Themes
Special Agents, Consuls, and Specialists
Former refugees in the Department's security, consular, and specialist ranks.
Beyond the ambassador's office
American diplomacy depends on far more than ambassadors. Former refugees have served as Diplomatic Security special agents who protect embassies, consular officers who issue visas and help Americans in trouble, interpreters, English language officers, and refugee program specialists.
Profiles
Tony Hornik-TranLeft Vietnam by fishing boat at fifteen, spent eleven months in refugee camps, and became a Diplomatic Security agent.Andy PhamArrived from Vietnam in 1982 and went on to serve in the Bureau of Consular Affairs.Alexander AkalovskyA displaced person admitted in 1949 who became one of the Department's Russian interpreters during the Cold War.Dr. Nabila MassoumiHer family crossed out of Afghanistan on foot disguised as nomads; she became a Foreign Service officer.Hoa TranFled Vietnam at seven through Guam and Wake Island, then spent her career helping refugees in Asia.Timothy EydelnantLeft Minsk at sixteen as a refugee and later coordinated U.S. aid to Syrian refugees.Baktash AhadiCrossed the Hindu Kush on foot as a child and later taught American diplomats about Afghanistan.Andreas F. LowenfeldArrived as an eight-year-old refugee from Berlin and later advised the Department during the Cuban Missile Crisis.Vladimir I. ToumanoffThe son of White Russian exiles, carried out of Constantinople as a baby, who later served in Moscow.William D. KrimerTwice uprooted as a boy, he became the voice of American presidents in summits with Soviet leaders.Jessica Adler (Hoang Seang Ear)A four-year-old boat refugee who later helped resettle refugees from the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok.Sulaiman ToghralLeft Taliban-ruled Afghanistan at nine and, as a U.S. diplomat, helped process Afghan evacuees in 2021.Brian SanthumayorFled Idi Amin's Uganda as a refugee to India and later trained U.S. embassies in crisis management.Victor Garcia-RiveraFled Castro's Cuba as a child with almost nothing and joined the Foreign Service once it opened to gay Americans.