BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.2.3.1//EN TZID:America/Anchorage X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/Anchorage BEGIN:VEVENT UID:258@alaskaworldaffairs.org DTSTART;TZID=America/Anchorage:20180426T173000 DTEND;TZID=America/Anchorage:20180426T183000 DTSTAMP:20231222T092304Z URL:https://alaskaworldaffairs.org/archived-events/convos-on-diplomacy-201 8/ SUMMARY:Conversations on Diplomacy with U.S. Department of State Foreign Se rvice Officers DESCRIPTION:Join two current Foreign Service Officers of the U.S. Departmen t of State for a Conversation on Diplomacy. The FSOs will share insights f rom their experiences as well as highlight the ways in which the State Dep artment works with Alaska.\n\n\n\nSpeaker Bios:\n\nVirginia Blakeman joine d the U.S. Foreign Service in September 2008. She currently serves as Spec ial Advisor in the Bureau of International Information Programs\, where sh e is responsible for the development of public diplomacy strategies to adv ance U.S. foreign policy priorities with audiences worldwide. She previous ly served as Special Assistant for Public Affairs to former Under Secretar y of State for Civilian Security\, Democracy\, and Human Rights Sarah Sewa ll\; as Deputy Press Attaché in Warsaw\, Poland\; and as a consular offic er in Tijuana\, Mexico\, where she provided assistance to over 2\,000 deta ined American citizens in Baja California. She received a Department of St ate Superior Honor Award in 2011 for "creativity and innovation in engagin g young Polish audiences\, and putting Embassy Warsaw on Poland's social m edia map." Virginia is also a novice sommelier\, certified Advanced by the Wine and Spirits Educational Trust\, a native of Michigan's Upper Peninsu la\, and is married with an 18-month old daughter.\n\nIrina Karmanova is c urrently a Public Affairs Specialist in the State Department's Office of P ublic Engagement\, which is tasked with connecting the Department with dom estic audiences\, and engaging the American people directly to advance for eign affairs work at home and abroad through a variety of outreach activit ies. Prior to joining the Bureau of Public Affairs\, Irina worked at sever al other offices since joining the Department in 2009 - including the Offi ce of Nordic and Baltic Affairs in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Aff airs\, the Office of Press and Public Diplomacy in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs\, the Secretary's Office of Global Women's Issues\, and the Office of International Visitors in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Irina's international experience includes stints in the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv\, Ukraine and the U.S. Consulate in Kolkata\, India. Irina obtained a Bachelor's degree in International Affairs in 2010\, and a Master's degree in Global Communication in 2012\, from the George Washi ngton University in Washington\, DC. In her spare time\, Irina enjoys trav el\, photography\, cultural events\, and teaching acrylic painting part-ti me at a local DC-area business.\n\n\n\nDOORS &\; DETAILS\n\n This prog ram is FREE and open to the public. Please register in advance as space is limited to 12 participants.\n The conversation will start promptly at 5: 30pm\, please arrive early if you wish to purchase a beverage or snack.\n Online registration closes at noon on April 26th.\n ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://alaskaworldaffairs.org/wp-content/upload s/2018/04/2000px-Seal_of_the_United_States_Department_of_State.svg_.png CATEGORIES:Special Events LOCATION:Kaladi Brothers Coffee\, 621 W 6th Ave\, Anchorage\, AK\, 99501\, United States GEO:61.21705610000001;-149.89418690000002 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=621 W 6th Ave\, Anchorage\, AK\, 99501\, United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Kaladi Brothers Cof fee:geo:61.21705610000001,-149.89418690000002 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Anchorage X-LIC-LOCATION:America/Anchorage BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20180311T030000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0900 TZOFFSETTO:-0800 TZNAME:AKDT END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR