Through advocacy within the State Department and Congress, we established the Family Liaison Office, supported the establishment of the Overseas Briefing Center (now known as the Transition Center), Around the World in a Lifetime (AWAL), and the Foreign Service Youth Foundation, among other organizations.
We staff a Housing referral office in the State Department, operate a bookstore, and host periodic speakers at programs in the diplomatic reception rooms of the State Department. AAFSW was the original source of many of the publications now commonly updated and in the tool kits of mobile families. Through our unique ability to lobby Congress, we have led the legislative fight for the rights of divorced spouses.
AAFSW also supports outreach and charities. Money is provided for scholarships for Foreign Service youth, loans for adult family members continuing their education, awards for outstanding volunteer contributions abroad, and we support local Washington, D.C. non-profit organizations that focus on the improvement of family issues. For a more detailed look at the history of AAFSW please see former President Mette Beecroft’s remarks on A Century of Women in the Foreign Service “30 Years of Accomplishment”, written by former Presidents Lesley Dorman and Patty Ryan.
Thanks to a Cox foundation grant, AAFSW created the FSHub in 2016. FSHub.org is a comprehensive searchable gateway to Foreign Service resources, including official, non-profit and independent sources and social media groups.
- Establishment of Family Liaison Office
- Guaranteed the Family Liaison Office permanent legitimacy through the Foreign Service Act of 1980
- Opening of Overseas Briefing Center
- AAFSW Housing Desk
- AAFSW Bookroom
- Around the World in a Lifetime (for Foreign Service teens)
- Foreign Service Youth Foundation
- AAFSW/Secretary of State Awards for Outstanding Volunteerism
- First Bilateral Work Agreement
- Revolving Adult Education Loan Fund
- Foreign Service Associates proposal accepted by Congress
- Divorced spouses legislation
- Congressional testimony on the importance of Foreign Service family concerns
- Numerous publications and symposia