Department in 2019 and was the Senior Director for International Organization Affairs at the National Security Council from 2020-2021. Mr. Dugan received a DACOR Bacon House Foundation Fellowship while he was a student at the Fletcher School.
Eric FARNSWORTH
Eric Farnsworth has served in foreign affairs positions in the U.S. government and non-profit sector since first coming to Washington in 1990, incuding at the Department of State, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and the White House Office of the Special Envoy for the Americas. From 2003-2025 he was also the head of the Washington office of the Americas Society/Council of the Americas.
Abbie FERGUSON
Abbie Ferguson is a rising foreign affairs professional with a strong academic foundation. She completed her MPA at George Washington University in May 2025, specializing in nonprofit management with a particular interest in gender and international development. She previously earned a degree in Political Science and Global Studies from the University of the District of Columbia in 2022. Abbie's experience in international affairs includes her recent role as a Generation Next Humanitarian Aid Fellow at CARE, alongside prior work in nonprofit program monitoring, research, and legislative internships on Capitol Hill.
Jacob D. FESSLER
Jacob Fessler has been a Foreign Service Officer since September 2023 and has been posted in Shenyang, China since October 2024. His onward assignment will be in Monterrey, Mexico in 2027. Mr. Fessler’s previous positions were in international-focused offices in the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security, including as an Academic Specialist in the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DoD) from 2022 – 2023 and Regional Affairs Specialist (Mexico) in the International Affairs Office of DHS from 2021-2022. Prior to that, he worked and studied in Guatemala, Tunisia, Switzerland, Colombia, and Mozambique. Mr. Fessler speaks English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese, and some Russian.
Hon. James GILMORE
James Gilmore served as the Governor of Virginia from 1998-2002. During his time in office, he traveled extensively to foreign countries in trade missions for Virginia. He also served as Ambassador to OSCE, where he represented the US with 56 other countries in matters of security and diplomacy. Earlier in his career, he also trained as an intelligence operative in West Germany. He was introduced to DACOR by the Hon. R. Clarke Cooper.
Mark GOODMAN and Susan LAND
Mark Goodman’s 30-year federal government career has focused on nuclear policy, including nuclear energy, nonproliferation, arms control, and disarmament. He was one of the leading practitioners of multilateral nuclear diplomacy, with a particular focus on the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the International Atomic Energy Agency. He continues to work on these issues as a Non-Resident Fellow at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies.
Alex HOFFMAN and Lenna HOFFMAN
Alex Hoffman brings with him more than a decade of deep strategic experience at the intersections of politics, finance and management strategy. He is the Founder & Principal of C-Street Strategies, and Co-Founder & Partner of Rose Lake Inc. Rose Lake is focused on unique global opportunities where their experience can create maximum efficiency, sustainability, and add significant value, with expertise in structuring deals, legislation, mergers and acquisitions, debt restructuring and capital raising. He and his team have operated in India, United Arab Emirates, Nigeria, and various other countries. He was introduced to DACOR by T.J. Holland and John Hunter.
Christopher HOH and Daniel ELMER
Christopher Hoh served as a Foreign Service Officer from 1984 to 2014, retiring at the rank of Counselor. His posts include Deputy Chief of Mission/Chargé in Vienna, 200912; Associate Dean, FSI, 2008-09; Director EUR/SCE, 200709; Director S/CRS, 2005-07; DRTF 2003-05; and DCM/ Chargé in Sarajevo, 2000-03. Additional assignments include Bonn, Germany; the United Nations in New York; Lima, Peru; the State Department in Washington, D.C.; and as a peacekeeping observer in Egypt’s Sinai desert. His domestic assignments have included international organization affairs and the State Department Operations Center in addition to his work on the Balkans and a variety of special project teams.
Susannah HOLMES
Susannah Holmes became a C3 USAID employee in September 2024. Before that she was a FSO (auditor) with USAID OIG from May 2016 - September 2024. She served in Pretoria, South Africa (2017-2021) and San Salvador, El Salvador (2021-2024).
Holly HOLZER and John BASS
Holly Holzer joined the State Department as an FSO in January 2003. She has served in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Eritrea, Italy, and Nepal along with multiple tours in Washington, DC. Currently, she is in Turkish language training, and prior to that she was Senior Advisor in the Bureau of Population Refugees and Migration.
Colleen HYLAND
Colleen Hyland is a career FSO in the Economic Cone, and has served in leadership positions over the last 10 years. She has spent much of her career in the Western Balkans.
Andrea R. KALAN and Javier FERNANDEZ-NAZARIO
Andrea Kalan has been a Foreign Service Officer since 2010. Her most recent tour was as Director and Spokesperson of the Office of Public and Congressional Affairs in the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration. She served prior tours in Brussels (Russian-Language Spokesperson and Deputy Director of the Brussels Media Hub), Moscow (AIO), Dushanbe (CAO), and Guatemala City (Vice Consul).
Grace LANGE and Oliver GAINES
Grace Lange is an FSO who has done tours in Beijing Consular, Dublin Econ, New Zealand Desk, and the Operations Center.
Hon. Sarah-Ann LYNCH and Kevin HEALY
Sarah-Ann Lynch has over three decades of global experience leading high-stakes U.S. government initiatives in diplomacy, national security, and economic affairs. As U.S. Ambassador to Guyana, she increased U.S. private sector investment in Guyana ten-fold and built a coalition of allies and leveraged all appropriate tools of U.S. statecraft to successfully avert a political crisis in Guyana during a fraught election season. As Civilian Deputy to the Commander at U.S. Southern Command, she developed impactful scenario-planning to address Venezuela's continued aggression towards Guyana and advised the Commander and senior leaders on potential ways forward. As Acting Assistant Administrator of USAID's Bureau for Latin America and Caribbean, she oversaw a $1 billion assistance portfolio and 1,000 Washington and field staff to address the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Haiti, the core drivers of illegal migration in Central America, and the growing insecurity in South America due to historic levels of migrants leaving Venezuela to seek food, health care and employment as that nation's economy spiraled downward. In Iraq, she led the USAID mission through one of the most dangerous period's in Iraq's history as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) gained control of significant territory and threatened the U.S. Embassy and its staff. She optimized the mission's $555 million portfolio, realigned program objectives and key projects to respond directly to the resulting humanitarian crisis. She was introduced to DACOR by Lynn Vega and Ambassador Frank Almaguer.
Debra “Debbie” MARSHALL
Since 2008, Debbie Marshall has been the Manager of Federal and International Affairs at Chevron, handling South America, Kazakhstan and sanctions. Previously, she has served as Deputy Chief of Staff/Legislative Director for
U.S. Representative Fred Upton from 2002-2007, handling foreign policy, defense, and trade; and as Senior Federal Liaison in the DC Office of Governor John Engler (MI) from 1996-2002, handling border issues with Canada, supporting work on open skies agreements with our airports, and working on the team to host the 2002 G8 Conference of Energy Ministers in Detroit. Ms. Marshall was introduced to DACOR by member Craig Hall.
Nathaniel MASON
Nathaniel Mason has worked in international policy at the Departments of Commerce, Energy, and State, including tours in Liberia, Libya, and Ukraine. He currently focuses on international oil & gas policy and energy sanctions at the State Department. He also worked in business as an international software instructor and independent consultant focusing on North Africa. He was introduced to DACOR by Dwight Mason.
Christine MCCARTY
Christine McCarty works Geophysical Computer Support at Esso Inter America and Texaco, and previously provided Hardware Support at Union Switch&Signal and Software Support at Gensym and SmartCloud, with customers from around the world. She lived with her Consular Officer father, Paul B. McCarty, at his posts in Brazil, Sweden, and Turkey. She was introduced to DACOR by Carol D'Arcy.
Hon. Brian MCFEETERS and Melanie MCFEETERS
Brian McFeeters is a career FSO in the Economic cone, who has served in Asia, Europe, and Iraq. His last post was as Ambassador to Malaysia from 2021-2023. He was introduced to DACOR by Angela Dickey.
Danielle MONOSSON
Danielle Monosson is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service of the U.S. Department of State, serving since 2002. She has served overseas in Turkey, Israel, Canada (Ottawa and Quebec City), and Mexico, as well as Washington-based assignments at Main State and at the NSC. She was also a 2020-21 fellow with MIT's Seminar XXI on national security. She was introduced to DACOR by Erin Kothaimer.
