Available Worldwide

We have a huge announcement!

The first-ever Available Worldwide Symposium is taking place from November 1st to 4th.

This four-day online event will bring together EFM/MOH accompanying partners from around the world to address the theme "Moving the Needle: Finding Direction & Mapping Possibilities."

If you are passionate about EFM professional development and growth, we encourage you to get involved!

For those who are eager to take part in this transformative symposium, the booking calendar is now open for facilitators and presenters.

This is truly an incredible opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals, gain valuable insights, and take meaningful steps in your professional journey. So mark your calendars for November 1st to 4th, and let's move the needle together!

Learn more at https://availableworldwide.net/symposium/

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit availableworldwide.substack.com

On this episode of Available Worldwide, Lauren chats with Mackenzie Carlson, our new social media manager and fellow plant lover. Mackenzie shares her family's unique journey into the Foreign Service, from an adventurous road trip to prepping for a Covid-era quarantine. We discuss the best National Parks, the challenges of resume gaps, and the support she found in the EFM community both at post and via Available Worldwide. Mackenzie's fresh perspectives have already made a positive impact on our team as we continue to provide valuable resources for EFMs worldwide.

McKenzie Lowe Carlson is a mother of two and a first-tour EFM in Guangzhou, China.
McKenzie graduated from Brigham Young University with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. She taught third grade for one year and has since had the opportunity to stay home full-time with her kids, Bria and Tucker.
With her youngest starting school this year she was ready to venture back into the world of professionalism, but being at a post with no bilateral work agreement meant she couldn’t teach. She is currently volunteering as a social media manager for Available Worldwide. She enjoys indoor & outdoor gardening, reading, and organizing & decorating her home.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit availableworldwide.substack.com

In this episode of the Available Worldwide podcast, we are joined by Lexi Boudreau, an EFM (Eligible Family Member) with a diverse career as a stay at home mom, volunteer and, working with various agencies and businesses. She and her husband joined the Foreign Service later in life and spent 14 and a half years abroad, falling in love with the lifestyle. She reflects on her personal growth since starting this lifestyle and discusses her experiences working in Uganda and Jordan. For Lexi, thriving in this lifestyle requires focusing on the positives and managing challenges without being overwhelmed. There will always be the difficulties of constantly moving but that's balanced by the the resilience she and her children have developed. Lexi advises incoming EFMs to prioritize their own careers and do what is best for their families.

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Lexy Boudreau is returning to the U.S. after her family's fifth overseas post. At Embassy Amman she did media and communications in USAID's Education and Youth Office and took the lead with the Embassy's interagency DEIA events. Previously, Lexy led the PEPFAR Small Grants office at Embassy Kampala. In addition to being a Girl Scout Leader since 2009, she held a variety of volunteer positions with her four kids' schools and within the embassy community. During her EFM "career" she fully adopted the FS "it depends" mantra having learned to be flexible and reinvent herself during two evacuations, seven moves, sending three kids to college from overseas and now starting her first unaccompanied tour.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit availableworldwide.substack.com

Evacuating from Ukraine was a turning point for Jessica.
She'd been a Foreign Service accompanying partner for 20 years. She'd navigated single parenting during her husband's tour in Iraq and learned how community can help you thrive in the midst of chaos. She'd successfully sustained her law career during multiple foreign and domestic postings.

But leaving Ukraine in 2022 shifted Jessica's priorities and, ultimately, her career. Learn more about Jessica's journey and how she looks at challenges as opportunities.

Join us for an emotional conversation about the stresses and lessons learned navigating life abroad with dual careers and kids.

BIO
Jessica Hayden has been an EFM for the past 20 years. Her family has lived in Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Ukraine, and The Netherlands, while her husband also served in Iraq. She has worked as both a lawyer and a writer and is the mother to 3 awesome kids.

In January of 2022, she evacuated from Kyiv with her children while her husband stayed behind with the Embassy. That experience fundamentally changed her career and life trajectory. She is now focusing on refugee issues and working on several writing projects about parenting during times of crisis.

