AAFSW's 2025 Award Winners

Champions of Career Enhancement for Eligible Family Members Award (CCE-EFM)

The Champions of Career Enhancement for Eligible Family Members Award (CCE-EFM) was developed by AAFSW’s EFM Employment Committee to recognize and incentivize those who go above and beyond their job descriptions and routine daily activities to promote the cause of employment and career development for Foreign Service family members. The winning individual or group receives a cash award of $2500 and is honored at AAFSW Awards Ceremony, typically held in November of each year. Learn more about the CCE-EFM Award.

Esperanza Jones-Salazar

With more than 11 years as an EFM, Esperanza Jones-Salazar has consistently championed the professional development and empowerment of Foreign Service family members as a way to advance the Department’s priorities. She has been a driving force in ensuring EFMs are recognized not just as accompanying family, but as valuable contributors to the mission.

In her most recent assignment at the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), her impact was particularly notable. She spearheaded efforts to integrate EFMs into meaningful mission work. In one pivotal case, when an EFM volunteer was prevented from contributing to a mission project due to system access barriers, she researched and implemented a solution to secure a Foreign Affairs Network (FAN) account. This initiative not only enabled that spouse to meaningfully contribute and later secure a position at AIT, but also established a replicable process to engage non mission-employed EFMs as key resources across the mission. In her formal role at the Chinese Language and Area Studies School (CLASS), she played a significant role in preparing the next generation of U.S. diplomats for one of America’s most complex and consequential relationships. Her support helped officers and their families not only strengthen their Mandarin skills, but also gain deeper cultural insights into Taiwan—directly enhancing the Department’s capacity in the Indo-Pacific.

Beyond her formal role, Esperanza worked with the Community Liaison Office to strengthen connections between leadership and family members, ensuring EFMs felt heard, supported, and empowered. By advocating for opportunities and opening pathways for meaningful engagement, she transformed how AIT views and utilizes its extended community. Her persistence and innovation demonstrate how fully leveraging the talents of EFMs can maximize mission resources and directly strengthen American diplomacy.

David Willey

David Willey is a Foreign Service Officer and has served in a variety of posts and roles, including as a General Services Officer in Ashgabat and in consular positions in Mumbai and Havana.   Most recently, he worked as a Domestic Employee Teleworking Overseas (DETO) in Riga for the Visa Office in the Bureau of Consular Affairs. He remains extremely grateful to the Bureau for allowing him that opportunity. He currently works with many current and former Eligible Family Members (EFMs) as a supervisor in the Visa Office’s Remote Processing Division, which this year is on track to issue over 1.5 million visas on behalf of the Department. In that position, he has assisted dozens of EFM employees to continue the Remote Processing Division’s valuable work by transitioning them to DETO assignments when their Foreign Service spouses were assigned overseas. Before joining the State Department, David taught Russian language and culture at Yale University. He is married to Iris Willey, who still married him despite his entry level assignments to Turkmenistan and Cuba, and later even joined the Foreign Service herself. They live in Maryland with their son, Arthur. 

He wishes to thank his colleagues in the Visa Office’s Office of  Domestic Operations, including Office Director Brenda Grewe and Deputy Directors Laura Stein and Kevin Schwartz, and in the Remote Processing Division, including former RPD Chief Emily Makely, and current and former Remote Processing Division supervisors Jasmin Ara, Benjamin Danforth, Mike Dolce, John Hall, and Nicole Porter, who have each contributed greatly to the Remote Processing Division’s culture of innovation and continued success in hiring and retaining talented EFMs.

Honorable Mention: Elyssa Jeter

Elyssa Jeter's extraordinary volunteer support helped EFMs, direct hires, and locally employed staff across multiple hardship posts. From resume coaching to business planning, she selflessly empowered others to pursue meaningful careers. Her efforts built stronger mission communities and inspired a global network of professionals. 

Lesley Dorman Award 

The Lesley Dorman award recognizes an AAFSW member who has performed outstanding service in all aspects of the organization. The award was created in 1993 to honor Lesley Dorman for her accomplishments and untiring efforts on behalf of the Foreign Service community by creating the Lesley Dorman Award. Learn more about the Dorman Award.

T. Edward Pierce

Edward is a Diplomatic Security Engineering Officer currently serving in Washington as Division Director of the Security Countermeasures Division. He has previously served at U.S. diplomatic missions in Senegal, Mexico, Pakistan, Hungary, China, Iraq, and Uruguay; and in Washington, DC as a Career Development Officer (CDO).

Before joining public service, Edward spent 15 years in France developing management strategies for U.S. companies expanding into European markets. A native of Arizona, he holds an MBA in International Business from Thunderbird, a BS in Mechanical Engineering, and a BA in Spanish from the University of Arizona.