Robert NEEDHAM and Aleksandra NEEDHAM
Robert Needham has been with the U.S. Department of State since 1991 and is a member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister-Counselor. His most recent
assignments were as the Chargé d’Affaires in Oslo, Norway; Deputy Chief of Mission in Kyiv, Ukraine; and Consul General in Milan, Italy. He served domestically as the Executive Director for both the Bureau of European Affairs and the Bureau of International Organization Affairs. He has also served at nine other US overseas missions in Poland, Oman, Croatia, England, Denmark, Ukraine, Switzerland, Belgium, and Afghanistan. He was introduced to DACOR by Ellen Thornburn.
James M. NYCZ
James Nycz has been the Special Assistant, Bureau of Global Public Affairs at the U.S. Department of State since December 2024. Previously, he served as a Foreign Affairs Officer in the Bureau of Energy Resources from 2023 – 2024.
David PENUEL and Amy KENNEDYPENUEL
David Penuel is currently the Mission UK Diplomatic Technology Chief. Previously he was the Acting Associate Dean at FSI's School for Applied Information Technology, responsible for expert IT and cybersecurity training for IT professionals and digital literacy for the department's entire workforce, including emerging technology and enterprise applications. He served in the U.S. Mission to China as the Information Management Officer and the Information Systems Officer through the PRC's strict Zero COVID policies and the Mission's Ordered Departure. Before Beijing, he was the Information Management Officer at U.S. Embassy Skopje, where he also spent four months as the Acting Financial Management Officer. A Foreign Service Officer since 2004, his previous overseas assignments include: Information Programs Officer at U.S. Embassy Moscow and the first Regional Information Systems Security Officer at the U.S. Mission to Canada, as well as assignments in Kuala Lumpur and his first assignment in Beijing. He was introduced to DACOR by William M. Stephens.
Lacy PERRY and James PERRY
During her 15 years at CGI, Lacy Perry has spent 13 of those leading the Global Support Strategy contract, facilitating the visa application process in approximately 70 countries on behalf of the Department of State. For the last 3 years, she has been the Sector Lead responsible for multiple State Department programs. Prior to CGI, she worked with USAID, USTDA, and the Department of State identifying business opportunities for US businesses in Africa, facilitating international business delegations, and managing projects. Prior to that she was a project coordinator at a non-profit facilitating training in the US for representatives from developing countries. She was introduced to DACOR by Dana Linnet.
Joshua PHILLIPS
Joshua Phillips is the Co-Founder and National Coordinator of the Collegiate Institute for Middle East Affairs (CIMEA), a nonprofit expanding student access to international affairs education across the U.S. He currently works with the International Rescue Committee’s Economic Empowerment team in Washington, D.C., supporting refugee integration into the U.S. workforce. His previous roles include internships with the U.S. Department of State, the Department of Defense, and the Center for Strategic and International Studies, all focused on MENA policy and forced migration. He was introduced to DACOR by Brandon Leach and Jared Hughes.
Lynare ROBBINS and Carmen SUERO
Lynare Robbins is a respected leader in South Florida’s international business community, recognized for her work at the intersection of economic development, education, and international engagement. She is a U.S. Navy veteran and current Peace Corps staff member. Her professional background spans public and private sectors, including experience in tourism, international trade, and higher education, where she teaches university-level courses in International Business. Robbins serves in several appointed and volunteer leadership roles, including on the advisory board of the Miami-Dade County International Trade Consortium, the board of directors for the Organization of Women in International Trade South Florida, and as a Community Advisor for Economic Stability with The Miami Foundation. Robbins holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Master’s degrees in both International Relations & Conflict Resolution and Human Behavior. In 2022, she was honored with the International Women’s Day Award by the World Trade Center Miami for her outstanding contributions to regional economic impact and leadership.
Gary A. ROBINSON II and Sunmi JIN
As a retired Army Colonel, Gary Robinson served in a number of international positions in South Korea working closely with the Korean Joint Staff, diplomatic corps, and local organizations.
When working for the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Mobilization and Reserve Affairs as the Chief of International Training Programs, he supported the State Partnership Program and secured three international agreements to support military and civilian exchanges as a part of the program.
For more than 20 years in his military career, Mr. Robinson focused on international training and worked for more than a decade in Central and South America supporting humanitarian and civic assistance task forces in addition to the National Guard State Partnership Program.
He has also commanded in the Sinai in Egypt and led more than 13 nations is providing logistics support to the mission. After retirement from the military, Mr. Robinson worked as a contractor leading the planning for U.S. European Command's major joint/multinational exercises.
Mr. Robinson’s other positions have included Chief of Regional Engagement Operations with the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Hawaii and Chief of the Multinational Coordination Center of the United Nations Command, U.S. Forces Korea, in South Korea.
He was introduced to DACOR by member Matthew Levinger.
David SLOAN
David Sloan served as a State Department FSO from 1978-86 and then consultant for Charles Percy & Associates (19861993) and The Scowcroft Group (1994-2012; 2014-present). He was also an executive at the Eurasia Group consultancy (2012-14). He was an Economic officer at the State Department with assignments to Jamaica and Washington, including Special Assistant to Under Secretary for Economic Affairs (1978-86). He was also an Una Chapman Cox fellow in 1985-86. Since 1986, he has been a consultant specializing in South Asia, and is a past board member of various INGOs, including Counterpart International and Global Communities.
Gina SOKOLOVS
Gina Sokolovs is a sanctions implementation and investigations specialist with the Department of the Treasury Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes, where she supports U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives by analyzing global financial networks tied to illicit activity and coordinates with interagency and international partners to develop and enforce economic sanctions and anti-money laundering policies. Previously, she has worked as a graduate researcher at the NYU Center for Global Affairs and a cyber policy consultant for the Department of Homeland Security. She was introduced to DACOR by Jared Hughes.
Marin WATTERS
Marin Watters is an honors Chemistry/ Pre Med Major at Wake Forest University. She has interned for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and currently works at The International Association of Fire Fighters in the health and safety division researching PFAS. She was introduced to DACOR by her father, Robb Watters, and The Hon. R. Clarke Cooper.
Henry YUAN
Henry Yuan worked for USAID as a contractor for the Office of Management Policy, Budget, and Performance (Bureau for Management) in Washington, D.C., and supported the Agency and bureaus/field offices with program analyses, continuous improvement plans, foreign service national (FSN) empowerment evaluation, and the Customer Experience survey. Previously, he held multiple global/ government affairs consulting roles at The Cohen Group and BowerGroupAsia, which allowed him to work closely with the firms' regional offices, the private sector as
well as the foreign affairs and diplomatic community to research, analyze, and support the development of policy and programming. He also managed the USAID-funded programs with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) that had been implemented in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. While he was in graduate school at George Mason, he coordinated the effort for the University to establish its APEC Study Center with support from the U.S. State Department. He is currently a State Advisory Committee Member of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition (USGLC) in Virginia.
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DaCor asks: What is Your Favorite Part of Serving on the Specific Committee You Chair?
By Audrey Straw, Program Assistant
DACOR could not function without its many volunteers, serving in many capacities throughout the organizations, including on 17 committees. We asked several of our committee chairs about their favorite part of committee work, providing an inside peek into the various opportunities at DACOR.
Leo Cecchini serves as the chair of both the Audit and Reciprocal Relations Committee. The Audit Committee works with independent auditors to perform an annual review of DACOR’s financial records and presents the information to the membership and Board of Governors. Cecchini answered: The Audit Committee is a straightforward, sometimes tedious assignment. I enjoy seeing the numbers behind DACOR’s operations, which are valuable insights for my service on the Budget and Finance Committee. We sometimes encounter problems since our financial accounts vary from other organizations, especially since we are two organizations wiht a combined audit. But we are always able to resolve these issues in a timely fashion with our auditors.
The Reciprocal Relations Committee establishes reciprocal agreements with other social clubs, both in the U.S and abroad. Cecchini also answered:
I created DACOR’s Reciprocal Club program, so I am keen to see it succeed. So far, we have managed to establish a solid roster of reciprocal clubs with half in the USA and half abroad. I thoroughly enjoy finding new clubs for our roster of clubs. I am particularly pleased that DACOR members find the Reciprocal Club Program to be a main reason for joining and staying with DACOR.
