Hometown Diplomats: Hometown Idols
FrontLines - May 2009
By Trudy Neely
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Senior Democracy and Governance Officer Paul Randolph and
his wife pose far from their Iowa home in Cambodia, where he
works for USA ID.
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Bountiful, Utah; Westminster,
Md.; and Tipton, Iowa, all have
something in common: They
have been welcoming back
hometown residents to share stories
of international development
work with the local townspeople,
colleges and universities,
and public interest groups.
Since the July launch of the
USAID Hometown Diplomats
Program, Agency officials have
been telling about the U.S. foreign
aid program in newspaper articles
and at speaking engagements.
“When R. David Harden isn’t
busy briefing Barack Obama or
Tony Blair, he’s working to
make peace in the Middle East,”
the Carroll County Times wrote
in their front-page article about
their local Maryland hero Aug.
11, 2008.
As the deputy director for
USAID’s program in the West
Bank and Gaza, Harden manages
$500 million to provide
medical assistance, promote
businesses in the region, build
roads and other infrastructure,
and create peace and prosperity
through other initiatives.
While Harden is proud of
what he does, he is also “trying
to improve Westminster,” his
hometown.
In August, Harden met with
Westminster Mayor Thomas
Ferguson and City Administrator
Marge Wolf.
The Hometown Diplomats
Program prepares overseas staff
on home leave to participate in
press interviews, speak at public
meetings, address students at
universities, and appear at other
public forums to showcase the
work of USAID.
The program also shows how
tax dollars are used to help
reduce poverty, create healthier
societies, respond to natural
disasters, and improve international
governance.
The program’s written goals
state that it “presents a unique
opportunity for the Agency to
engage the American public
through the voices of our own
personnel while at home here in
the states.”
For Cambodia’s senior
democracy and governance officer,
the Tipton Conservative
and Advertiser in February
stated, “Paul Randolph’s visit
home presented an opportunity
for an ‘inside view’ into the life
of a career USAID Foreign
Service Officer, a job that can
be just as demanding, and often
as dangerous, as the work of
many who serve in our
military.”
Ron Mortensen, who works
with the Office of U.S. Foreign
Disaster Assistance, met with the
Davis County Clipper in
Bountiful, Utah.
“I work with some of the
bravest, most fearless people
I’ve ever seen,” Mortensen told
the newspaper in March. “The
people who do this are running
into conflict as other people are
fleeing from it.”
Elizabeth Palmer, a controller
in Amman, Jordan, talked to 50
students about global careers
with USAID at Arizona State
University in October 2008.
For more information about
the program, contact Trudy
Neely, Bureau for Legislative
and Public Affairs, at (202) 712-
4036 or gneely@usaid.gov.
★
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U.S. Agency for International Development
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