GLIFAA is the officially recognized organization representing lesbian,gay,bisexual and transgender etc. (LGBT+) personnel and their families in the United States Department of State,U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID),Foreign Commercial Service,Foreign Agricultural Service,and other agencies and entities working in foreign affairs in the U.S. Government. The acronym comes from its original name,Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies. As of 2014,the organization goes by GLIFAA and uses the slogan "LGBT+ pride in foreign affairs agencies" to underscore its inclusive composition. GLIFAA was founded in 1992 by fewer than a dozen employees who faced official harassment and potential loss of their jobs because of their sexual orientation. The organization has grown to hundreds of Foreign Service,Civil Service,and contract personnel and their families serving in Washington,throughout the U.S.,and at U.S. embassies and missions around the world. Members also include retirees and straight allies in government agencies,while other supporters are affiliate members.
Philip Seth Goldberg is an American diplomat and government official who has served as United States ambassador to South Korea since 2022. He served previously as ambassador to the Philippines,Bolivia and Colombia and chief of the U.S. mission in UN-administered Kosovo during the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations. He has served in Washington as assistant secretary of state for intelligence and research. In 2022,he was nominated by President Joe Biden to be the U.S. ambassador to South Korea and was confirmed on May 5,2022 by the United States Senate through a voice vote.
Herro Kader Mustafa Garg is a Kurdish-American diplomat who has served as the United States ambassador to Egypt since November 2023. She served as the United States ambassador to Bulgaria from October 2019 to March 2023.
Randy William Berry is an American diplomat and the United States ambassador to Namibia since February 9,2023. He has previously served as the United States ambassador to Nepal and the first U.S. special envoy for the human rights of LGBTI persons.
Todd Crawford Chapman is an American career diplomat who has served as the United States ambassador to Brazil from 2020 to 2021 and as the United States ambassador to Ecuador from 2016 to 2019.
Virginia Evelyn Palmer is an American diplomat who has served as the United States ambassador to Ghana since 2022. Palmer is the former United States ambassador to Malawi. She was nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the Senate,beginning that assignment in January 2015.
Donald Trump,President of the United States from 2017 to 2021,entered office with a significant number of judicial vacancies,including a Supreme Court vacancy due to the death of Antonin Scalia in February 2016. During the first eight months of his presidency,he nominated approximately 50 judges,a significantly higher number than any other recent president had made by that point in his presidency. By June 24,2020,200 of his Article III nominees had been confirmed by the United States Senate. According to multiple media outlets,Trump significantly impacted the composition of the Supreme Court and lower courts during his tenure.
Jonathan Raphael Cohen is an American diplomat and most recently served as the United States Ambassador to Egypt from November 17,2019 to March 31,2022. He previously served as the United States Deputy Representative to the United Nations. From August 2016 to June 2018 he served as a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs. He was nominated by President Donald Trump in early 2018 to become United States Deputy Representative to the United Nations and was unanimously confirmed by the Senate on May 24,2018. On January 1,2019,Cohen assumed acting duties of Ambassador to the United Nations following the resignation of Nikki Haley the previous day;with the installation of her successor Kelly Craft in September,he relinquished those duties.
Dennis Bruce Hankins is an American diplomat who is serving as American Ambassador to Haiti. He previously served as the United States Ambassador to Mali between 2019 and 2022 and the United States Ambassador to Guinea between 2015 and 2019.
Earle D. "Lee" Litzenberger is an American diplomat who served as the United States ambassador to Azerbaijan from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as Senior Advisor and Senior Bureau Official in the Department of State’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs.
Eric George Nelson is an American diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2019 to 2022.
Donald Armin Blome is an American diplomat serving as the United States ambassador to Pakistan since 2022. He also served as the United States ambassador to Tunisia from 2019 to 2022.
John Leslie Carwile is an American diplomat who served as the United States ambassador to Latvia from 2019 to 2023.
Robert K. Scott is an American diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Malawi from 2019 to 2021.
James Broward Story is an American diplomat who served as United States ambassador to Venezuela from 2018 to 2023. During most of his tenure he was based in the Venezuela Affairs Unit of the Department of State,located at the United States Embassy in Bogota,Colombia. Story was serving as the deputy chief of mission in Caracas until his superior,Todd Robinson,was expelled and U.S. diplomatic operations in Venezuela ended due to security and operational concerns. Before arriving in Venezuela,Story was serving as Consul General in Rio de Janeiro.
Julie D. Fisher is an American diplomat who has served as the United States ambassador to Cyprus since February 2023.
Dorothy C. Shea is an American career diplomat who has served as the United States Deputy Representative to the United Nations since 2024. She previously had served as the United States Ambassador to Lebanon from 2020 to 2023. On December 7,2022,she received the Distinguished Presidential Rank Award for sustained extraordinary accomplishment. On January 3,2023,President Biden announced his intention to nominate her as Deputy Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations,with the rank and status of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary,and Deputy Representative of the United States of America in the Security Council of the United Nations as well as Representative of the United States of America to the Sessions of the General Assembly of the United Nations.
William W. Popp is an American diplomat serving as the United States ambassador to Uganda since September 2023. He previously served as the United States ambassador to Guatemala.
Scott C. Miller is an American LGBT rights activist,philanthropist and former banker. He currently serves as the U.S. ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein,a role he has held since 2022.
Kara C. McDonald is an American diplomat who has served as the United States ambassador to Lithuania since 2024. She previously served as the deputy assistant secretary of state for democracy,human rights,and labor from 2020 to 2024.