Terrence Walz and Meredith Whiting serve as co-chairs of the Bicentennial Taskforce. The Bicentennial Taskforce has been the driving force behind this year’s celebrations of 200 years since the house was built. Walz wrote: Work on planning for the bicentennial started in 2020. The adhoc bicentennial committee (I'm not good at remembering committee names) was chaired by Angela Dickey and included a lot of people who were interested in the history of the house. Much of our work was accomplished via Zoom during the dreadful Covid spell. By then I had been identified
as the house “historian" and working closely with the people at Beyer, Blinder Belle on the Historic Structure Report, seen as a key document for raising funds for the preservation of the House. The other key idea was to design programs that would enhance the public image of the House.
The adhoc Bicentennial Committee produced a number of ideas about programs of interest to members, and in due course they were narrowed down to six programs. The Bicentennial Program committee was formed and Meredith Whiting, who had long experience working with Boards and committees, and I were appointed co-chairs to carry out the programs. We found we worked well together in meshing our individual talents -- me in identifying themes and possible speakers, Meredith in broadening the program's scope, opening it up/ marketing it to interested parties outside the DACOR membership base, and enlivening program scripts by making them more appealing to possible audiences. Together we worked to bring our programs to the attention of Washington institutions interested in history and preservation. Assembling programs in this way proved personally very rewarding. The programs we've produced over the last year have been both stimulating and highly successful. They have, for sure, resulted in a more public image for DACOR Bacon House as befits its 200th anniversary.
Meredith Whiting also serves as the co-chair of the House and Garden Committee with Jewel Norlin. The House and Garden Committee maintains the upkeep and structural soundness of the DACOR Bacon House and its grounds, making sure it is maintained to the regulations set out by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Whiting, noting her experiences on both the House and Garden committee and the Bicentennial taskforce, wrote:
As co-chair of the House & Garden Committee for the last four years, my favorite part of the job is that I've fallen even more in love with our beautiful House. I'm constantly learning about everything it stands for and is. Whether it's delving into its remarkable history, understanding and working with my co-chair and DACOR's operations director Meg Sharley on the seemingly endless list of needed maintenance and repairs, or helping preserve the historic nature of
its architecture and furnishings, every day brings a deeper bond with our gem of a home. I've also had the honor of co-chairing the House's Bicentennial Committee with DACOR's historian Terry Walz during its 200th birthday year, and I have similar feelings about that assignment. The more I learn about the roles the House and its residents have played in the development of our nation -- in so many ways -- the more intensely I feel about my work.
Paul Denig and Tracy Gronewold serve as the co-chairs of the Development Committee. The Development Committee is responsible for the development of sustainable long-term financial resources for the DACOR Bacon House Foundation (DBHF) including our educational awards and historic preservation. Denig answered:
My favorite part of serving on the Development Committee is ensuring the healthy future of something that I love, on behalf of an organization and members that I cherish, through dedication, imagination, and problem-solving.
Shortly before the end of my tenure at the American Consulate General in Hamburg, Germany, I was asked by one of our senior local employees why I worked so hard at maintaining and deepening good German-American relations. Without thinking, I replied, “It’s a labor of love.
The same holds true for my work for DACOR and its members, especially in my role on the Development Committee, whose current focus is the preservation, maintenance, and modernization of our House. With its beauty, elegance, grace, warmth, collections and
fascinating history, the House cannot help but be an object of affection, and even more than that – it seems sentient in its own right. The House does more than simply exist, it provides the spaces, ambiance, and facilities for our many activities -- from committee meetings, through social events that are an effective antidote to isolation, to interviews for scholarships and mentoring of students and younger colleagues. And, of course, the House truly functions as a home away from home for all of us, particularly those returning from long domestic or international sojourns.
For all of these reasons, it is an honor and a pleasure to work on the Development Committee with fine, imaginative, and dedicated colleagues, overcoming problems like the lack of proper access for those with disabilities, maintaining the House and employee salaries during COVID, or shoring up a crumbling garden wall. It is my hope that younger members will recognize the value of these efforts and the satisfaction that comes from engaging in them and join the Committee.
Marti Estell serves as the chair for the Education Committee. The Education Committee awards annual scholarships and fellowships to students with an interest in international affairs using funds granted by the DACOR Bacon House Foundation. Estell answered:
The Education Committee oversees programs to support U.S. citizens studying at U.S. educational institutions. This includes graduate and undergraduate fellowships and scholarships for
students of international affairs, support for the AFSA Scholarship Program, funds for children or grandchildren of Foreign Service personnel at Yale University and the Hotchkiss School, a grant for a medical student focused on global health and a scholarship to support the educational goals of a spouse or partner of a member of the Foreign Service assigned abroad.
The work of DACOR is dependent on volunteers. Members of DACOR have the opportunity to pursue their passions in support of strengthening the practice of diplomacy and global affairs – this is mine. What I most enjoy in serving on the Education Committee is engaging with the next generation of global affairs practitioners and supporting their efforts to build the skills for a successful global career. I also enjoy working with the other members of DACOR who are equally passionate about advancing our work. Come join us!
Richard Morford serves as the chair of the Finance and Budget Committee. The Finance and Budget Committee is responsible for overseeing DACOR and the DACOR Bacon House Foundation’s funding streams, financial management, assets, risks, and insurance. On his position, Morford wrote: Is it the work? Is it the people? Yes, to both. As Treasurer I most enjoy working with others to solve problems. Fortunately (or unfortunately), we have plenty of them at DACOR and DBHF. Every year brings challenges - balancing unbalanced budgets, setting up new systems and procedures, overseeing our investment performance, and helping innumerable working groups improve our policies and operations. When successful it is all quite rewarding. When not, it’s a learning experience. But what I like best is collaborating with our gifted Finance and Budget Committee team, with our dedicated officers and committee chairs, and with our talented staff. Together, we have solved a lot of problems, and, with everyone pitching in, we will solve many more.
T.J. Holland serves as DACOR’s curator and the chair of the Museum Committee. The Museum Committee is responsible for cataloging, researching, displaying, and restoring the art and artifacts in the custody of the DACOR Bacon House Foundation, in addition to organizing tours of the house. Holland wrote:
As with so many things at DACOR, it's the people. The Museum Committee is comprised of members with so many fascinating backgrounds, perspectives and skill sets: academics, grant-writers, historians, exhibition experts, copy editors, designers, and importantly, storytellers. In addition to dedicated DACORians, every year we have enthusiastic undergraduate interns on the Collections team. All come together for
the work of organizing, researching, documenting, preserving and displaying the fantastic collection of art and objects accumulated by generations of foreign affairs practitioners. Our dedicated team of Docents are the face of DACOR's welcoming hospitality, confidently answering questions on any object of interest, and proudly telling the fascinating stories of our historic House's two centuries at the intersection of power and influence.
Daniel Stoll and Lynn Vega serve as co-chairs for the Public Outreach Committee. The Public Outreach Committee advances DACOR’s visibility through network events in addition to overseeing DACOR’s mentoring program. Stoll wrote:
Serving on the Public Outreach Committee (POC) gives me the opportunity to work with an exceptionally talented and dedicated group of DACOR members to help explain DACOR's programs and activities. Now, more than ever, DACOR can make valuable contributions to understanding the foreign policy challenges confronting the United States.
Bonnie Kyte is the chair of the Travel Committee. The Travel Committee helps to support group travel opportunities for DACOR members. Kyte answered: It seems obvious that since I have served in 5 Embassies in the Near East, Middle East, & Far East and that I have now travelled & spent time in 63 countries on all continents & continue to travel when possible, that chairing this Committee was a good fit.
While my last overseas trip for DACOR was Cuba & then the pandemic hit, I am providing more choices now with local--DMV--excursions (check out some in this Bulletin). I am exploring some possible cruises of interest & cost sensitive in the future...more on that later.
Personally, I continue to provide my real estate expertise to buyers & sellers--41 years now. I serve on several charitable boards & mentor a few new agents. I have recently been inducted in the National Association of Senior Advisors.
I have a daughter born in Greece & a son born in Singapore & grandsons born in Okinawa.
