Speakers Program

Connecting Communities with Expertise on Current Global Events

The ACFR National Speakers Program provides prominent speakers with cutting edge experience and expertise in current foreign policy issues and events. We have hosted sitting Ambassadors, former Ambassadors, State Department officials, Officers of the military, policy experts & more from leading-edge foreign relations organizations and consultancies in the nation.

We also feature speakers with special expertise and experiences in foreign relations from our congressional representatives, universities, and major news outlets.

Local Committee meetings are generally held each month from September through May of the following year. Those meetings provide a unique format for our members, giving the opportunity to meet the speaker, engage in discussion, and gain additional knowledge and information.

The Speakers

Affiliated Committees on Foreign Relations present more than 125 speakers across the United States each year, engaging high-level policymakers, diplomats, academics, and opinion makers who are acknowledged experts on timely issues and deeply committed to civic dialog.

Engagements usually involve a brief (30 minutes or less) presentation followed by a question-and-answer session. ACFR speakers’ remarks are characteristically on a “not-for-attribution” basis, which encourages the most candid exchange of information and perspectives possible.

The Audience: Our Members

Our individual Committees comprise anywhere from 60 to 250 members, drawn from their local professional, academic, and business communities. Like our founder, the Council on Foreign Relations, all of our Committees are non-partisan groups dedicated to encouraging serious dialogue between members and experts on the priority issues of the day.

Our program year generally runs from September to May or June and features monthly events in Committee locales where speakers typically speak for about 20-30 minutes, followed by a lively Q&A of equal length. Committees are also at the ready to explore additional outreach opportunities – for example, media interviews, talks at nearby universities, business roundtables, book promotions, etc. – should these prove of interest to our speakers.