In celebration of American Councils’ 50th anniversary in 2024, the organization brought together its leadership to reflect on our history, which began in 1974 as a small consortium of teachers and scholars dedicated to fostering academic collaboration between the United States and the Soviet Union. Through this initial vision, the commitment of our staff, and the unwavering support of our global community of advocates and partners, American Councils has grown to oversee more than 250 initiatives across over 140 countries.
In these videos, our founders, leaders, and trustees share insights on American Councils’ ongoing mission to build a better world through excellence in cultural exchange, language training, and public diplomacy programs.
As we conclude this milestone year, American Councils is proud to celebrate the leadership, expertise, and vision that drive our mission and make our work possible.
Lisa Choate, President & CEO, American Councils for International Education
“As an alumna, I know that there are things from your exchange experience that are immediately part of your life—you learn a language, or you have an experience that you start putting into your everyday work. You’re able to deal with the ambiguity experiences.”
“Education is the most important thing, and I think education is manifested in different ways. Sometimes it’s in a classroom, sometimes it’s an internship, sometimes it’s an experience.”
Dr. Dan E. Davidson, President Emeritus and Co-Founder, American Councils for International Education
“We engage and train Americans in critical languages—the parts of the world that have strategic importance to U.S. international relations and represent areas that Americans tend not to know well. That brought us the advent of a series of outbound programs for Americans, including NSLI-Y, the CLS Program, the Flagship, and the expansion of our RLASP programs, TCLP. How is that possible? That was possible because we had those models worked out from the 1970s in Moscow.”
“[American Councils] has substantially expanded the number of languages that one learns and studies at this level. It’s about Korean, it’s about Bengali, it’s about Azeri, it’s Russian, it’s Arabic—which dialect of Arabic—we helped to spread that universe of languages and cultures in a way that more reflects not 14% of the world’s population, but more like 90% of the world’s population.”
Grace Chung Becker, President, Judith Ehm Foundation
American Councils’ Board of Trustees
“I’m very thrilled to see that American Councils has been here for 50 years. I know that over time that the demand for some languages may diminish a bit, and others may increase, but the need for this engagement while students are still young and open-minded, to really prepare the next generation of future leaders and perhaps diplomats is essential.”
Dr. Richard Brecht, Co-Founder, American Councils for International Education
Co-Director, American Councils Research Center
“I’m so proud of the fact that we have the alums who are affecting international relations every day because they’re in organizations around the world that understand the United States, understand the rest of the world.... that’s the greatest contribution any organization can make to international relations.”
Mycal Ford, Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Alumnus
American Councils' Board of Trustees
“I firmly believe that international education is the cornerstone of our shared future, serving both as a bridge between nations as well as a beacon of hope in cultivating the next generation of global citizens.”