Connect with Jessica:

• Instagram https://www.instagram.com/diplo.momma/
• LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-hayden-1707884/

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit availableworldwide.substack.com

In this episode, we meet Kavanaugh Livingston who in her first year as an EFM making a difference in supporting EFM (Eligible Family Member) careers in her community. Like many EFMs, she had to pause her career while her spouse serves as an FSO with the State Department.Kavanaugh organized an event to educate other post EFMs about the benefits of in mission employment, including both current and long-term retirement benefits. We also talk about the possibilities of offering similar informational support sessions to EFMs at your post.

Some key takeaways from her careers workshop:

• If it helps, use the EFM employment notebook as a suggested way to organize an electronic repository of all of your employment-, HR-, and payroll-related documents;
• Download and keep copies of ALL of your employment-related documents from Employee Express and any other online employee portals (i.e. SF-50s and Leave and Earnings Statements);
• The attached notebook also contains contact information, resources, and guidance on how to understand key employment documents;
• To streamline the process of applying for or renewing your security clearance (a.k.a. the e-QIP form), keep track of all of your residences, contacts, and travel details from the past 10 years;
• When applicable, use a personal email address (and not a government email address) to register for any third-party employment, HR, and retirement portals. When you retire from or leave government service, you will lose access to your government email; and
• It is the employee's responsibility to track their earnings statements and creditable service. Check these documents frequently to ensure their accuracy so that your retirement benefits are calculated appropriately.

Materials related to her EFM careers event available here.



Kavanaugh Livingston is a first-tour EFM in Mexico and recently transitioned to a life as a stay-at-home mom.

Before moving to Mexico Kavanaugh was a management consultant for IBM, and led strategy, knowledge management, and change management projects for her clients. Before her time at IBM, Kavanaugh got her MBA and worked for the United Nations Foundation (UNF). During her time with UNF, she managed efforts to improve household energy access for a global initiative. Kavanaugh started her career in the legal field before her most recent employment experiences. She is currently working towards her 200-hour yoga teacher training certification.

Kavanaugh is also a certified project management professional and has applied her extensive project management experience to support other EFMs at her current post. Her experience demonstrates that anyone at post, even first-tour EFMs, can serve as leaders.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit availableworldwide.substack.com

Paula, her husband, Jason, and their two sons just completed an around-the-world journey, which saw them taking a year of LWOP (leave without pay) to visit 19 countries, including Paula's home country of Colombia.

In this interview, Paula shares some of the valuable lessons they learned about communication, kindness and self-growth during their trip. She also talks about her own struggles with anxiety and depression, and the importance of seeking help and not judging others based on mental health stereotypes.

Paula discusses her previous EFM jobs and the support she received from management officers who believed in her professional potential. She encourages new EFMs to be proactive, show up, and engage with embassy staff, emphasizing the opportunities for professional development within the State Department.
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BIO
Paula Andrea Pantoja has been an EFM for 14 years. She and her family have served in Mexico, Mozambique, El Salvador, and Tajikistan, and they're just starting their fifth tour in Tunisia.

Paula says:
"I am originally from Popayan, Colombia, and my mom tells me that I used to talk about traveling around the world from an early age. I love reading fantasy and fiction, dancing, playing soccer, doing Qigong and yoga, and trying new things that look fun.

I met my husband when we were working in a special needs summer camp in the Poconos, Pennsylvania in 2003. We've been together ever since and became parents of two fantastic boys, lived in five different countries, and travelled in more than 40 countries together.

I am a trained Spanish, English, and French teacher; however, since we joined the Foreign Service, I've been a CLO, roving secretary, and HR assistant/EPAP in our last three tours. I love working in HR because I truly believe I can make a difference in somebody's day. I want to become an OMS once my husband retires from the Foreign Service and keep traveling."

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit availableworldwide.substack.com

This summer we're taking a break from interviews to bring you a series of themed episodes especially relevant to newly minted EFMs — spouses whose partners have just joined the Foreign Service or who are about to be posted abroad for the first time.

You'll hear from your hosts—Lauren Steed and Stephanie Anderson—as well as from a smattering of other accompanying partners who left voicemails to share their own advice.
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Summer Special #4: Pack-out Advice
The final episode of our summer advice column series: the dreaded pack-out!

