(md.usembassy.gov)  Ambassador to U.S. Embassy in Moldova,  Dereck  J. Hogan

By Gary Raynaldo   DIPLOMATIC   TIMES

Ambassador Dereck J. Hogan, an African American, recalls how surprised  people were upon seeing a black man for the first time when he served as  a U.S. Foreign Service officer in Russia early in his career. Hogan, who speaks fluent Russian, was shopping in a mall at the  time. “People were staring at me and a child was saying to his mother in Russian ‘Look, mommy a Black man!’  Hogan grew up in a diverse neighborhood in Pennsylvania. “I went from a very heterogeneous community to a very homogenous country where the only people of color they saw was on T.V. in videos,” Hogan recounted.  Hogan, who currently serves as Ambassador to the U.S. Embassy in Moldova, recounted the experience and shared his insights on diversity and inclusion and advice for diverse candidates considering a career in foreign policy recently.  Hogan was the guest lecturer at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service Institute for the Study of Diplomacy Diverse Diplomacy Leaders Speaker Series.  Hogan said he decided to pursue a career in Foreign Service when he was a 16-year-old High School student and his parents sent him to summer school at the Governor’s School for Global and International Studies in Pittsburgh.  “Two Foreign Service officers came and spoke to us about public service, learning about other cultures, foreign policy.  I was hooked. I said I want to live oversees. I want to help make the world a better place,” Ambassador Hogan said.   Hogan earned a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master’s Degree in Public Affairs from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University.  In addition to Russian, he speaks fluent Spanish, and Romanian.  Hogan also recalled a time he was walking in Russia and a car with several white men in it when one yelled “Hey Black guy!”  in Russian.   Hogan, not missing a beat, yelled back: “Hey White guys! in the same language.  “Everyone laughed.  I found you can disarm people by moving in and around their culture, learning the language, and interacting with them,”  Hogan said, noting that he worked in Eastern Europe at a time where neo-Nazism was resurging.

Moldova, where Hogan serves as an Ambassador,  is an Eastern European country and former Soviet republic, sandwiched between the  Ukraine and Romania.

“I see myself as someone who has been truly blessed. We have an opportunity to shape our relations with the rest of the world.”

-Hogan on being member of U.S. Foreign Service

Hogan Sees A More Systematic Approach To push For More Diversity and Inclusion in Foreign Service After 23-Year Long Career in  Diplomacy 

(md.usembassy.gov)  Ambassador to U.S. Embassy in Moldova,  Dereck  J. Hogan

The State Department has made concerted efforts and noticeable improvements in expanding the racial and ethnic diversity of its workforce, but minority employees are still disproportionately more likely to be passed over for promotion than their non-minority counterparts – Federal Times. The Senior Executive Service has an even greater racial disparity, with minorities making up only 20.7 percent of its ranks, according to OPM’s most recent 2017 report on the service.

“Despite decades of attempts to make the Foreign Service look more like the real America, it’s still pretty much white, male, and Yale,”  according to a May 2016 article in Foreign Affairs.  The article is titled: “The State Department Has a Diversity Problem”     

“Watchdog Finds ‘Uneven Progress’ in State Department’s Effort to Improve Workforce Diversity”

“I see now, 23, years later, a more systematic approach to push for more diversity and inclusion. I really believe in the power of one. What can each of us do to make change,” Hogan said.  On personal experiences of racism in the Foreign Service when it concerns presenting proposals or projects to colleagues, Hogan said he has not sensed that someone did not like his proposal because of his race.  However,  he said  there were times when some questioned if he was truly qualified to be in more advanced position given his young age.  “I  got it early in my career because of my young age. Some older Foreign Service persons have expressed resentment of my higher position because of my age.  They would say, look, I am older than you with more experience. But I will try to have a conversation with the  person, have lunch with them, and ask them what are the  issues they have to lower the temperature. The more you try to elicit them in a more disarming way, the better it is. I will try to work with this person for a mutually beneficial relationship. I say to him I can learn from all your years, wisdom, etc.”

On Retaining Minorities in Top Posts in Foreign Service amid high rate of departures:

“Retention is not about money. It is an opportunity to make change. It is a good idea to identify mentors for young talent who want to reach a level we aspire to.  But  it is important to have a merit system, identifying and nurturing the best. We need to help people get to a threshold level,”  Hogan said.

On  Tianna Spears, African American Diplomat  Who Alleges Racial Harassment At U.S. Borders

Credit: Linkedin/  Tianna Spears is a former American diplomat who worked at the US consulate in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico,  across the border from El Paso, Texas  USA

Tianna Spears, an African American diplomat, alleges she was racially profiled by US border officials, who pulled her over at least 25 times for extensive questioning and car inspections over a six-month period last year despite being the holder of a coveted diplomatic passport. Spears claimed  her supervisors at the U.S. consulate did nothing to help after she reported the incidents.   “After weeks of writing letters, meetings, and emails to management, I was transferred to Mexico City on a temporary assignment and then reassigned permanently. I developed a stutter. I could not look people in the eye. I was extremely on edge all the time and my hair began to fall out in chunks from the harassment and stress. I gave up and cut all my hair off. My voice shook when I spoke. The simple thought of driving would make my hands perspire and my heart race.”   Spears resigned from her State Department job and her dream of a long career serving her country in the Foreign Service came crashing down on her.   But Spears made it clear she strongly believes that she was “forced out” due to the on-going harassment and stress.    Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.)  are leading a call on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General (IG) to open a formal investigation into allegations of racism, racial targeting, and harassment of U.S. government officials by Trump administration Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents at U.S. border crossings.

“I was heartbroken reading about that. It  really showed us how much work we really have to do. She (Tianna Spears) spoke with her supervisor but did not find a resolution there. She has shared her experience with the world, writing about it. There is zero tolerance for any harassment of people(based on race). I am confident the State Department knows these are things that can’t be repeated.” 

-Ambassador Hogan

Hogan is a career member of the U.S. Senior Foreign Service. Prior to being sworn in as Ambassador to U.S. Embassy Moldova in September 2018, he served as the Deputy Executive Secretary of the U.S. Department of State.   Hogan previously served as the Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d’affaires in U.S. Embassy Baku, Azerbaijan.   Hogan’s other senior positions in the U.S. State Department include Director of the Central European Affairs and Nordic and Baltic Affairs Offices and Senior Advisor to the President’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. He previously served as the U.S. Department of State Representative on two civilian-military Provincial Reconstruction Teams in southern and eastern Afghanistan. His other overseas assignments include Russia, Belarus, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic. In Washington,  Hogan served as Special Assistant to Secretary of State Colin Powell and a Watch Officer in the State Department’s Operations Center.