HONORING AFSA’S LONG-TERM EMPLOYEES
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Sharon Papp: Working for
Members for 17 Years
AFSA General Counsel Sharon Papp breezed through er 10- and 15-year anniversaries at AFSA with hardly a glance back, typical of this hard-working yet modest
attorney. AFSA News caught up with her as she recently celebrated her 17th anniversary at AFSA.
Born in New Jersey, Sharon spent most of her childhood
in Saudi Arabia, where her parents worked for the Arabian
American Oil Company. Sharon attended Vanderbilt University, followed by The George Washington
University Law School.
Sharon has always advocated for individuals. Before joining AFSA in 1992, she was
employed by a small EEO/employment
plaintiff-side law firm in Dupont Circle.
Her work at AFSA is varied and interesting, with a large focus on discipline and security clearance cases. She often represents
employees in OIG and DS investigations.
She also liaises with AFSA’s vice presidents on
collective bargaining and labor management
issues.
“I get a great deal of satisfaction from representing employees facing disciplinary action. If an employee has done
something wrong, the punishment must be appropriate to
the offense and consistent with that imposed upon other employees,” comments Sharon. She adds, “Since I have been here
for so long, I know what penalty, if any, the department imposed in similar cases five or 10 years ago.” This information
gives her clients a distinct advantage and often leads to reduced penalties.
While Sharon works with officers and specialists in all
cones and specialties, a large contingent of her clients are
diplomatic security agents. Finding DS issues particularly interesting, she explains, “I have represented agents before subcommittees of Congress, in FBI interviews, and before the
State Department Accountability Review Board following the
death of FS employees from terrorist incidents abroad.
Some of her more interesting cases have included foreign-born spouses who needed security clearances in order to
work, numerous security clearance revocations, and institutional grievances on behalf of AFSA when the department violated the negotiated assignment rules.
Sharon attributes her longevity at AFSA to the rewards of
her efforts and the close working relationship she has with
her colleagues and department counterparts.
Sharon is extremely well regarded by colleagues, clients
and AFSA staff and board members.
Labor Management attorney Zlatana
Badrich hails Sharon’s “keen intellect,
sharp sense of humor, superior work
ethic, unwavering integrity and very
real sense of empathy and humanity
that make her an ideal advocate.”
As a supervisor, says Badrich,
“Sharon has translated all these quali-
ties and more into our daily working
relationships, providing tremendous support to all of us in
the labor management office.” She continues, “Sharon works
tirelessly on behalf of the AFSA membership. Her name
brings trust and respect on both sides of the bargaining table,
and her honesty and forthrightness ensure
that you know where you stand.”
Colleague James Yorke started working at
AFSA in 1992, the same year as Sharon.
“Sharon's contributions to AFSA — and to
the Foreign Service — are so many, so important and so varied. She has gained the
deep respect of eight governing boards and
all her colleagues in AFSA over the years, and
the undying gratitude of the hundreds of
clients she has helped.”
Former AFSA State VP member Steve
Kashkett remembers, “During my four years at AFSA-State,
I heard from countless members worldwide how Sharon had
helped them with complex and often gut-wrenching problems they had confronted in their careers. She possesses a
level of institutional memory and experience that few organizations’ general counsels can claim. For more than a
decade-and-a-half, Sharon has been a superb champion on
behalf of the employees of the Foreign Service.”
Executive Director Ian Houston says, “Sharon’s long experience has only sharpened her enthusiasm for her work.”
Houston, who is fond of the Scottish saying, “Whate’er thou
art, act well thy part,” believes that Sharon lives up to that
challenge. “AFSA is fortunate to have such a wonderful person and colleague on our team.”
Those who work with Sharon consider themselves fortunate. Yorke continues, “Her strong convictions and sense of
right and wrong, as well as a deep knowledge of the law, leave
us in no doubt about where we should be going and what
our priorities should be. But the added bonus is a sympathetic and warmhearted personality that makes her a wonderful colleague, a real delight to work with, and a true
friend.”
Sharon lives in Falls Church, Va., with husband Rick
Philbin and their daughters Nicole, 15, and Andrea, 13.
They share their lives with two mini-dachshunds, Mookie
and Mia. ❏
AFSA General Counsel
Sharon Papp.
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She possesses a level of
institutional memory and
experience that few organiza-
tions’ general counsels
can claim.
— Former AFSA-State
VP Steve Kashkett
