[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 97 (Tuesday, June 9, 2026)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E548]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                CELEBRATING THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF ADST

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. AMI BERA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 9, 2026

  Mr. BERA. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the Association for 
Diplomatic Studies and Training (ADST), a non-partisan, non-
governmental educational organization, that has been introducing 
Americans across the country to our Nation's diplomatic history for 40 
years through its diplomatic oral history collection, book program, and 
other educational and outreach initiatives.
  In 1986, ADST began as the vision of then-Director of the Foreign 
Service Institute Stephen Low and Ambassador Richard Parker, with a 
mission to support the Institute's work. At the same time, newly 
retired Foreign Service Officer Charles Stuart Kennedy conceived the 
idea of recording oral histories of retired American diplomats and 
began capturing their experiences and insights. In 1988, Parker invited 
Kennedy to incorporate his oral history program into the Association's 
work, and ADST, as we know it today, was formed.
  In 1995, the ADST-DACOR book program was launched as a ``service to 
the Foreign Service.'' The goal was to help Foreign Service Officers 
write and publish books about diplomacy. Margery Boichel Thompson 
became ADST's Publishing Director, and under her expert guidance, the 
ADST-DACOR Diplomats and Diplomacy Book Series was born. The Memoirs 
and Occasional Papers series soon followed, then ADST's own imprint: 
Arlington Hall Press. Under Thompson's leadership, the ADST book 
program has grown into a respected source of books on diplomacy and the 
Foreign Service, with over 120 books, including many award winners.
  For more than three decades, the Foreign Affairs Oral History Program 
has been ADST's flagship initiative. With more than 3,100 oral 
histories, publicly available on the ADST website and at the Library of 
Congress, it captures over 100 years of U.S. diplomatic history and 
engagement with the world. Rich in historical insights and lessons 
learned, the archive has become a national treasure for congressional 
offices, current and aspiring diplomats, scholars, educators, students, 
and the broader American public.
  For four decades, the diplomatic practitioners and oral history 
experts who make up the ADST team and the hundreds of interns they have 
taken under their wings have helped preserve the experiences of 
American diplomacy for future generations.
  Whether through collecting and archiving oral history accounts, 
editing book manuscripts, sharing our Nation's diplomatic history with 
the American public, or supporting the National Foreign Affairs 
Training Center (NFATC), ADST's work grew from a simple vision into a 
dedicated and professional foreign affairs organization, With deep 
optimism, ADST will carry its mission forward into the next 40 years, 
ensuring the experiences and lessons of American diplomacy continue to 
be collected, preserved, and shared.

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