Partners in Diplomacy Cool Ben

Jill Strachan, In profiling her parents Alan and Evelyn and their postings in Greece, Pakistan, Egypt, Vietnam (unaccompanied), and Sri Lanka, provides an extraordinary peek into USAID careers and family life in the 1950s and 1960s. Jill also describes the disruptions of the McCarthy era, the impact of growing up as a third culture kid, and her memoir “Waterfalls, the Moon and Sensible Shoes: One Lesbian Life.”

As spouse to a US diplomat, Karl Deringer adapted his skills when living in different places, and has worked as a nurse, humanitarian and community organizer in Africa, massage therapist, embassy CLO, dance instructor, and stock trader. 

Mette Beecroft is a pioneer and tireless advocate for improving the lives of Foreign Service families through her efforts to launch the Family Liaison Office (FLO) at the State Department in 1978 and her work as a CLO (Community Liaison Officer) at various embassies. Hear about her 50-year service to the U.S. diplomatic community and the history of the FLO. 

While living abroad, Lauren Steed opened her own consulting business to provide educational counseling for Global Nomads and Third Culture Kids. She recently started a podcast series called “Available Worldwide,” which interviews diplomatic spouses about their strategies for adapting their careers to Foreign Service life overseas. Hear about her projects in this Partners in Diplomacy episode.

In her lifetime association with the U.S. diplomatic community, Toni Stearns grew up in a Foreign Service family, married a U.S. diplomat who became a two-time ambassador, and raised four children abroad, one of whom is now a Foreign Service Officer. Hear about her adventures living in Greece and Africa during interesting and challenging times.

Vicki Butler is a journalist, freelance writer, editor and author who contributed to groundbreaking inspection reports on Iraq and Afghanistan. In this Partners in Diplomacy podcast, hear about Vicki’s life as the spouse of the ambassador to Sudan and Haiti and her experiences teaching at a women’s university in Khartoum.