Derek Hable has been a Foreign Service Officer in the political cone at the U.S. Department of State since 2004, with assignments in Afghanistan, Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and the United States. Hable’s next assignment will be in Russia, where he will speak Lithuanian and Russian. He received a BA in international relations from the Kennedy Center and an MA in international security from George Washington University. Hable and his wife Cathy, a BYU alum in marriage, family, and human development, are the parents of five children.