I always appreciate any ideas for future travels & am ready to make them happen. Also, I'd love to welcome any volunteer members to the Travel Committee.
Each of these committees help to develop the strong community we have at DACOR. We encourage all of our members to get involved and hope to see them around the house soon.
ContriButions in memoriam
The officers and trustees of the DACOR Bacon House Foundation acknowledge with gratitude the following memorial contributions:
Richard V. ALLEN
George Dragnich
Hon. Cresencio S. ARCOS
Robert J. Callahan & Deborah B. Callahan
Hon. Michael ARMACOST
JoAnn M. Jenkins & Robert M. Jenkins
Robert G. Rich Jr. & Mary Ann C. Rich
John P. BECKER
Frank Crump & Donna Crump
Hon. Richard BOUCHER
Hon. Raymond C. Ewing & Penelope Yungblut
Edward A. CASEY Jr.
James Ford Cooper & Magda Cooper
Hon. Paul CLEVELAND
James Dandridge II & Margarete Dandridge
Hon. Ruth A. DAVIS
Hon. James F. Creagan & Gwyn Creagan
James Dandridge II & Margarete Dandridge
Hon. Richard W. Teare & Jeanie W. Teare
James W. EIGHMIE Jr.
George Dragnich
Hon. Lino GUTIÉRREZ
Robert J. Callahan &
Deborah B. Callahan
Hon. James F. Creagan & Gwyn Creagan
Stephen H. Thompson & Maria Thompson
Hon. Michael J. Senko
Hon. William C. HARROP
Hon. Michael W. Cotter & Joanne M. Cotter
James Dandridge II & Margarete Dandridge
Hon. Raymond C. Ewing & Penelope Yungblut
JoAnn M. Jenkins & Robert M. Jenkins
Hon. Gerald W. Scott
Hon. Douglas HARTWICK
Stephen H. Thompson & Maria Thompson
Michael JAKUB
Deborah Bolton
Hon. Thomas M. Tracy & June B. Tracy
Hon. James R. KEITH
Far East Luncheon Group
Perry LINDER
Hon. Raymond C. Ewing & Penelope Yungblut
Hon. Alan LUKENS
James Dandridge II & Margarete Dandridge
Cameron H. Sanders, Jr.
Robert A. MACCALLUM
Hon. Richard W. Teare & Jeanie W. Teare
Hon. Thomas M.T. NILES
Robert J. Callahan & Deborah B. Callahan
Hon. Raymond C. Ewing & Penelope Yungblut
Joanna W. Martin
Hon. Rozanne L. Ridgway
Hon. Steven E. Steiner & Merle J. Steiner
Hon. Daniel Anthony O'DONOHUE
James Dandridge II & Margarete Dandridge
Andrew C. PARKER
Dorothy Black
Bronson Edward PERCIVAL
Charles B. Salmon
Hon. Richard W. Teare & Jeanie W. Teare
Hon. Shari Villarosa
James F. PROSSER
Charles S. Ahlgren
Nancy Clark REYNOLDS
George Dragnich
Sherry BARNDOLLAR ROCK
George Dragnich
Hon. Ed ROWELL
James Dandridge II & Margarete Dandridge
Theodore SELLIN
Dorothy Black
Hon. Rozanne L. Ridgway
John SHUMATE
Paula Jakub
Hollis S. SUMMERS III
Hon. Richard W. Teare & Jeanie W. Teare
Thomas Maxwell Fisk TIMBERMAN
Father John J. Hurley
Joanna W. Martin
Charles B. Salmon
Hon. Richard W. Teare &
Jeanie W. Teare
Hon. Terence A. TODMAN
James Dandridge II & Margarete Dandridge
Hon. Howard K. WALKER
Charles S. Ahlgren
Hon. Melissa WELLS
Hon. Gerald W. Scott
John D. "Jack" WHITING
Leah T. Ferguson
Hon. Frank G. WISNER
Hon. Richard W. Teare & Jeanie W. Teare
Hon. Johnny YOUNG
James Dandridge II & Margarete Dandridge
Remember a friend or colleague with a contribution to the
DACOR BaCon House founDation
Tax-deductible Tribute Gifts to the DACOR Bacon House Foundation House Operating Fund in memory of / in honor of [living] Foreign Affairs siblings are always welcome. Please note “IMO” or “IHO” along with the Full Name in the memo line of your check or in the appropriate fields on our on-line form available through the QR code.
Limited Edition
DACOR Bacon House
Bicentennial Pins are now available through our online boutique.
The antique gold pin showcases the DACOR Bacon House bicentennial logo. Celebrate your pride in our historic home by purchasing your pin today. And they make a great gift too!
$10/pin • Shipping (additional charge) or pick-up options available. The pin is also available for sale at the DACOR Bacon House.
in rememBranCe of tHeir serviCe to tHeir CountrY
The officers and governors of DACOR note with deep regret the deaths of the following DACOR members and extend sympathy and condolences to members of their families and to colleagues and friends.
Carl Seymour COCKBURN,
retired senior Foreign Service Officer, died May 1, 2025, in Washington, D.C., at the age of 73.
Mr. Cockburn was born December 26, 1951, in Colón, Panama. In 1974, he received a bachelor’s degree in politics and economics from Wilberforce University and in 1979 a master’s degree from the University of Dayton. He worked in sales management for Sears and General Motors before joining the Foreign Service in 1984.
Over the course of 30 years, he became a career member of the senior Foreign Service, serving as a consul general in Havana and San Salvador and as senior consul in Lagos. He also served in Manila, Jeddah, Harare, Bogotá, Yangon (Rangoon), Stockholm, and Mexico City. In Washington, D.C., he posted in the State Department’s Offices of Caribbean Affairs, Central American Affairs, and International Organization Affairs. In recognition of his distinguished service, he was awarded the Secretary’s career achievement award, three superior service awards, and several meritorious service awards. He retired in 2014.
Mr. Cockburn was predeceased by his parents. He is survived by his daughter, former wife, grandchildren, siblings, nieces and nephews, cousins, in-laws, and friends.
Hon. William “Bill” C. HARROP,
retired career diplomat, former Inspector General at the Department of State, and ambassador to 5 countries, who was instrumental in establishing the National Museum of American
Diplomacy, died June 6, 2025, in Washington, D.C., at the age of 96.
Ambassador Harrop was born February 19, 1929, in Baltimore, Maryland. He received a bachelor’s degree from Harvard in 1951 and served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean War. He joined the Foreign Service in 1954.
Ambassador Harrop’s early overseas posts were in Sicily, Rome, and Brussels. He then served as consul in Lubumbashi, Zaire, and later as Deputy Chief of Mission in Australia. As the elected head of the American Foreign Service Association in 1972, he successfully led the transformation of AFSA into a union—while retaining its mission as the professional association of America’s career diplomats.
Ambassador Harrop was appointed to Guinea (1977−79) at the height of the Cold War, when it was a Marxist state under President Ahmed Seko Touré and solidly under Soviet influence. Not only was Harrop able to convince Touré that it was in Guinea’s best interest to be non-aligned, but he also persuaded him to end Soviet use of the Conakry airport for military flights that harassed NATO shipping in the North Atlantic.
Aside from his official duties, Ambassador Harrop took an interest in the citizens of the countries where he was posted. In Guinea, he noticed that youngsters were playing soccer everywhere using bags of rags or plastic bottles for balls. Using a discretionary fund available to him, he ordered thousands of soccer balls, each with the American assistance symbol of crossed hands. Every Guinean village received a soccer ball.
Ambassador Harrop then served in Kenya (1980−83), where he headed an
ambitious American program to assist the Kenyan government in promoting family planning.
When he was Inspector General (1983–86), Ambassador Harrop faced persistent conflict with Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC), a critic of the diplomatic corps who initiated legislation providing that no career Foreign Service Officer could serve as Inspector General. He was obliged to step down, the last career officer to hold the position. When he was then nominated to become Ambassador to Zaire (1987-91), Senator Helms blocked his confirmation for four months. His final post was Israel (1992-1993). He retired from the Foreign Service in 1993.
A lifelong advocate of American diplomacy and the Foreign Service, Ambassador Harrop, in retirement, was president and chair of the Diplomacy Center Foundation, which, in partnership with the State Department, was key in establishing the National Museum of American Diplomacy in Washington. He chaired the international health NGO, Population Services International (PSI), and served on the boards of the Henry L Stimson Center, the American Academy of Diplomacy, among many others.
