With him, a young man named Leslie Tewid who would live with him and attend New York University under Beck's sponsorship.
Beck negotiated the decolonization of Palau from the last United Nations trusteeship to a sovereign nation, organized a constitutional convention, negotiated a Compact of Free Association with the United States, and recruited John Kenneth Galbraith to serve as Palau's economic advisor.
While Ambassador and Permanent Representative, Beck spearheaded United Nations initiatives to stop bottom trawling and shark finning, among others.
In August 2013, Beck relinquished his post as Permanent Representative and was appointed by President Tommy Remengesau as Palau's first ever Ambassador to the Oceans and Seas, with a mandate to initiate essential change at the international level for protection of the marine environments of the world.
Ambassador Beck was a visiting lecturer at Yale Law School in 2012, co-teaching a course entitled "Climate Change and the International Court of Justice".