Episodes

  • Alaina Missbach | The Global Fork

    Alaina Missbach | The Global Fork
    May 7 2024
    Early in her career, Alaina had to learn how to translate all she'd learned in culinary school to the traveling life of the partner of a Foreign Service Officer.

    After years of running a successful catering business in several countries, she's now back in D.C. discovering what her next version of success will look like.

    Listen in as Alaina shares the lessons she's learned, including why she values contentment over happiness. As an added bonus, Alaina shares tips on what to bring that next international school potluck!
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    BIO
    Alaina Missbach is, first and foremost, an avid eater and, secondly, a chef.

    She’s a former Army officer turned graduate of The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park (earning her diploma at 8 ½ months pregnant) before being whisked off to their first post with her two small kids and newly-appointed FSO husband

    Delighting in the truth that “Everybody eats!” she started her own catering business, serving the Embassy and International School communities.

    Fast forward 12 years, 5 posts, and more events/dinners/meals than she can count, Alaina has experienced the ups and downs of changing careers, finding her way as an EFM business owner, and maintaining all aspects of her identity in the meantime.

    In her business, Alaina specializes in custom menus created for each client and event. She loves sharing her joy for American food and culture with her friends and Foreign Service family overseas.

    Alaina is a lifelong learner and takes on the challenge of always increasing her knowledge, learning new things, and trying new methods—both in cooking and in life.

    Learn more about Alaina:
    • www.instagram.com/ChefAlaina
    • www.facebook.com/TheGlobalFork
    • www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-missbach
    • www.theglobalfork.com (soon to be live!)
    .

    This episode is sponsored by DiploDash.

    Are you struggling to figure out how to get your consumables? If shopping and packing out your consumables is a challenge, DiploDash® can help!

    When you hire DiploDash to manage your consumables, you get a partner in the process. We’ve been there – hungry for certain foods and frustrated by what's available in the local market. We've also been confused by the endless lists of recommendations.

    Working with DiploDash you’ll be guided through the consumables process from start to finish. Your biggest task is deciding what you want us to buy for you.

    Get the consumables you want and never leave Post. Contact DiploDash to schedule a complimentary call today.

    www.DiploDash.com
    https://www.facebook.com/diplodashservice
    https://www.instagram.com/diplodash/
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    26 mins
  • Stephanie Anderson | Global Nomad English - 3 Year Update

    Stephanie Anderson | Global Nomad English - 3 Year Update
    Apr 24 2024
    After 3 years of producing the Available Worldwide Podcast, we're celebrating by re-interviewing our first guests, each other. Lauren talks with Steph about what's changed with Global Nomad English and how podcasting changed her work with clients and pushed her into developing skills she never knew she'd need.


    Steph's Bio:

    Stephanie loves helping people tell their stories.

    In 2018, she started Global Nomad English, building on her English language teaching background, to offer global professionals online writing coaching, editing, and interview prep services. She now primarily works with hopeful Foreign Service applicants to help them write strong, concise personal narratives and practice telling compelling work experience stories in oral assessments and interviews.

    Stephanie is a passionate supporter of the accompanying partners of the US Foreign Service, from co-founding the Available Worldwide podcast to launching the Available Worldwide Network. She firmly believes that by sharing our stories we not only inspire each other but can build solidarity leading to lasting change for the EFM professional community.

    Stephanie recently secured a position as an Adjunct Faculty DETO (domestic employee teleworking overseas) for the Foreign Service Institute. As an LE Staff Training Instructor, she facilitates online and in-person classes on Communication Skills, Team Building, and Supervisory Skills. Her goal is for LE Staff to feel heard and to help them build skills to find greater fulfillment and success in the workplace.

    Stephanie enjoys bike touring and traveling with her IRM spouse. Together, they’ve served at Posts in Moscow, San Salvador, and Berlin. Since being posted to London, she’s reentered the rowing world and trains/competes with a Thames women’s rowing club.
    • Learn about Steph's English and Writing Coaching Services at Global Nomad English
    • Find Steph on LinkedIn or Facebook
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    This episode is sponsored by Career Valet

    EFMs have many different career paths – really too many to count: travel enthusiast, embassy workhorse, dog mom, children organizer, remote work trailblazer…

    But the one thing that we almost all have in common? Our paths aren’t straight or straightforward. And often it takes someone else to help us tease out our strengths, skills, and value.

    That’s what they do at Career Valet, an EFM-owned and entirely EFM-staffed career consultancy that works with you to tell your best narrative on paper and online, aligned with target jobs. They’ve worked with EFMs, FSOs, members of Congress, Fortune 100 leaders, nonprofit and technology professionals, just to name a few.