Ambassador Harrop was an enthusiastic chef and a shrewd poker player, but his greatest passion was tennis, which he played well into his 80s.
Ambassador Harrop is survived by his sons Mark (Lucy), Caldwell (Susan Spock), Scott, and George (Lori); 6 grandchildren and 2 greatgrandchildren.
Hon. James Robert KEITH,
retired Foreign Service officer and former ambassador, died on April 8, 2025, in Reston, Virginia, at the age of 67.
Ambassador Keith was born June 20, 1957, in Roanoke, Virginia. He grew up in Asia and Northern Virginia, graduating from Taipei American School, in Taiwan, in 1975. He received his bachelor’s degree from the College of William and Mary in 1979. He joined the Foreign Service in 1980.
Ambassador Keith’s overseas assignments included Indonesia, China, South Korea, Hong Kong, where he served as consul general, and Afghanistan, where he was assistant chief of mission. He also was Assistant Secretary of State for China, and director for China at the National Security Council’s Asia directorate. In 2007, he was appointed ambassador to Malaysia. He retired from the Foreign Service in 2011.
Following his diplomatic career, Ambassador Keith worked as a business consultant, leading the China practice and then the Asia practice at McLarty Associates in Washington, D.C., until 2019. He devoted his professional efforts to promoting cultural, academic, and social exchanges between the United States and Asia to further mutual understanding.
In retirement, Ambassador Keith and his wife Jan Elaine Carter, whom he met at Taipei American School in 1974, enjoyed hiking, swimming, biking, and dog-walking together. They gave priority to their family, church, and community in Reston.
Ambassador Keith is survived by his wife of 47 years, Jan, children Jason (Annie), Scott (Barbara), Emily Fried (Spencer), Andrew (Kate), and Elizabeth Lainhart (Levi); sister Sherry McPhee; cousins Michael and Marci Keener-Eck, Mindy Eck, and Amy Edwards; and grandchildren Lily, Madeline, Landon, Jacqueline, Alexander, Isabella, Marie, Liam, Elliot, Jackson, and Lincoln.
Perry W. LINDER,
retired Foreign Service Officer and former executive director of the Foreign Service Institute (FSI), died July 31, 2025, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, at the age of 94.
Mr. Linder was born in January 1931, in Northern California. He received a bachelor’s degree from San Jose State University in 1952. He enlisted in the Army Security Agency and was sent to language school at Monterey to learn Russian, after which he was posted to Germany in 1953. Following his stint with the Army Security Agency, he attended University of California Berkeley as an MBA candidate and was working in San Francisco when he joined the Foreign Service in 1957.
Mr. Linder’s overseas assignments included consular assignments in Hamburg (1959-61) and Kingston (1961-64), and administrative assignments in Honduras (1964-65), Paris (1967-68), Dahomey, now Benin (1968-70), Brussels (1970-73), Amman (1973-76), Athens (1984-88), and Madrid (1988-92). His Washington, D.C. posts included Office of Performance Evaluation (1965-67), National Defense University (1976-77), State Department inspection corps (1977-79), Office of Environment and Science (1979-81) and FSI (1981-84), where he served as executive director. Additionally, he worked at the State Department’s Board of Examiners (1992-93). He retired from the State Department in 1993.
In retirement, Mr. Linder worked part time for the Office of the Inspector General at State for several years.
Mr. Linder is survived by his wife Judy, daughter Rebecca, son Simon, and several grandchildren.
Julia Nelson Easley MAK,
spouse of the late retired senior Foreign Service Officer Dayton S. Mak, died July 22, 2025, in Washington, D.C., at the age of 97.
Mrs. Mak was born December 18, 1927, in Washington, D.C. and spent
her early childhood in Lewisburg, West Virginia, where her father was the local attorney for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad. She was a descendent of George Mason who wrote the Virginia Bill of Rights on which the U.S. Bill of Rights was based. Mrs. Mak’s grandparents founded the Washington-based Gunston Hall School for Girls which she attended until the start of World War II when the school closed. She completed her high school at Mount Vernon Seminary in Washington, D.C. and received a bachelor’s degree from Sweet Briar College in 1949.
Mrs. Mak was a copy editor for the Washington Post and wrote several travel articles for them during the summer of 1949. As a prelude to her life in the Foreign Service, she embarked on her first overseas adventure traveling alone to Italy on a Norwegian cargo ship to visit cousins who were stationed in Genoa. Her love of antiquities and archaeology was sparked as she traveled by bus to various towns and sites throughout Italy. During her travels, she met her future husband, Dayton S. Mak, who was on a brief leave from his assignment in Saudi Arabia. They were married in March 1951.
Mrs. Mak and her husband traveled to their first post together, Tripoli, Libya. She then accompanied him to assignments in England, Kuwait, and Lebanon. Living in the Middle East enabled her to travel extensively, visiting archaeological sites throughout the region and honing her passion for the art and culture of the Middle East. Her husband retired from the State Department in 1970.
In retirement, Mrs. Mak enjoyed many years working in real estate in Washington, D.C., concentrating on the Georgetown area until her retirement in 2015. She is remembered by her family for her regular attendance at her grandchildren’s sporting events and her weekly handwritten letters and news clippings to her grandchildren once they moved away
from Washington.
Mrs. Mak was predeceased by her husband in 2018. She is survived by her daughter, Helen “Holly” Dayton Mak (Marc Hersh), and grandchildren, Emma C. Hersh (Jean Doyle) and Christopher J. Hersh (Tammy Saah), and four great grandchildren, Aiden Doyle-Hersh, Cullen Doyle-Hersh, Charlotte Hersh, and Marcella Hersh.
Matthew P. WARD, retired career Foreign Service Officer, died June 7, 2024, in Portland, Maine, at the age of 80.
Mr. Ward was born April 14, 1944, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He received a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown’s Walsh School of Foreign Service in 1966. He then joined the Foreign Service.
Over his 35-year career, Mr. Ward served in consular, political, and economic posts throughout the world. His tours of duty were primarily in East Asia, although he also served in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. He retired from the Foreign Service in 2001.
In retirement in Scarborough, he accepted a position as Executive Director of Refugee Resettlement for Catholic Charities of Maine. He regularly shared his knowledge of world affairs with students at the University of Southern Maine, participants in the Great Issues program, members of the World Affairs Council, and numerous consulting clients.
Mr. Ward is survived by his wife and Foreign Service colleague, Emily (Gilhooley) Ward; his brothers Thomas (Carol Ann), Joseph (Candy Lee), James, and his sister, Sara Jane Tufo (Joseph). He is fondly remembered as “Uncle Matt” by his many nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews. He leaves behind dear cousins who were also close childhood friends.
Roman Hugh WASILEWSKI,
retired Foreign Service Officer, died January 15, 2025, in Falmouth, Maine, at the age of 72.
Mr. Wasilewski was born October 28, 1952, in New York City. His mother, British citizen Erica Croft, had a PhD in physics and mathematics and worked for the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. His father, Roman Jerzy Wasilewski, escaped the Nazi invasion of Poland and fought with Allied forces, earning decorations from Belgium, Britain, and France, including the Croix de Guerre and the Polish Virtuti Militari.
Mr. Wasilewski studied history at the University of Cambridge for two years. He worked for a decade with the U.S. Postal Service, including as a mail carrier in Arlington, Virginia. He joined the Foreign Service in June 1984 as part of the 22nd A-100 class.
Over the course of his career, Mr. Wasilewski served in Peru, Jordan, Colombia, the Soviet Union, and Brazil. He held senior roles as deputy principal officer in Kosovo, political counselor in Ukraine, economic counselor in Brasília, and senior area adviser at the U.S. mission to the United Nations. He was fluent in Polish, Russian, Spanish, and Portuguese, and conversant in French, Serbian, and Ukrainian. He was curious about people from all walks of life, forging friendships wherever he went. His ability to connect with individuals in remote or difficult environments informed his personal diplomacy and strengthened his reporting.
An avid adventurer, Mr. Wasilewski climbed many of the world’s highest mountains in Argentina, Peru, Nepal, and the former Soviet Union. He also enjoyed kayaking, hiking, and exploring the natural world.