Whether you cut the clutter, embrace the chaos, or procrastinate till the last moment, pack-out is always stressful.

Lauren and Steph provide valuable advice and reassurance for folks facing their first pack-out, offering a glimpse into this unique aspect of foreign service life.
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Visit our Facebook page to share your own pack-out wins, horror stories, and top tips for newbies!
https://www.facebook.com/availableworldwidepodcast

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit availableworldwide.substack.com

This summer we're taking a break from interviews to bring you a series of themed episodes especially relevant to newly minted EFMs — spouses whose partners have just joined the Foreign Service or who are about to be posted abroad for the first time.

You'll hear from your hosts—Lauren Steed and Stephanie Anderson—as well as from a smattering of other accompanying partners who left voicemails to share their own advice.
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Summer Special #3: PCS Planning
In this episode of our summer advice column series, Lauren and Steph delve into the topic of PCS (permanent change of station) moves in the Foreign Service lifestyle.

We discuss staying organized, researching activities, making connections, and the importance of community support. We reflect on our own experiences and offer advice on flexibility and embracing the adventure of PCSing.

And whether you're an "Excel monster" or a relaxed "wine mom," we want to remind you that it's okay to cry. 😥
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Good luck to all of you slogging your way through the summer transfer season!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit availableworldwide.substack.com

This summer we're taking a break from interviews to bring you a series of themed episodes especially relevant to newly minted EFMs — spouses whose partners have just joined the Foreign Service or who are about to be posted abroad for the first time.

You'll hear from your hosts—Lauren Steed and Stephanie Anderson—as well as from a smattering of other accompanying partners who left voicemails to share their own advice.
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Summer Special #2: EFM Career Narratives

What do you do? What's your story?

In this episode, Lauren and Steph talk about making the most of your opportunities and redefining who you are in terms of your career.

As accompanying partners, a lot of where we're going to land in the future is out of our control. However, the story we tell when we get there can make all the difference.

How do we define ourselves and create a more cohesive narrative from a sometimes patchy work history?
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Past episodes mentioned:

• ep. 20 Maryanna Koehring | English for the Job
  https://www.spreaker.com/user/avail/maryanna-koehring
  
  
• ep. 38 Nermine Mansour | Chez Nermine
  https://www.spreaker.com/user/avail/nermine-mansour
  
  
• ep. 39 Heather Emerick | Diplobudgets
  https://www.spreaker.com/user/avail/heather-emerick
  
  
• ep. 47 Helene Lubatti | Employee Association Manager & Bagel Queen
  https://www.spreaker.com/user/avail/helenelubatti
  
  
• ep. 49 Tracy MacDonald | Writer & Consultant
  https://www.spreaker.com/user/avail/tracy-macdonald-interview

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit availableworldwide.substack.com

This summer we're taking a break from interviews to bring you a series of themed episodes especially relevant to newly minted EFMs -- spouses whose partners have just joined the Foreign Service or who are about to be posted abroad for the first time.

You'll hear from your hosts--Lauren Steed and Stephanie Anderson--as well as from a smattering of other accompanying partners who left voicemails to share their own advice.
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Summer Special #1: Realities of EFM Employment

We don't sugarcoat the facts. We want you to know the challenges and the opportunities that might lie ahead for you as a new EFM (eligible family member) or MOH (member of household).

In this episode we talk about the different types of family member employment, the pros and cons of each, and we share some resources we've found useful.

Resources

• Worldwide Family Member Employment Statistics https://www.state.gov/global-community-liaison-office/overseas-family-member-employment/family-member-employment-statistics/
  
  
• Global Employment Advisors https://www.state.gov/global-community-liaison-office/family-member-employment/global-employment-initiative-gei/
  
  
• EFM Business Owners Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/efmbusinessowners
  
  
• EFMs Helping Other EFMs Find Employment https://www.facebook.com/groups/efmshelpefmsfindemployment/
  
  
• Teletrailing EFMs https://www.facebook.com/groups/1997423240366074

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit availableworldwide.substack.com