Behind every number on this site is a person. More than 2,200 career Foreign Service officers and Civil Service employees are appealing their terminations, and each brings years, often decades, of service to the work. "Stories From the 2,200+" is where they describe that service in their own words.
We will add new stories as they become available, from appellants across the Foreign Service and Civil Service, in Washington and around the world. Each story is written by its author, published with their consent and reviewed before it goes live.
We are grateful to every storyteller for sharing their experience, with or without their own name.
Stories from the 2,200+
A Steward of Assistance
From the American People
I spent 20 years in the Foreign Service, serving under five administrations — Republican and Democratic. I led a regional mission of nearly 250 people working across six countries, running some of USAID's largest health and humanitarian assistance programs. I put in 60-hour weeks to meet the planning and reporting Congress required of us and hosted their delegations when they came to see the work.