Nepalese Association of Florida (NAF) in collaboration with the U.S. Department of State organized a Panel Discussion titled “Pathways to Diplomacy: A Career Guide to the U.S. Department of State” on October 22, 2024.
The webinar focused on introducing different career paths to diplomacy highlighting various accomplishments by the four speakers from the U.S. Department of State. The webinar started with a quick introduction and a welcome message from Mr. Binod Basnet, Vice President of NAF. As part of the welcome message, Mr. Basnet expressed his gratitude to Mr. Ajay Jain Bhutoria, Mr. Eric Christensen, and Ms. Jennifer Miller from the U.S. Department of State for their support in bringing the webinar to fruition. Mr. Basnet also highlighted that the webinar was the first of many collaborations that NAF is aiming to have with the U.S. Department of State.
The webinar was moderated by Suvechha Ghimire, a PhD candidate in Sociology at the University of South Florida. The webinar started with quick introductions of four speakers, Mr. Jeff Ridenour, Ms. Abby Bard, Mr. Waleed Hashmi, and Ms. Jackie Viselli. During his introduction, Mr. Ridenour expressed his hope that the members of the Nepalese Diaspora consider career paths with the State Department and shared documents regarding different fellowships and career pathways. Ms. Bard discussed her experience exploring different corner of the world and bridging the gap between the United States and cultures around the world. Mr. Hashmi discussed his perspective as a South Asian immigrant and his motivation to answer big questions, such as solving poverty, ending wars, create prosperity and happiness. Ms. Viselli thanked the NAF for the opportunity to speak with the Nepalese Diaspora and inspire and educate more people on what the U.S. Department of State does.
As a panel discussion, the speakers answered several questions, including education qualifications or additional qualifications needed to join the State Department, the intersection of STEM-focused youth to diplomacy, advice to youth inspiring to build a career with the State Department, unique challenges individuals from diaspora communities face, etc. The speakers also answered several questions from the virtual participants. The speakers mentioned the two websites where prospective candidates could learn more about career and exchange opportunities.
http://careers.state.gov
http://exchanges.state.gov
The speakers also shared the document highlighting the Student Career and Exchange Program Opportunities at the U.S. Department of State.
The webinar ended with a vote of thanks by Dr. Niraj Shrestha, President of NAF, who expressed his gratitude to the speakers for their time and insights.
The entire webinar can be watched by clicking the link below:
Click here for the Facebook live video
Biography of Speakers:
Jeff Ridenour has been a State Department Foreign Service Officer since 2011. He currently serves as the Young South Asian Leaders Initiative Coordinator at the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs. Before that, he served as the Senior Advisor to the bipartisan U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy. Abroad, he has served in Bangladesh, Tajikistan, India, and Chile. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Jeff was an academic linguist and studied the language of a nomadic people in the Indian
Himalayas for two years. He has a background in education and worked for the Princeton Review for five years as an instructor and in research and development for their online learning. Jeff grew up in Texas and now lives in Arlington, VA with his spouse, who works at USAID, and their two school-aged children. He is an avid gardener, mountain biker, podcast listener, and language learner.
Abby Bard is a foreign affairs officer on the India desk at the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs covering India’s foreign policy and the Quad. Previously, Abby was a Presidential Management Fellow and completed rotations on the Sri Lanka/Maldives desk, as well as the economic section at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, and the DPRK desk. Before working for the State Department, she was an analyst focused on U.S.-Asia relations at the Center for American Progress. She spent two years in South Korea as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant. Abby has a bachelor’s degree in linguistics from Dartmouth College and a Master’s degree in Asian studies from Georgetown University; she speaks Japanese and Korean.
Waleed Hashmi is a civil servant in the Bureau of South & Central Asian Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. He serves on the Economic Unit of the Pakistan Desk and his portfolio includes macroeconomy, trade, investment, and energy. Waleed also supports public diplomacy efforts, diaspora outreach, and press-related issues. He previously served two years in the Office of India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh Affairs, advancing the Indo-Pacific Strategy and supporting economic development initiatives in South Asia. Waleed received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from George Mason University, studying public policy. Waleed is an American-Pakistani, fluent in Urdu and Hindi, and resides in northern Virginia. He is passionate about public service, global affairs, and tackling big problems related to poverty, climate, health, prosperity, conflict, and peace. Waleed has served in the State for six
years.
Jackie Viselli serves as the Central Asia Grants Officer in the Press and Public Diplomacy Office in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs. Her portfolio covers projects from English language
education reform initiatives to cultural heritage preservation. Jackie joined the State Department in 2016 and previously held an internship at the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, as well as positions outside the Department focused on international affairs and world religions. Jackie holds an M.A. from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and a B.A. from Michigan State University in Political Science and Spanish.