Available Worldwide

By: Lauren Steed and Stephanie Anderson
Listen for free

  • Summary

  • An interview-style podcast by, for, and about the accompanying partners of the US Foreign Service. In each episode, we’ll talk to diplomatic spouses who have discovered superpowers they never knew they had and found success in unlikely places. We highlight voices that will inspire and encourage you as you explore what it means to be “available worldwide.”
    Hosted by Lauren Steed and Stephanie Anderson

    foreign service, diplomacy, diplomat, trailing spouse, EFM, expat, abroad,
    Copyright Available Worldwide
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Career Success Economics
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Episodes
  • Jenn Evans | Bloom Counseling

    Jenn Evans | Bloom Counseling
    Dec 20 2024
    Jenn is a licensed therapist who was looking for a therapist at her challenging first post abroad. When she struggled to find the help she needed, it inspired her to start her own practice -- Bloom Counseling.

    In this interview, I chat with Jenn about how accompanying partners can build better self-care practices by finding out what works for them, remembering what they love, and pursuing their own dreams not 'instead of' but 'in addition to' the demands of their spouses' careers.
    .
    BIO
    Jen Evans is an EFM, therapist, and Mom who started her private practice, Bloom Counseling, while posted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

    Jen found herself halfway across the world with a newborn and toddler during COVID and amongst a burgeoning civil war. She searched for her own therapy but could not find a therapist who was willing to work with her while posted overseas and who understood the challenges of expat life.

    Away from her own support system, she noted this gap in care for diplomats and expats and founded Bloom Counseling to address those needs.

    Four years later, she is posted in Mexico City with her husband, two young girls, and a Bernese Mountain Dog. She feels fortunate to meet the unique needs of her community every day.

    Connect with Jen:
    • https://bloomwithjenn.com
    • https://www.facebook.com/BloomWithJenn/
    • instagram.com/bloom.counseling
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    29 mins
  • From FSO to EFM | Elizabeth Streett

    From FSO to EFM | Elizabeth Streett
    Dec 12 2024
    Elizabeth Streett did everything right: going to college and becoming a diplomat. She met all the criteria for what anyone would see as successful. But success didn't really end up being what she sought, and it turns out that was the wrong word to use anyway. After discovering that life as a diplomat didn't have the room for the kinds of joy that she wanted to prioritize in life, she left the profession. Becoming an EFM a few weeks later was an unexpected result.

    Today Elizabeth focuses on her key values and helps others use their key values to declutter their lives, both physically removing items that don't fit their happiest version of themselves, but also decluttering their mental and financial loads. Streett's method is about removing items that represent outdated versions of ourselves while asking why we have certain things and if they reflect who we want to be. This process emphasizes making choices based on our desired selves rather than simply counting items or fitting them into spaces.

    How does she follow her own core values of authentic communication, joy, simplicity, curiosity, and nature? Find out in this episode!

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    Elizabeth Streett grew up following the traditional markers of success, excelling academically and professionally as a U.S. diplomat. Despite her achievements, she grappled with a lack of genuine happiness and fulfillment, feeling bound by external standards rather than internal joy. Her turning point came when she noticed her son’s struggles in a conventional school setting, prompting Elizabeth to reevaluate her life’s direction and her family’s well-being. She left her career, embracing a simpler, values-driven life focused on joy, authenticity, and community. Now, Elizabeth shares her journey from a “perfect” life to one that is truly fulfilling, inspiring others to pursue intentional, minimalist paths in the pursuit of genuine happiness.

    Make Space for Joy at www.evergreenacacia.com
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    34 mins
  • Math PhD turned Thriller Author - Matthew Becker

    Math PhD turned Thriller Author - Matthew Becker
    Nov 27 2024
    After rave reviews of his debut novel, EFM Matthew Becker has two more books coming soon. In this episode, find out how an academic mathematician with a past work in missile tracking and COVID test kit distribution analysis became an EFM and followed a secret dream to become an author.

    Like most avid readers, Matthew believed he could write something pretty decent. Unlike the rest of us, he actually followed through on that, writing several novels before getting his first contract and agent. Matthew explains how advanced math education taught him critical thinking skills rather than just specific techniques, and how he uses those to outline and organize plots, track manuscript submissions and record his late night and midday inspirations.

    In his debut novel, the wife of a congressional staffer goes missing amidst a mass shooting, Run, both a stand alone and part of a trilogy, is the story of someone much like all EFMs, an everyday hero in extraordinary circumstances. His second book, Don't Look Down, is available for pre-order now.

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    Matthew Becker is a thriller author, with his debut novel RUN described as "a must read" and "wicked smart and exceptionally fun." He is a former mathematician, and worked as part of the national Covid-19 response. He has a doctorate in applied mathematics from the University of Maryland, College Park, and is published in the Bulletin of Mathematical Biology.Matthew currently lives with his wife and their two children in Washington, DC, in between overseas assignments. An avid thriller reader, he loves stories with dense, twisted plots and emotional gravitas.
    Website: www.matthewbeckerbooks.com
    Instagram: @matthewbeckerbooks
    Reviews and more on Goodreads
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    46 mins

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