The Team
The Board
The Board currently consists of the following members:
Janet Rogan, Edward Glover; Lucie Portman; Cynthia Butterworth; Tim Handley; Amanda Tanfield; Sara Everett, Gillian Dare; John Freeman, Jon Benjamin, Caroline Jaine, Paola Fudakowska and Jenny Thomas.
Office holders are appointed for three years, and must be approved at AGM; there is no limit on the number of times their appointments may be renewed.
The FCDOA office is located in King Charles Street (room KG 15).
The office team
It consists of the Chair, Janet Rogan; the Treasurer, Amanda Tanfield; Lucie Portman; and Cynthia Butterworth. Other members of the board work from home, attending King Charles Street whenever necessary.
The Team
Janet Rogan
Chair of the Association
Janet was appointed as Regional Ambassador for the Middle East and Africa in March 2021.
Janet joined the FCO (now FCDO) in 1986. She has served in the Far East, the Balkans, the Middle East, and Africa, and has worked with NATO (as UK Political Adviser) and the United Nations (as a UN Resident Coordinator).
She has wide policy, development and humanitarian experience across post-conflict and fragile states, and in bringing the principles of the Sustainable Development Agenda 2030 and the global Climate Change Agreements together for wider strategic goals, including COP26.
Janet left FCDO in August 2023 after which she became the CEO of The Royal African Society.
Edward Glover
Adviser to the Chair
A career diplomat, after posts in Canberra, Washington and Berlin, Edward’s senior appointments included Head of the FCO’s Management Review Staff, Deputy Head of Mission in Brussels and High Commissioner to Guyana and Ambassador to Suriname. Edward was British adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Iraq (2003-5).
Lucie Portman
Lucie worked in the European Parliament, European Commission and European Council in Brussels for nine years, before travelling with her family on postings to Ankara and back to Brussels, and then moving to England in 2019.
Cynthia Butterworth
London visits
Cynthia has served in the Consulate-General Geneva, Trade Commission Hong Kong, Embassy Peking, Embassy Jakarta, UKMIS New York and Embassy Washington in various roles. At present she organises London visits for members of the FCDO Association and does some general office administration.
Cynthia.Butterworth@fcdo.gov.uk
Tim Handley
Out of London Visits
Tim is the FCDOA’s Out of London Visits Officer and have arranged many and varied visits, including to Bletchley Park, Leicester (Richard III findings) and Jane Austen’s house at Chawton.
Amanda Tanfield
Treasurer
Amanda spent 10 years in the MoD followed by 16 in the FCO, working mostly on multilateral issues such as arms control. She now lives in the Worcestershire countryside and works as Trustee/Charity Secretary/Treasurer for various local charities.
Gillian Dare
Online Talks
Gillian joined the FCO in 1999, after careers in the private sector, local government and the Arts Council. She specialised in security policy, law and order, as well as conflict and stabilisation focusing on Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. After a last posting in Brussels to establish the UK/EU Funding Unit and her final job in London as senior policy officer on women, peace and security, she assumed on her retirement various trustee roles. Gillian leads on the Association’s online events.
Caroline Jaine
Editor of the FCDOA magazine and the periodic newsletters
Caroline Jaine is a former diplomat who served in the FCDO from 1996 to 2010, working in communications, press and policy roles in London and overseas, including postings in Colombo, Bratislava and Basra. She also served on the Ministerial Speechwriting Team and later became Head of Communications & Engagement for Pakistan.
Since leaving the FCDO, Caroline has worked across publishing, academia, business and public service. She is the founder of a not-for-profit publishing house, an author of three books, and a lecturer and commentator on diplomacy, communications and international affairs. She now runs The Jaine Resilience Academy, supporting people in service-focused professions, while maintaining a strong interest in international affairs and storytelling.
Jon Benjamin
Pension Adviser
Jon is a graduate of the University of Surrey (German, Swedish and International Relations) and served in the FCDO from 1986 to 2024. During a distinguished diplomatic career, he held senior roles including Director of the Diplomatic Academy, Head of Human Rights and Democracy, and Private Secretary to the Minister for Europe and Latin America, with overseas postings in Australia, Indonesia, Turkey, the United States, Chile, and Ghana.
He now runs his own consultancy, serves as CEO of Free Speech Union International, and is an international adviser to Capital.com. He also supports several charitable and advisory organisations, including Parallel Histories, Faith to Faithless, and the Women’s Sports Union.
Paola Fudakowska
Job Opportunities and is an Adviser on Legal Matters in the FCDOA
Paola worked in Legal Directorate for three years from April 2019 as a legal adviser in the Europe & Human Rights and International Institutions and Security Policy teams, with periods at UKMis Geneva.
Prior to working at FCDO, Paola brings 15 years experience as an international wealth disputes lawyer at a global law firm in London and Geneva.
Jenny Thomas
External Relations.
Jenny spent nearly three decades at the FCO working on a variety of security and ME issues, as well as CT. She worked extensively overseas and enjoyed visiting a number of unusual destinations. Jenny loves learning languages and is currently grappling with Welsh. Stocks and Shares are of interest and she enjoys researching companies and markets. She has a Naval background and supports Naval charities.
Sara Everett OBE
Sara recently returned to the FCDO after nine years with UKTI, DIT and DBT, where she focused on international trade development, promoting UK interests and building partnerships across the creative industries, education and e-commerce sectors.
She has extensive experience leading the UK’s participation at major international events, serving as UK Commissioner General and Project Director for the Beijing International Horticultural Expo (2019), Deputy Commissioner and Project Director for Expo 2017 Astana in Kazakhstan, and UK Pavilion Director for Expo Milan 2015.
In 2020–21, Sara worked with an independent commission established by the Secretary of State for International Trade to champion UK food and farming interests in future trade agreements following the UK’s departure from the EU.
Earlier in her career with the FCO, she worked on Afghanistan and the OSCE, and served as a speechwriter, Private Secretary and Press Officer to FCO Ministers. Her overseas postings have included Paris (ENA), Brussels (UKRep), New York, where she was Director of British Information Services, and Caracas, where she served as UK Consul.
John Freeman
Writers’ Corner
In a long diplomatic career John has served in a wide variety of posts, including: as Deputy High Commissioner to Singapore; Deputy Ambassador at UKDel NATO; Head of Mission to the UN in Vienna; Multilateral Disarmament Ambassador in Geneva; and Ambassador to Argentina. He also worked as Deputy Director General of the OPCW in The Hague. He currently holds a Visiting Professorship at King’s College, London.