“We were already one of the biggest proponents of America First,” said Randy Chester, a veteran of the U.S. Agency for International Development who was forced to retire early in the wake of the Trump administration’s dismantling of USAID — an act ostensibly done because of the agency’s anti-America First ideologies.
Today, Chester is the vice president and USAID liaison for the American Foreign Service Association, or AFSA, which is working to keep the mission — and memory — of what was once the world’s premier aid agency alive.
It also doesn’t want to forget the people behind that mission. AFSA recently held its annual awards ceremony to honor exceptional foreign service work. That includes its constructive dissent awards, for those who challenged policies they disagreed with. “There is no democracy without dissent, and the U.S. Foreign Service must remain a leader in the encouragement of respectful yet provocative constructive dissent,” AFSA said.