In retirement, Mr. Wasilewski settled in Arrowsic, Maine, where he was active in preserving the historic Squirrel Point Lighthouse. He donated generously to causes he cared about and bequeathed a significant portion of his estate to charities including
Smile Train, which provides cleft palate care to children.
Mr. Wasilewski was predeceased by his younger sister. He is survived by another sister, Teresa Wasilewska; two nephews in Dunedin, New Zealand; and dear friends around the world.
John Stallard WOOD,
a retired global marketing professional, whose work took him to over 40 countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa, died April 14, 2025, in Austin, Texas, at the age of 88.
Mr. Wood was born June 6, 1936, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He received a bachelor’s degree in 1958 and a master’s in business in 1964 from Columbia University. Throughout his life, he cherished his association with Columbia University. He served as President of the Columbia University Alumni Association of Bombay and the Columbia University Club of Chicago.
During his career, Mr. Wood spent many years traveling around the world to places in Europe, Asia, and Africa, employed by Colgate Palmolive, Radiation Technology Industries, Shulton International, and Helene Curtis.
Mr. Wood worked for 17 years with the Foreign Commercial Service until he retired in 2001. While there, he was based in Washington, D.C., Calgary, Mexico City, Bombay, Bangkok, and Seoul. He was a long-time member of DACOR and the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA).
In retirement In Austin, he served on the board of Global Austin, the founding board of Ten Thousand Villages of Austin, and the advisory panel on international business at the Austin Community College. For more than a decade, he was an enthusiastic president of the Foreign Service Group of Central Texas and was awarded the 2017 AFSA Award for Achievements and Contributions to the Association.
Mr. Wood was predeceased by his parents, Corinia and Frank Wood.
The officers and governors of DACOR were saddened to learn of the deaths of the following colleagues and friends.
S. Daniel ABRAHAM, a onetime traveling salesman who started a line of weight-loss products led by the popular Slim-Fast diet drinks and who later used his fortune as a major Democratic political donor and supporter of Middle East peace efforts, died June 29, 2025, in New York, at the age of 100.
Mr. Abraham was born August 15, 1924, in Long Beach, New York. After he finished Army service, he worked for an uncle’s drug company before they acquired Thompson Medical. He expanded the company into an empire with a line that came to include SlimFast, a weight-loss product. Slim-Fast roared into the weight-loss market in the 1970s and caught on quickly, surviving an industry slump when the government disclosed that dozens of people had died from a popular fasting diet.
Mr. Abraham was also active politically, especially in his later years. In pursuit of Middle East peace, he cultivated relationships with top Israeli, American, and Arab leaders, including Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, a friend for more than three decades. He was particularly close to Bill and Hillary Clinton, becoming one of the biggest donors to Mrs. Clinton’s 2016 campaign for president. Mr. Clinton wrote the foreword to a 2006 book by Mr. Abraham, “Peace Is Possible:
Conversations With Arab and Israeli Leaders From 1988 to the Present.”
Mr. Abraham sold Slim-Fast to the consumer products giant Unilever for $2.3 billion in 2000.
In academia, Mr. Abraham’s contributions included endowing a chair in Middle East policy studies at Princeton University, funding a center for international and regional studies at Tel Aviv University and a school for business administration at Israel’s BarIlan University. The Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls in Cedarhurst, New York, was dedicated in honor of Mr. Abraham’s mother, who died in 1998 at age 102.
Mr. Abraham’s is survived by his second wife Ewa Sebzdain and their children, Sarah and Samuel Abraham. Other survivors include four daughters from his first marriage; 27 grandchildren; and 34 greatgrandchildren.
Gary Steven BASEK,
retired Foreign Service Officer, died April 6, 2025, in Bethesda, Maryland, at the age of 84.
Mr. Basek was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia and grew up in Prague, London, and Poughkeepsie, New York. He received a bachelor’s degree from Yale University in 1963, including a gap year at the Sorbonne. He served as an officer in the U.S.
Army Transportation Corps until 1965. He received a master’s degree from Brooklyn College, City University of New York, and began his federal career with the Civil Service Commission. He then joined the Foreign Service.
In his 25-year career, he served in Madagascar, Vietnam, Brussels (NATO), Stockholm, Bern/Geneva, and Montreal, with the latter three posts focused primarily on consular work. He was a dedicated cinephile, taking his love of movies wherever he was stationed. While in Madagascar, he organized the first-ever Madagascar Film Festival with assistance from the U.S. Information Agency (USIA). He repeated this success in subsequent postings, supporting the Montreal Film Festival and helping organize several festivals in Prague after the fall of communism. He retired from the Foreign Service in 1993.
Following his retirement, Mr. Basek continued to support U.S. missions abroad for another 10 years, backstopping embassies and consulates in China, Latvia, Senegal, and, most often, the Czech Republic.
Mr. Basek is survived by his sister, Miriam and brother, John.
Richard A. BOUCHER,
a longtime spokesman for the State Department who was the calming, analytical voice of U.S. diplomacy
details contact Meg Sharley at: msharley@dacorbacon.org or 202.682.0500 x110
during the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the military response — and who went on to help frame U.S. policy in Afghanistan, died June 27, 2025, in Arlington, Virginia, at the age of 73.
Ambassador Boucher was born December 13, 1951, in Bethesda, Maryland. He grew up in Rockville, Maryland, and around the world because of his father’s work as a National Security Agency analyst. He received a bachelor’s degree from Tufts University in 1973 and did graduate work in economics at George Washington University. After serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Senegal, he spent a year as a U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) contractor in Conakry, Guinea, before joining the Foreign Service in 1977.
Ambassador Boucher’s early posts were in Taiwan, at State’s China desk, and in China, including deputy principal officer at the U.S. consulate in Shanghai. He served as ambassador to Cyprus from 1993 to 1996 as well as consul general in Hong Kong from 1996 to 1999. He rotated in and out of the job of State Department spokesman in the Department of Public Affairs from the late 1980s through the early 2000s, for Secretaries of State James A. Baker, Lawrence Eagleburger, Warren Christopher, Madeleine K. Albright, Secretary Colin Powell, and Condoleezza Rice.
After leaving the Department of Public Affairs, Ambassador Boucher became assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia (2006-2009), where he had partial responsibility for U.S. policy in Afghanistan, which he later acknowledged was misguided and tragic, ultimately ending in a humiliating withdrawal in 2021. He retired from State in 2009.
When he left the Foreign Service, Ambassador Boucher served as deputy secretary-general for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris. He retired from the OECD and moved back to the states in 2013 to become a visiting professor, working to inspire
the next generation of diplomats at several universities.
Ambassador Boucher’s survivors include his wife, Carolyn Brehm; and two children, Madeleine and Peter; a brother; a sister; and a grandson.
Joanne Elizabeth BRADFORD,
spouse of the late retired Foreign Service officer and former ambassador William G. Bradford, died March 31, 2025, in ]Middletown, Connecticut, at the age of 98.
Mrs. Bradford was born November 10, 1926, in Sioux City, Iowa. She received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Indiana in 1948. It was there that she met her husband. They were married in 1950 and began their Foreign Service journey in 1953.
Together, Mr. and Mrs. Bradford lived and served in Germany, Italy, Washington, D.C., Vietnam, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Sierra Leone. Their final post was in Chad, where Mr. Bradford served as ambassador before retiring in 1979.
Following retirement, the Bradfords settled in McLean, Virginia, where they lived until September 2023. In retirement, Mrs. Bradford ran a successful import-export business specializing in couture buttons and trims.
Mrs. Bradford was predeceased by her husband in 2008. She is survived by their three children, Deborah Hornbake, Kate Fiala, and Bruce Bradford; five grandchildren; and five great grandchildren.
Stanley FISCHER,
an economist whose work straddled scholarship in global markets and front-line troubleshooting with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) during financial crises such as Russia’s post-Soviet upheavals, died May 31, 2025, in Lexington, Massachusetts, at the age of 81.
Dr. Fischer was born October
15, 1943, in Lusaka in the British protectorate Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). He received bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the London School of Economics and earned a doctorate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1969. Dr. Fischer joined the MIT faculty in 1973 and became a U.S. citizen 3 years later.
