Intergenerational Dialogue Event with Amber McIntyre
Catch up on our latest Intergenerational Dialogue Event with Amber McIntyre, counselor at NASA’s Office for International and Interagency Affairs, and Generations Fellow Desirée Winns. Amber and Desirée discuss the rewards of an international public service career, convincing your family it’s a good idea, imposter syndrome, being your authentic self, and more.
Why this Project Matters?
Representation is a key tenet of American democracy. We believe our American foreign policy should reflect American society. This is the best way we can ensure we represent the full meaning of American values abroad. It fulfills an intention of the US Constitution to embrace and serve the interests of all American citizens. It enhances our foreign policy credibility with our stakeholders abroad. It brings particular and enhanced understandings of other peoples and their experiences. It ensures we access the best talent available. And our combined diversity is what makes us most effective and creative in addressing every challenge we may confront.
The aspiration that our foreign service reflect American society is enshrined in the 1980 Foreign Service Act. Yet, we continue to fall woefully short of that aim. While many barriers to entry for under-represented groups have been removed over time, experience and related evidence confirm that a large portion of recruited individuals do not stay in the foreign service and/or languish in low-level positions with minimal opportunity to contribute to the strengths noted above. As a result of this observed experience, fewer and fewer younger people see themselves in these careers. They cannot imagine that American foreign policy would offer a welcoming and meaningful career for them