Washington thanks embassy social secretaries

Social secretaries from the embassies in Washington, D.C. took a break on Thursday to mingle and celebrate their unique jobs welcoming the world to their nations’ missions.

White House Social Secretary Deesha Dyer delivered an address at the reception hosted by the Meridian International Center.

Dyer impressed the crowd, sharing how she started as an intern at 31 and in five years rose to her current post.

{mosads}“We want to be sure we keep the White House the people’s house; keep it open,” Dyer said.

“It is a privilege to come there and it is a privilege to welcome all visitors from around the country, around America, around the world to the White House.”

Dyer also thanked her predecessors in the role and gave a special shout-out to Michelle Obama.

“The first lady has also … been an unwavering mentor for me,” she said. “She inspires me in everything I do.”

Meridian’s President and CEO, Ambassador Stuart Holliday, praised Dyer’s efforts and identified the tough challenges that come with the job.

“I mean, you have to make sure that these events go off flawlessly, but you also have to make every single person feel important, and I have great admiration for the work she does,” he told The Hill.

Holliday gave credit where credit was due and said the reception was a “thank you to all the embassy social secretaries who, throughout the year, are really the people who make embassies work.”

Donatella Verrone, who has been social secretary for the Italian embassy for 22 years, called Dyer’s speech “inspiring.”

“I’ve seen a lot of social secretaries, it is a very close, you know, group. She’s very down-to-earth,” Verrone revealed to The Hill.

“And you need that because you need to be like that because it makes you successful when you are yourself.”