As chief economist at the World Bank from 1988 to 1990, Dr. Fischer helped restructure loans across debtburdened Latin America and assess the rapidly shifting economic conditions in Eastern Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. At IMF, as the No. 2 policymaker from 1994 to 2001, he juggled responses to economic quagmires in Mexico, Argentina, and Southeast Asia while trying to hold off a looming crash in Russia as the country struggled with the transition after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.
From 2002 to 2005, Dr. Fischer served as vice chairman of Citigroup. In Israel, he was central bank governor from 2005 to 2013 (after taking dual citizenship). In Washington, he was vice chairman of the Federal Reserve Board from 2014 to 2017 under chief Janet L. Yellen as interest rates began to tick up from historic lows during the global economic downturn years earlier.
Dr. Fischer was a mentor or thesis adviser for a range of economists who went on to guide some of the world’s largest economies. The group included Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Fed from 2006 to 2014; Kazuo Ueda, who became governor of the Bank of Japan in 2023; Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank from 2011 to 2019 and prime minister of Italy from 2021 to 2022; and Larry Summers, who served as U.S. treasury secretary from 1999 to 2001.
Dr. Fischer was predeceased by his wife Rhoda in 2020. Survivors include 3 sons and 9 grandchildren.
Michael "Mickey" Robert GARDNER,
ambassador and head of delegation to the United Nations International Telecommunication Union Treaty Conference in Nairobi, Kenya in 1982 and founder and chairman of the United States Telecommunications Training Institute (USTTI), died February 18, 2025, in Boulder, Colorado, at the age of 82.
Mr. Gardner was born November 19, 1942, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He received a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University in 1964, after which he served in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve from 1964-70. He worked in the public policy and national political affairs arena, later serving as executive director of the Democrats for Nixon campaign. He received a law degree from Georgetown Law in 1977. After his admission to the D.C. bar, he was elected to the partnership of Bracewell & Patterson. He also served as general counsel for the Connolly for President Committee.
In 1980, Mr. Gardner was head of then-president elect Ronald Reagan’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC) transition team. In 1982, he founded the USTTI, which has transformed the world through tuition-free training for the women and men who design, regulate, secure and oversee the communications sectors of their home countries.
Mr. Gardner practiced communications policy and law before the FCC, the U.S. Congress, and the Executive Branch of the federal government, while leading the USTTI as its pro bono chairman for over four decades, and then later as chairman emeritus. To date, the USTTI boasts nearly eleven thousand graduates from 177 countries.
In addition to his board work, Mr. Gardner served on multiple presidential commissions including the International Cultural and Trade Center Commission, the Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation,
and the Administrative Conference of the United States under President Reagan.
In 2016, Mr. Gardner retired to Boulder, Colorado. While there, he continued pro bono legal work for the Missionaries of Charities and remained active in his roles at the USTTI and on other boards.
Mr. Gardner is survived by his wife of 57 years Theresa, his daughters, Christine (Peter Gould) and Courtney (Jon Chase), and 3 grandchildren.
Virginia HAMILL,
former deputy foreign editor at the Washington Post, died July 2, 2025, in Tinton Falls, New Jersey, at the age of 81.
Ms. Hamill was born January 20, 1944, in Jersey City, New Jersey. She received a bachelor’s degree from Trinity College in Washington, D.C. (now Trinity Washington University) in 1965 and did graduate work in international relations at Georgetown University.
Ms. Hamill’s 40-year career with The Post started in 1966 as a teletype operator. She later served as a London-based news editor for The Post and what was the Los Angeles Times/Washington Post News Service, which distributed stories by those newspapers to client publications. She joined the foreign desk in 1979 as an assistant editor a month before the hostage crisis in Iran and, after helping oversee the desk through what she called “a multitude of other international upheavals,” was promoted to deputy foreign editor in 1992. She retired in 2006.
Ms. Hamill’s survivors include a twin brother; and two sisters.
Hon. Melvyn “Mel” LEVITSKY,
retired senior Foreign Service Officer and former ambassador, died May 17, 2025, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, at the age of 87.
Ambassador Levitsky was born March 19, 1938, in Sioux City, Iowa. He received a bachelor’s degree from University of Michigan in 1960, and a master’s degree in Russian studies from the University of Iowa, after which he joined the Foreign Service.
Ambassador Levitsky was appointed U.S. ambassador to Bulgaria (1984-1987) and Brazil (1994-1998), and served in other senior positions, including assistant secretary of State for international narcotics matters, executive secretary of State, deputy director of the Voice of America, and deputy assistant secretary for human rights and humanitarian affairs. He also served in Germany, Brazil, and Russia.
In recognition of his service, Ambassador Levitsky received numerous meritorious and superior honor awards, including the Secretary of State’s Distinguished Service Award. He was a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy and AFSA and served on the boards of several respected international organizations. He retired from the Foreign Service in 1998.
In retirement, Ambassador Levitsky began a second career in academia. He was a professor of practice in public administration and international relations at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School from 1998 to 2006.He then joined the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, where he taught almost until his death. A scholarship at the Ford School, established by him in memory of his wife, Joan, supports students pursuing international experiences. The Levitsky family later renamed the scholarship to honor both him and his wife.
Ambassador Levitsky was a lifelong student of world politics and history and an enthusiastic supporter of University of Michigan athletics.
Ambassador Levitsky was predeceased by his wife, Joan, younger sister Sharon, and son Josh. He is survived by two sons, Adam
and Ross; daughters-in-law, Sara and Rachel; and eight grandchildren, Abby, Michael (Sherry), Dani, Max, Mason, Mia, Phoebe, and Ben.
Nicholas MacNEIL, retired Foreign Service Officer, died May 23, 2025, in Staunton, Virginia, at the age of 85.
Mr. MacNeil was born August 31, 1939, in New Jersey. After receiving a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University, he served four years in the Navy, including two years on a Landing Ship Tank (LST). He joined the Foreign Service in 1966.
Mr. MacNeil’s first overseas post was Guatemala, after which he spent eight months training in the Vietnamese language. He went to Vietnam as a district adviser with the U.S. Agency for International Development. Afterward, he earned a master’s degree in public administration at Harvard Kennedy School. In 1974, he was assigned to Danang to report on security conditions. In March 1975, the South Vietnamese government collapsed in Danang, and he and his family were
among the last to leave.
Mr. MacNeil received the State Department award for valor for his role in assisting American civilians and Vietnamese refugees to escape from the city. His final post was Bogotá. He left the Foreign Service in 1976 to join the Carter-Mondale campaign and became Richard Holbrooke’s assistant in Atlanta.
When the Carter transition team moved to Washington, D.C., Mr. MacNeil was asked to be their liaison with NASA. In 1980 he reapplied to the Foreign Service and was assigned to a Vietnamese refugee program based in Bangkok. He also served in New Delhi, Montreal, and Fiji. He retired in 1996.
In his free time, Mr. MacNeil enjoyed renovating his house in Alexandria, Virginia. In 2001, he moved with his wife to Staunton, Virginia, where he enjoyed the city’s cultural life and served on the boards of the Valley Conservation Council, the Staunton Kiwanis Club, the Staunton Democratic Committee, and Rail Solution, an initiative to reduce truck traffic on Interstate 81.
Mr. MacNeil was predeceased by his
parents, and his son John, who died in 2020. He is survived by his wife Linda Blackwelder MacNeil; daughter Marcia (Ricardo Espitia); daughter Laura (Matthew Tolbert); daughter-in-law Ruxandra Pond; and sister Elizabeth Wells; and 4 grandchildren.
Lucien NEDZI,
a Democratic congressman from Michigan, chairman of the House Select Committee on Intelligence and the House Administration Committee, died June 9, 2025, in Reston, Virginia, at the age of 100.
Mr. Nedzi was born May 28, 1925, in Hamtramck, Michigan. He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan after serving as an Army combat infantryman in the Pacific and with the Army Corps of Engineers during the postwar occupation of Japan. During the Korean War, he served in the Army Reserve. He returned to the University of Michigan for a law degree in 1951.
