Second generation
Second Generation: Children of Refugees in the Foreign Service
Their parents fled. They were born in America, and they chose to serve it overseas.
Boa Lee
Boa Lee's parents were Hmong refugees from Laos who met in the Ban Vinai refugee camp in Thailand and came to the United States in 1979. She was born in Pennsylvania and joined the Foreign Service in 2012. The Department of State has described her as the first Hmong American Foreign Service officer.
Stacey Phengvath
Stacey Phengvath was born in Connecticut after her family resettled there as refugees from Laos. She joined the Foreign Service as an office management specialist and served in Tel Aviv and Shenyang.
David Truong
David Truong's father came to the United States from Vietnam as a refugee. A Pickering Fellow, he joined the Foreign Service, and his first tour was in Dhaka.