    Check out www.careervalet.com to read advice on their blog or subscribe to their newsletter.

    You can also sign up for a free call and learn about their customized packages. They offer a $100 discount to EFMs.

    It’s your story. They amplify it.


    • www.careervalet.com
    • www.linkedin.com/company/career-valet
    • www.instagram.com/career_valet
    Show More Show Less
    32 mins
  • Lauren Steed | Nomad Educational Services

    Lauren Steed | Nomad Educational Services
    Apr 9 2024
    On the 3rd anniversary of the Available Worldwide Podcast, we chat with co-host Lauren Steed about her small business, Nomad Educational Services. Lauren shares how her students are changing, how she's adapting, and what she's learned more about the value she adds in the process. We also touch on the stress of PCSing while running a business, plus the AW Podcast and Network.
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    BIO

    Dr. Lauren Steed has over 20 years of experience in test prep, classroom and college teaching, and student mentorship at all levels of education.

    She started Nomad Educational Services in 2017, building on past work as a college prep consultant and executive functioning coach in Northern Virginia, and as a freelance writing and essay coach for expat undergraduate and graduate student applicants.

    Dr. Steed works with families looking for a low-stress, high-confidence mentoring approach for their college-bound students. Families can feel confident that their student:
    • will be fully supported along their path to college,
    • will apply to schools that match their academic history and interests and will help them succeed, and
    • will submit applications they are proud of.


    Nomad Educational students apply to all kinds of schools — from the Ivy League to art school, from hands-on, career-focused schools to those specializing in the classics, from small and supportive to massive and athletic, and every type and size of school in between. All of Dr. Steed's students are excited about the schools where they end up.

    Find out more about Nomad Educational Services:
    • nomad-ed.com
    • https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-steed-phd/
    • https://www.facebook.com/NomadEdServices/
    .
    This episode is sponsored by the Available Worldwide Network.

    Are you looking for a safe and supportive online community where you can connect with other Foreign Service spouses who just get it?

    The Available Worldwide Network is a community-led platform providing professional development, personal connection, and social support for the accompanying partners of the US Foreign Service.

    Our goal is to help EFMs and MOHs who are trying to maintain or build careers abroad or at home to feel connected, valued, and empowered; to share our challenges and celebrate our successes, and to work together to find solutions through solidarity.

    You can join the Available Worldwide Network today to participate in co-working sessions, LinkedIn and resume workshops, professional development book clubs, small business masterminds, and monthly member match-ups to expand your network.

    Find all you need to know at https://availableworldwide.net/available-worldwide-network/




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    27 mins
  • Amanda Zelaya | Indie Author and Ghostwriter

    Amanda Zelaya | Indie Author and Ghostwriter
    Mar 27 2024
    First time EFM Amanda Zelaya saw EFM life as the chance to finally go all in on her dream career. She describes life as an indie romance author and ghostwriter, her journey into self-publishing, the challenges of being an indie author, and how her writing career has evolved alongside her husband's Foreign Service posting. Hear her insights into the realities of promoting her "spicy" romance novels, navigating the world of BookTok and Amazon, and the importance of adaptability in the ever-changing publishing landscape.

    Amanda Zelaya is an Indie Romance author and Ghostwriter who has published over fifty romance novels spanning multiple genres. As a ghostwriter, she has written two novels that became Amazon Kindle best-sellers, and as a solo indie writer, she has had a book hit the Top 100.

    While ghostwriting started as a way to make extra money for her wedding and break up the monotony of teaching middle school English, Amanda discovered a passion for creating stories and developed a lucrative side hustle that has allowed her to support her husband as he follows his career dreams.

    She has taken a break from ghostwriting and exclusively writes spicy mafia romances under her pen name, Kennedy Slope.

    Check out her books on Amazon and

    Join her mailing list for exclusive material

    .

    This episode is sponsored by Emily Cornell, Transition and Transformation Coach.

    Emily knows change. From seismic personal transformation to the neverending transitions of her own EFM life, she has experienced plenty. She knows that change—even the good kind—can often be hard and sometimes scary.

    That’s why Emily became a coach: to help other women tap into their courage, creativity, and strength as they move through transitions and transformations of their own.

    Emily holds an International Coaching Federation credential and is committed to a trauma-informed approach. Her virtual practice supports clients wherever they are in the world from wherever she is.

    Learn more at emilycornell.com
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    31 mins
  • Erika Furey | Integrative Health Coach

    Erika Furey | Integrative Health Coach
    Mar 12 2024
    Erika Furey is a self-described "jack-of-all-trades." From barista to public relations, from esthetician to yoga teacher, from CLO to health coach, Erika demonstrates commitment and consistency in pursuit of her passions.

