US Department of State 2014 Professional Fellows Congress

The 2014 Professional Fellows Congress was held at the US Department of State and the Washington Marriott Georgetown Hotel on November 5-9, 2014.  More than 200 delegates from 45 countries were represented.  This is the story told through pictures!

The delegates in session at the US Department of State.  Ambassador Thomas Shannon, Jr., Counselor to Secretary of State John Kerry addressed the Congress.  His topic:  "The Four Biggest Drivers of Change for the Next 30 Years." A very enlightening talk!

Fall 2014 Pro Fellows Delegates Group Photo

The recipients of the 2014 US Department of State Professional Fellows Alumni Impact Award.  From the left:  Tad Long (Kentucky), Chanthalangsy "See" Sisouvanh (Laos), Natia Nasrashvili (country of Georgia) and Wendy Mota Kasongo (Connecticut), 

Ambassador Thomas Shannon, Jr., Counselor for the US State Department with the recipients.

Ambassador Thomas Shannon, Jr. addresses the Pro Fellows World Congress

The Alumni Impact Award recipients with the Lincoln Memorial as a backdrop.

The delegations from Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Indonesia joined me for a photo during the Ambassadors luncheon. The ambassador or an embassy representative from each country attended the luncheon.  Since Mongolia was not represented at this year's congress (which is where I would have been assigned), the Kazakhs and Kyrgs adopted me for the day!

I addressed the delegates following the Ambassadors luncheon.  My speech was titled "Mongolian Nomads: Two Weeks that Changed Many Lives." The US State Department jokingly called it the "Tad Talk" and that's what I heard about from the delegates for the rest of the congress.  A lot of fun!

This is appropriately named the "Impact Award." The whole experience from Mongolia to the Pro Fellows Congress certainly had an impact on me.  I have learned so much and made many, many new friends from around the world.