Mr. Nedzi entered politics in the 1950s as a supervisor in Michigan’s Wayne County. He was elected to the DACOR maintains two burial sections at Rock Creek Cemetery in honor of DACOR members who served their country through Foreign Service. Currently, ground and niche sites are available; each site accommodates two caskets or urns. The sections are wellmaintained by the DACOR Memorial Committee and include a granite monument inscribed “In Remembrance of their Service to their Country” as well as a sitting and reflection area. For more information,
U.S. House in a 1961 special election and held the seat for two decades, becoming a champion of union autoworkers and supporter of the civil rights movement in the 1960s. He also led efforts to force an end to the Vietnam War as a member of the House Armed Services Committee. In 1971, his political profile was boosted further by his selection as chairman of a subcommittee on American intelligence agencies — the forerunner to a Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. He was among the first lawmakers to demand more transparency on CIA spending and staffing — details he said could be made public without jeopardizing covert operations.
After leaving Congress in 1981, Mr. Nedzi joined the Detroit law firm Dickinson Wright and collaborated with the Library of Congress on programs that included advising Eastern Europe countries on rebuilding democratic systems after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Poland in 2000 awarded him the Officer’s Cross, an honor bestowed for service to the country.
Stella Panagoulias Stutz PEARSON,
retired Foreign Service secretary, died May 4, 2024, in Idaho Falls, Idaho.
Ms. Stutz was born in Spartià, Greece. As a child, she immigrated to the United States to reunite with her mother and 2 older brothers, who had fled Greece during the civil war. She grew up in Brooklyn, New York. Ms. Stutz began her career as a receptionist in a law office. She joined the Foreign Service in 1966 and served as a secretary for more than 20 years.
Ms. Stutz’s first overseas post was Stockholm (1966-1968), where she met and married her husband, marine Joseph Stutz. Between 1968 and 1985, she stepped away from government service to raise her children in Montana. When she returned to the
Foreign Service, she served in Bonn (1985-1987), Amman (1987-1990), Tegucigalpa (1990-1992), London (1992-1994), Belgrade (1994-1996), Doha (1996-1998), Geneva (19982000), Washington, D.C. (2000-2002), and Miami (2002-2004). She retired from the Foreign Service in 2004.
After retirement, Ms. Stutz remarried and split her time between West Virginia and Wyoming. When her second husband died, she added a home in Nevada. There, she met and married Ron Pearson, adding his hometown in Idaho to her many favorite places.
Ms. Stutz was predeceased by her parents; older brothers, Peter and Gus; and her second husband, John. Her surviving family includes her husband Ron and stepson Jared; four children, Dave (Susan), Karla (Brian), Rob (Christy), Shari (Dan); brother Lee (Lorraine); first husband, Joe; and a gaggle of grand- and greatgrandchildren, extended family, friends, neighbors, and members of her church community.
Mary PELLEGRINI,
retired Foreign Service Officer, died January 19, 2025, in Kensington, Maryland, at the age of 61.
Ms. Pellegrini was born October 20, 1963, in Franklin, New Hampshire. In 1982 she joined the U.S. Air Force as a Russian cryptologic linguist. She served in the military for 21 years at Iraklion Air Station, Greece; Fort Meade in Laurel, Maryland; and Hickam Air Force Base in Honolulu, Hawaii; and two tours of duty at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. Following a distinguished military career, Ms. Pellegrini continued her service to her country as a private contractor specializing in communications, spending 3 years in Baghdad during Operation Desert Storm. In 2013, she joined the Foreign Service.
Ms. Pellegrini’s posts included Bogotá, Lahore, Sydney, Karachi, and Vladivostok. Her treasured Siberian
cat, Vlad, is named after her last post. In 2020 she retired from the Foreign Service and moved to Maryland.
In retirement, Ms. Pellegrini shared many adventures with her son, Danny, and her daughter-in-law, Danielle (Dani). Together, they traveled the Trans-Siberian Railway. Other adventures included being stranded on a remote island during a tsunami, getting left at sea during a dive trip in Indonesia, and traveling New Zealand in an RV.
Ms. Pellegrini was predeceased by her brother, Matthew and her mother, Elaine. In addition to her son and daughter-in-law, she is also survived by her father, Charles; her sister Martha (John Marrapese), and their two children; her brothers Mark (Ellen O’Donnell), and Miles (Shelley) and their children.
Henry RAYMONT,
an American journalist who was the first to report in 1961 that a U.S.supported invasion of Cuba was underway at the Bay of Pigs, only to be immediately imprisoned by Fidel Castro’s forces and threatened with execution, died July 15, 2025, in Tepoztlán, Mexico, at the age of 98.
Mr. Raymont was born Heinz Rabinowitz April 21, 1927, in Königsberg, Germany, now the Russian city of Kaliningrad. After Hitler came into power, he and his parents fled to Argentina. Beginning in his teens, he spent a decade and a half reporting for United Press International (UPI). He received a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University in 1951 and became a U.S. citizen in 1953.
Mr. Raymont was a UPI reporter on assignment in Havana when Cuban exiles came ashore in April 1961 at the Bay of Pigs.
It was a covert military mission, financed and guided by the United States, and was a thorough failure. Within minutes of alerting his editors in New York, armed militiamen burst into his Havana apartment and took him to
military intelligence headquarters. He was told he faced the death penalty, but diplomatic efforts led to his being freed after six days. He then met Castro, whom Mr. Raymont, over time, interviewed 8 times.
Mr. Raymont joined The New York Times in 1963, working as a correspondent in Buenos Aires, and then in New York. While working in Washington in the mid-1960s, Mr. Raymont met Wendy Marcus, a lawyer working in the White House as an assistant to the first lady, Lady Bird Johnson. She was a daughter of Stanley Marcus, president of the Neiman Marcus store in Dallas. She and Mr. Raymont were married in New York in 1966.
After leaving The Times in 1972, Mr. Raymont wrote for Jornal do Brasil. From 1976 to 1981, he was the cultural affairs director of the Organization of American States. He later taught at the American University in Washington, Hebrew University in Jerusalem and the Freie Universität in Berlin.
Mr. Raymont is survived by a daughter, 2 sons, 3 granddaughters, and a grandson.
William H. WEBSTER, the only person ever to lead both the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), switching from lawman to spymaster while the bureau was investigating high crimes at the White House and the CIA, died August 8, 2025, in Warrenton, Virginia, at the age of 101.
Mr. Webster was born March 6, 1924, in St. Louis, Missouri. After serving as a Navy officer during World War II, he received a bachelor’s degree from
Amherst College in 1947 and a law degree from Washington University in St. Louis in 1949.
Early in his career, Mr. Webster worked in private practice in St. Louis representing corporate clients. He was appointed to the judiciary by President Richard M. Nixon, but he acquired a reputation for objectivity on partisan issues and was courted by presidents from both parties for highprofile posts.
Mr. Webster served as FBI director from 1978 to 1987 and as the director of central intelligence from 1987 to 1991. He was universally addressed as Judge Webster, reflecting his years on the federal bench during the 1970s and his reputation for integrity.
As FBI director during the late 1970s and early 1980s, Mr. Webster oversaw an undercover corruption investigation known as Abscam that ensnared several members of Congress. In the early 1980s, he also oversaw the formation of the Bureau’s elite counterterrorism force known as the Hostage Rescue Team.
As director of CIA, Mr. Webster was responsible for establishing specialized counterintelligence and counternarcotics centers, units that tracked spies and drug rings in countries around the world. He also sought to patch up a long-standing rivalry between the FBI and CIA. He helped establish a program — run jointly by the CIA and FBI in Washington — to recruit Russians to spy on their own government.
Mr. Webster was predeceased by his first wife, Drusilla. He is survived by his second wife, Lynda, and three children from his first marriage, seven grandchildren, and 12 greatgrandchildren
DACOR Bulletin Obituaries
DACOR welcomes receiving obituaries of foreign affairs professionals, whether DACOR members or otherwise. They are reviewed by Obituaries Editor Frances Burnet, primarily for length; 500 words usually suffices.
The deadline for submissions is the 1st day of the previous month; i.e. for the October issue, please email the obit by September 1st to Christine Skodon at: clskodon@dacorbacon.org
The obituaries that are featured in the DACOR Bulletin are adapted from a variety of sources: information provided by loved ones of the deceased; the Washington Post, New York Times, Foreign Service Journal and other periodicals; ADST's Oral History Collection; historical documents; and others. Please contact DACOR for sources used for a specific obituary.