    In this interview, Erika delves into the difficulties of maintaining connections and a sense of belonging as a Foreign Service spouse, highlighting the emotional toll of constantly uprooting and rebuilding relationships at each new Post. She emphasizes the importance of vulnerability, deep connections, and meaningful friendships despite the transient nature of diplomatic life.

    Erika shares her journey towards self-discovery, personal growth, and healing, particularly in overcoming long COVID and finding her calling as an integrative health coach.

    BIO
    After working just about every service industry job in Missoula, Montana during college, Erika started at a Public Relations consulting firm which led to doing outreach for a DC software start-up. Then, just as she was starting to get some experience under her belt, she went and married into the Foreign Service turning her career life on its head.

    Shortly after joining the FS and getting married, Erika had two children back-to-back. While raising kids, she’s worked at every Embassy they’ve served at. In between jobs and while being posted abroad, she’s collected multiple health and wellness certifications.

    Erika believes there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to health. With this in mind, she set out on a path of self-discovery to explore how her own habits and decisions have shaped her and how she can use her personal experience, growth, and self-healing to inspire others to set out on their own journey toward positive transformation.

    You can learn more about Erika’s work as an integrative health coach at:
    • http://erikafureyintegrativehealthcoach.com/home
    • https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikafurey/
    • https://www.instagram.com/esfurey_healthcoach
    .
    This episode is sponsored by Career Valet

    EFMs have many different career paths – really too many to count: travel enthusiast, embassy workhorse, dog mom, children organizer, remote work trailblazer… But the one thing that we almost all have in common? Our paths aren’t straight or straightforward. And often it takes someone else to help us tease out our strengths, skills, and value.

    That’s what they do at Career Valet, an EFM-owned and entirely EFM-staffed career consultancy that works with you to tell your best narrative on paper and online, aligned with target jobs. They’ve worked with EFMs, FSOs, members of Congress, Fortune 100 leaders, nonprofit and technology professionals, just to name a few.

    Check out www.careervalet.com to read advice on their blog or subscribe to their newsletter.

    You can also sign up for a free call and learn about their customized packages, including a new entry-level package for any young professionals in your life.

    It’s your story. They amplify it.

    Find Career Valet at their Website or on LinkedIn
    Show More Show Less
    35 mins
  • Natalie Kortum | Chief Technology Strategist for Data Analytics and AI, Teleworker

    Natalie Kortum | Chief Technology Strategist for Data Analytics and AI, Teleworker
    Feb 28 2024
    In this week's episode, Lauren and Natalie Kortum share a discussion about teleworking, taxes, and legal obligations while working remotely for domestic or international businesses when overseas. Natalie shares how she successfully negotiated teleworking with her employer, the importance of portraying confidence in teleworking negotiations and how to communicate in a way that reassures the corporate tax and HR offices. They cover the importance of post selection, internet availability, and impermanence.


    Natalie Kortum is Chief Technology Strategist for Data Analytics and AI working to develop the next great solutions from Dell. She is renowned in the world of marketing analytics for skills in investment optimization having optimized Dell’s $1.2 B marketing spend for multiple years. She has worked for a multitude of companies from all different verticals including Humana, IBM, Home Depot, BP, Sabre, Charles Schwab with 20 years spent in the data science and analytics space as an AI/analytics consultant and evangelist. She holds two US patents tor innovative modeling approaches and leads training efforts for Dell's internal salesforces to get them up to speed on AI.
    • Connect with Natalie at LinkedIn
    • Or her Website
    • Download the Sample Letter mentioned in this episode
    More resources on Teleworking
    • Official instructions from the GCLO
    • Fall 2023 FAMER statistics

    This episode is sponsored by Career Valet

    EFMs have many different career paths – really too many to count: travel enthusiast, embassy
    workhorse, dog mom, children organizer, remote work trailblazer…
    But the one thing that we almost all have in common? Our paths aren’t straight or
    straightforward. And often it takes someone else to help us tease out our strengths, skills, and
    value.

    That’s what they do at Career Valet, an EFM-owned and entirely EFM-staffed career
    consultancy that works with you to tell your best narrative on paper and online, aligned with
    target jobs. They’ve worked with EFMs, FSOs, members of Congress, Fortune 100 leaders,
    nonprofit, and technology professionals, just to name a few.

    Check out www.careervalet.com to read advice on their blog or subscribe to their newsletter.
    You can also sign up for a free call and learn about their customized packages and interactive
    resume building course launching in March.

    It’s your story. They amplify it.

