#evan ryan

The Vows - (Wedding Day Part Five)

Love,

Dear Alumni,

As my tenure as Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) comes to a close, my fondest memories are of you, our exchange alumni. When I met you during your exchange programs here in the United States or during my travels abroad, I saw first-hand your dedication to improving your communities and making the world a better place.  The alumni community is filled with leaders in government, business, science, the arts, and beyond.  As alumni, you belong to a community of the world’s best and brightest: 530 current and former heads of state, 332 current and former ambassadors, 82 Nobel Laureates, 105 Pulitzer Prize winners, and 47 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients.

In 2016, you proved, yet again, that you are on the cutting edge of innovation, harnessing your expertise and experience to better your communities around the world.  This year, you led thousands to advocate for increased HIV/AIDS funding, empowered girls to become leaders in STEM, and kick started hundreds of other initiatives as changemakers in your communities. I am awed by your passion, dedication, and enthusiasm.

On behalf of the U.S. Department of State, thank you for continuing to build on our relationship, even after your U.S. government-sponsored exchange programs have ended.  Congratulations on all of your accomplishments and I wish you a happy and healthy 2017 as we work together to build a better world.

Best wishes, Evan Ryan Assistant Secretary Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs

Milena and Evelyn’s Birthday!

On the 1st of July we had a joint birthday party to celebrate Milena’s 2nd birthday and Evelyn’s first birthday. It was basically just a big old family gathering and it was wonderful. From my side my mum, dad, brother and sister all came along and from Sean’s side there was his mum, dad, his brothers Benjamin, Luke and Joseph and his sister Bella. Also in attendance were Benjamin’s sons Mikey and Ethan and his wife Lily.

It was a beautiful day so we had barbecue complete with sausages, burgers, chicken wings, pork, chicken and beef skewers and special homemade burgers and sausages for Evelyn and JJ. We also had ice creams and ice pops. Milena kept dropping her ice pops on the ground, in the end I fed it to her because we’d gotten through five ice pops!

The girls we spoilt rotten too, they were showered with gifts. Evelyn absolutely loved tearing through the paper on her presents, although she did keep attempting to eat it. My parents bought Evelyn this adorable little wooden pram. She is just about walking and she had a go at pushing it. It was the cutest little thing ever. Sean’s parents gave Milena a little trampoline. She made Sean put it up immediately so that she could bounce on it. She loves it. She has spent most of this week bouncing on it. Evelyn and JJ keep crawling onto it but they haven’t figured out how to bounce yet!

It was such a wonderful day and the girls had such a fabulous day! Happy belated birthday to my special girls!

love,

Sarah Mucha at CNN (06.20.2020):

Joe Biden has officially formed a transition team that will be led by former Delaware Sen. Ted Kaufman, a longtime Biden adviser who also led his transition as vice president in 2008, a Biden campaign aide confirmed to CNN.

This team is a preliminary group that will focus on developing the infrastructure of the transition effort. The full rollout of the team is expected later this fall, the aide said, noting that the timing of today's announcement falls in line with the timeline of past non-incumbent candidates who developed a transition team.

The group includes Yohannes Abraham, a longtime staffer in the Obama White House who will handle the day-to-day operations.

NBC News was the first to report about the team's formation.

In a statement, Kaufman described the efforts as being in "the very early stages of pre-transition planning."

"Vice President Biden's transition -- like his Administration to follow -- will prioritize the following core values: diversity of ideology and background; talent to address society's most complex challenges; integrity and the highest ethical standards to serve the American people and not special interests; and transparency to enable trust and visibility at every stage," Kaufman said.

In addition to Abraham, Avril Haines, former principal deputy national security adviser and deputy director of the CIA, will manage the transition team's national security and foreign policy efforts.