AAFSW — Associates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide
Sustainable Community Development
Mandy Brown — SOSA awardee portrait

2023 SOSA Awardee

Mandy Brown

Teaching skills. Restoring agency. One refugee at a time.

Qatar · Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs · Eligible Family Member

NEA

When Afghan refugees arrived in Doha, Mandy Brown didn't wait to be organized — she organized others. As a founding force of the volunteer collective known as the “Doha Do-Gooders,” Brown spent her own money purchasing supplies to teach Afghan women and children marketable skills and creative arts, offering them something displacement so often takes away: the ability to make something, to learn something, to provide for themselves. The J. Kirby Simon Foreign Service Trust recognized her work with a grant that expanded what she could offer the community. Brown's approach was always direct and personal — she identified what people needed and met it herself, building around her a community of volunteers motivated by the same instinct.

Voices from the Field

“Watching refugee children enjoy their childhood again... after a few visits, children are dancing, creating beautiful art, making friends. Ukrainian mothers thank us every day.”
Meredith WiedemerMoldova
“It allows me to transcend languages and cultures and feel unified.”
Debra StockQatar
“It is communicating with the language of love. They have shown me that the impossible is possible.”
Debra StockQatar
“By volunteering, we exemplify the best of the American tradition of helping and raising our communities — whether in small town USA or at some distant outpost abroad.”
Denis RajicShanghai, China
“Serving as a volunteer is a means of giving back to a community that takes care of you.”
Vicki DanielShanghai, China
“Witnessing the project grow beyond my initial idea into something that the people of Madagascar have embraced is a priceless gift.”
Justin WimpeyMadagascar
2025 SOSA Winner
“Even small acts of service can create lasting ripples of hope, belonging, and connection.”
Jennifer SturgeonNetherlands
“Every year, I'm blown away by what people are doing overseas.”
James A. Baker IIISOSA Co-Founder
“Volunteerism by members of our Foreign Service community is not just a kindness. It is an essential and underappreciated dimension of American foreign policy.”
Susan BakerSOSA Co-Founder
“Watching refugee children enjoy their childhood again... after a few visits, children are dancing, creating beautiful art, making friends. Ukrainian mothers thank us every day.”
Meredith WiedemerMoldova
“It allows me to transcend languages and cultures and feel unified.”
Debra StockQatar
“It is communicating with the language of love. They have shown me that the impossible is possible.”
Debra StockQatar
“By volunteering, we exemplify the best of the American tradition of helping and raising our communities — whether in small town USA or at some distant outpost abroad.”
Denis RajicShanghai, China
“Serving as a volunteer is a means of giving back to a community that takes care of you.”
Vicki DanielShanghai, China
“Witnessing the project grow beyond my initial idea into something that the people of Madagascar have embraced is a priceless gift.”
Justin WimpeyMadagascar
2025 SOSA Winner
“Even small acts of service can create lasting ripples of hope, belonging, and connection.”
Jennifer SturgeonNetherlands
“Every year, I'm blown away by what people are doing overseas.”
James A. Baker IIISOSA Co-Founder
“Volunteerism by members of our Foreign Service community is not just a kindness. It is an essential and underappreciated dimension of American foreign policy.”
Susan BakerSOSA Co-Founder