    Find Career Valet at their Website or on LinkedIn
    Show More Show Less
    39 mins
  • Michelle Neyland | Congressional Advisor & Advocate

    Michelle Neyland | Congressional Advisor & Advocate
    Feb 13 2024
    More than 40 people nominated Michelle for the Tragen Award in 2023. This huge number illustrates the impact of her volunteer advocacy work on the many EFMs serving as Domestic Employees Teleworking Overseas (DETOs).

    As we learn about Michelle's fight for fair pay, she highlights the importance of research, building a team, and advocating for systemic change.

    In discussing her career history, Michelle explains how government contracting helped her get her foot in the door, and how she later figured out how to create a job share arrangement to improve her work-life flexibility.

    Michelle also shares how teleworking helped her slip back into a familiar role and feel connected to her "before" self when everything else was in flux as she first moved abroad for her spouse's job.

    BIO

    Michelle Neyland is a Civil Service Officer and Domestic Employee Teleworking Overseas (DETO) currently based with her family in Bucharest, Romania.

    She started working at the State Department in 2009, spending 10 years as a digital communications officer at the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and then a congressional advisor at the Bureau of International Organization Affairs.

    In 2023, at a ceremony at the State Department, she received the Eleanor Dodson Tragen Award from the DACOR Bacon House Foundation for the advocacy she did to address a pay inequity and secure locality pay legislation for Civil Service DETOs across the entire U.S. federal government.

    Read more about Michelle's DETO advocacy work in 2 Federal News Network articles:
    • https://federalnewsnetwork.com/pay/2023/01/hundreds-of-federal-employees-teleworking-overseas-set-to-receive-pay-bump-under-ndaa/
    • https://federalnewsnetwork.com/federal-report/2023/12/feds-teleworking-overseas-got-a-pay-raise-state-dept-honors-an-employee-who-made-it-happen/
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    EPISODE SPONSOR

    As a company owned by and employing EFMs, Krozel Capital understands the unique financial challenges faced by U.S. Foreign Service families serving at home and abroad.

    Their team of tax professionals is well-versed in U.S. tax laws, multi-state and non-resident filings, and reporting income of working spouses while abroad.

    Krozel Capital is a virtual firm with services tailored to accommodate your unique circumstances, offering online consultation hours and secure document exchange, no matter where you are posted.

    They also offer fee-only financial planning services through their affiliated firm, Krozel Capital Management.

    Don't let tax season and financial concerns rob you of time with your family and friends. Contact Krozel Capital today at www.krozelcapital.com to learn more about their services.
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    40 mins
  • Christy Kill | Abstract Painter

    Christy Kill | Abstract Painter
    Jan 30 2024
    In this episode, artist Christy Kill and host Lauren Steed talk about: the joys of life with a puppy, turning discouragement into opportunity and using frequent moves as an inspiration for new creative pursuits.

    Given the time and space to pursue something new, Christy found her professional identity in painting. She experiments with different mediums and materials, and and finds inspiration in nature and the environment, She honestly shares about her experiences as an artist, including both successes and failures, and how she believes in saying yes to opportunities that come her way. Like many EFMs, she finds her unexpected success by stepping out of her comfort zone.

    Christy Kill is an award-winning abstract painter. She has exhibited in numerous locations in the DC area; and a pair of her paintings “On the Shores of Iceland” were featured in a slideshow during ArtBasel Miami in December 2017. They are now on permanent display at the Ocean Cluster in Reykjavík, Iceland. She has given proceeds and paintings to several NGO’s and charities serving children and the environment.

    Christy creates custom statement pieces of art and is inspired by the people she meets, in the countries she has lived - Norway, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Iceland, and now Uruguay - and will always be influenced by her native roots of the Southern U.S. In 2023, Christy was awarded the U.S. Department of State’s Professional Development Fellowship, and is currently taking a masterclass for artists as well as online courses through the Smithsonian Institute.

    You can find out more by visiting her website: www.christykill.com or following her on Instagram or Facebook @christykillart




    This episode is sponsored by Fierce After 45, Rediscover your energy and vitality with the support of health coach and personal trainer Patricia Linderman! She managed her own recovery from a tendency to a sedentary lifestyle, overweight, shame and self-blame. An EFM for 31 years, she offers affordable coaching in any time zone, using the power of self-love and compassion to transform your habits. Say goodbye to discomfort and hello to a more vibrant you. Visit Fierce After 45 to schedule your free Zoom consultation today.
    Find Patricia at
    Website and blog: www.fierceafter45.com
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FierceAfter45
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fierceafter45/
    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patricia-linderman-63a83213/
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    38 mins