I am humbled to be here tonight and would like to thank Ambassador and Mrs. Holloway for opening up their home and hosting this wonderful reception.
I would also like to thank you all for coming. I have had the pleasure of meeting many of you on courtesy calls, and I look forward to working with you. Those of you whom I have not met, I would love to use this evening to make your acquaintance. Please come by and introduce yourself.
I have had the distinct honor of working with Ambassador Holloway before when he was in Colombia and I was the Senior Desk Officer in Washington. As many of you know, since Ambassador Holloway just celebrated his one year anniversary in country last weekend, he is absolutely wonderful to work with. Those who have worked with him before relish the opportunity to work with him again, and I am no exception. I look forward to my tenure here, and view this as a great opportunity to learn from one of our country’s best diplomats. I want to assist him in any I can to achieve the goals of our Mission, among which are to help make Guyana more safe, secure, and inclusive.
I have also worked with our current Political/Economic Chief James Bjorkman, who many of you know, and Tabby Fairclough, who was the Public Affairs Officer here a few years ago and did many great things, particularly with the young people of Guyana.
Jose Luis and I have been in Guyana for several weeks now. Before arriving from our most recent assignment in Guatemala, we heard much about Guyanese hospitality, the warmth and friendliness of its people, and the abundance and high quality of its cook-up, pepper pot, and coconut water. And now being on the ground, it is all even better than advertised.
We follow Bryan Hunt, and I must say this is not the first time I have come to a post after him. Several years ago I served in Islamabad after Bryan. I consider him a dear friend, and am grateful to Bryan and Ambassador Holloway for making my transition to Georgetown as seamless as possible.
By way of background, I am an attorney, please don’t hold that against me. I joined the State Department in early 2000 as a Presidential Management Fellow and worked on the Panama and Honduras Desks. I joined the Foreign Service in early 2002 and have served in Panama, Cyprus, Pakistan, and in Turkey.
Once again, I look forward to meeting and working with you all. This Land of Many Waters is special place, and it is no wonder why many of my colleagues have extended their tours here.
