Ambassador Nicholas Burns with American University students at the 2011 Adair Memorial Lecture, August 2011

Welcome to AFSA's Speakers Bureau information page. AFSA offers a speaker placement service free of charge for anyone interested in hosting a retired Foreign Service diplomat to speak to their group. We place no restrictions on the size of groups, as our speakers have in the past presented to groups as small as book clubs and as large as universities and World Affairs Councils.

AFSA does not charge for this service; however, the speaker may accept modest honorariums if offered, and assistance with travel or overnight lodging expenses. If you live in an area where there are few available retired Foreign Service speakers, it is recommended that you arrange if possible 2-3 events in your area to defray costs.

The speakers bureau is very active, so please don't hesitate to contact us. In 2012 alone, we placed over 400 speakers nationwide (in 44 states and the District of Columbia).

Requesting a Speaker

If you are interested in requesting a speaker through AFSA's speaker bureau, please contact Speakers Bureau Director Thomas Switzer at switzer@afsa.org or 202-944-5501. He will gladly provide contact information for Foreign Service speakers who reside in your area. 

Interested in AFSA?

If you are interested in the American Foreign Service Association, U.S. diplomacy, and foreign affairs in general, please consider becoming an Associate Member. As benefits of membership, you will receive a subscription to the Foreign Service Journal, additional magazine discounts, low insurance rates, and an extensive online member area. You may also want to consider signing up for our regular e-mail news messages. Our weekly AFSANET messages can keep you up to date on the Foreign Service.