Lara Center

Lara Center received the Eleanor Tragen Award from the DACOR Bacon House Foundation in 2026 for her work creating  the worldwide Map for Change (Volunteer Map Project) on AAFSW's FSHub.org, and led the FS Clips oral history project. In addition, Lara was honored for creating a virtual, interactive timeline of AAFSW’s activities over the years. 

Lara was the 2009 recipient of the Secretary of State Award for Outstanding Volunteerism Abroad (SOSA) for her work at Luxembourg’s National Museum of Military History.  During her tenure as AAFSW president from 2020-2022, she helped gain new recognition for family member volunteerism abroad as a key component of diplomacy. While serving as AAFSW's First Vice President, she provided leadership on various activities to include AAFSW’s merit scholarships, support of family member employment, online FSHub, increasing membership, and reviewing the mission of AAFSW.  She previously served on AAFSW's board from 2012-2016 and 2019-2020, notably as SOSA committee chair. 

Lara has been part of the Foreign Service community since 2002 and has served with her family domestically in DC, and overseas in Guadalajara, Caracas, Luxembourg, and Hanoi, where she worked as a museum consultant for the Vietnamese Women’s Museum.  

Lara holds a Bacherlor Arts in International Studies in Environmental Management and Public Policy, a Master of Public Administration, and a Master of Library Science in Museum Studies. She has two children.