Hispanic Heritage Month 2023

 

During National Hispanic Heritage Month, from September 15 – October 15, the U.S. government celebrates the countless contributions of more than 60 million Hispanic Americans, Latinos, Latinas, and Latinx-identifying people to our culture and society. Hispanic Americans are the largest minority group in the United States today, and generations of Hispanic Americans have consistently helped make our country strong and prosperous. They contribute to our Nation beyond description. Hispanic Americans embody the best of our American values, including commitment to faith, family, and country. The Hispanic-American community has left an indelible mark on our government, culture, and economy.

During National Hispanic Heritage Month, we recognize the contributions and the important presence of Hispanic and Latin Americans in the U.S. and within the Department of State. In partnership with the Hispanic Employee Council of Foreign Affairs Agencies (HECFAA) , the Department highlights biographies of Hispanic employees who support diplomatic efforts around the world. To see videos of Hispanic employees discussing their experiences working for the Department, visit the HECFAA YouTube Channel .

Maria Macarena Apud

Maria Macarena Apud is the regional economic advisor in WHA’s Office of Economic Policy and Summit Coordination (EPSC) where she focuses on economic infrastructure related initiatives and analyzes and provides policy guidance on economic trends and regional economic influence. She has served on temporary details, including U.S. Embassies Buenos Aires and Lima, and was WHA/EPSC’s Energy Officer. She started her career at the State Department on the Colombia desk and prior to that worked on Capitol Hill for more than four years. She proudly represented HECFAA as Vice President for Civil Service from January 2021 to May 2022, is a 2018 International Career Advancement Program Fellow, and a founding member of WHA’s diversity council. She holds an M.A. in International Affairs with a focus on international economics from the Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University (GWU) and a B.A. in Political Science and Psychology from GWU. She also speaks Spanish fluently but her French is a little rusty.

Carolina Ardón Ayala

Carolina Ardón Ayala is a Foreign Service Officer serving as the Special Consular Services Chief for American Citizen Services at U.S. Embassy London.  She has served in the Department of State since 2015 at U.S. Embassy Skopje, U.S. Embassy Mexico City, in the Operations Center, as Staff Assistant in the Front Office of the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, and U.S. Embassy Islamabad.  Carolina earned her B.A., M.A., and M.Ed. degrees from George Mason University.  Outside of the office Carolina enjoys hiking with her tandem spouse and daughter and playing roller derby. 

Ray Baroni

Ray Baroni is a DSS Supervisory Special Agent. He served as the Regional Security Officer (RSO) at U.S. Embassy Oslo and as an Assistant RSO at U.S. Embassy Bogotá, U.S. Consulate General Jerusalem, and twice at U.S. Embassy Baghdad. Prior to the Foreign Service, Ray was a Captain in the U.S. Air Force and served at the Defense Attaché Office in U.S. Embassy Addis Ababa. Born in Chile, Ray immigrated to the U.S. at the age of seven.

Luis Calvo

Luis Calvo became a participant in the Pathways Student Programs at the U. S. Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs (CA) in 2019, where he worked in the CA/EX Human Resource division while completing his master’s degree at George Washington University. Luis Calvo has a Masters in International Affairs with a concentration on U.S Foreign Policy and Public Diplomacy. Previously, Luis served with the Department as a summer intern for CA in 2017 and as FA campus coordinator at his undergraduate institution in Florida where he assisted the Diplomat in Residence for South Florida with outreach activities. Luis Calvo served at the Sudan Desk for 3 years and now recently joined IO/UNP as part of the new Professional Development Mobility Program (PDMP) that allows civil servants to do rotations at the State Department. This is Luis’ first PDMP rotation and he will be in UNP for 18 months.