Events

FREEDOM 250 - Summer Celebration!

Celebrate the Nation’s 250th Birthday in the Nation’s Capitol with BFF
Venue: the DACOR Bacon House, 1801 F Street, NW, one of Washington, DC’s most distinguished historic landmarks.
June 30, 2026
5:30pm - 8:00pm
Join The Ben Franklin Fellowship for a fun and festive evening of history and celebration!
Event Announcement and Registration (BFF Members and Fellows Only)
Diplomacy, Defense, and Debt: A Conversation with Senator Joni Ernst

June 18, 2026
07:45am - 9:00am
Breakfast Event with Coffee and Pastries
Venue: Hudson Institute
Cosponsored by the Bastion Institute
Event Announcement and Registration
Ethiopia - Peace and Stability

June 17, 2026
9:00am - 11:00am
Round Table Discussion with Special Keynote Remarks by BFF Fellow Robert Destro, former Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
Venue: The Institute of World Politics, 1521 16th Street, NW, Washington DC
A special event co-sponsored by the Ben Franklin Fellowship and the Institute of World Politics
Event Announcement
"Putting America First in Foreign Policy" -- Major Keynote Address by HFAC Chairman Brian Mast

May 20, 2026
11:45am - 1:15pm
Box Lunch Provided
CPI’s Bellator Hall 213 Pennsylvania Ave., SE, Capitol Hill
This special event will also include a panel discussion on Foreign Service reform led by BFF Co-Founder and Board Member Matt Boyse.
View Chairman Mast’s Remarks
Sam Brownback, former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, on his newly published book, China’s War on Faith

May 13, 2026
4pm
Sponsored by the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, in partnership with the Ben Franklin Fellowship
Freedom 250: A Rededication to the Founders' Natural Rights Vision and Its Implications for U.S. Foreign Policy

March 25, 2026
Full Day Symposium
Venue and Co-Sponsor: Victims of Communism Museum
Co-Sponsor: Religious Freedom Institute
Event Schedule
Photos
"Thou Shall Not Comply" - A Book Event About DEI

March 24, 2026

11:45 AM – 1:00 PM
A Luncheon Talk & Q&A with Simon Hankinson: Co-Founder, The Ben Franklin Fellowship, Author
Venue: Conservative Partnership Center
Event Announcement
Watch Short Hankinson Interview
Re-Balancing Human Rights in American Foreign Policy

March 17, 2026
11:45 AM - 1:00 PM
The JUNTO Fireside Chat with Riley M. Barnes, Assistant Secretary Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. Hosted by Matt Boyse, BFF Fellow and Co-Founder. Box lunch provided.
Event Co-Sponsor and Venue: The Hudson Institute
Event Announcement
Stopping the Next Afghan Terrorist Attack

January 22, 2026
Conference at the Capitol Hill Club
Cosponsored with the Center for Immigration Studies
Event Announcement
Watch the Recap Video
U.S. Strategy and Corporate Intelligence on Russia

January 20, 2026
12:45 pm - 6:00 pm
Symposium at The George Washington University, Elliott School of International Affairs
Event Announcement
The Second Annual Ben Franklin Fellowship Reception Dinner

January 16, 2026
6 pm - 9 pm
The Mayflower Hotel
Celebrating Franklin's legacy, The Ben Franklin Fellowship, and the principles of wise diplomacy that safeguard America's security and prosperity.
Event Photos
Capitol Hill Reception

January 15, 2026
Networking in the Ben Franklin Room in the Rayburn Building
Event Announcement
Franklin's Christmas JUNTO

A BFF Member Festive Holiday Reception
December 12, 2025
5:30 pm - 8:00 pm
DACOR Bacon House
Celebrating the Season
A Conversation with Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau

November 24, 2025
Noon - 2:00 pm
Hudson Institute

Event Details
Africa and Trump Administration Foreign Policy

November 6, 2025
11:45 am - 1:30 pm
Hudson Institute
Luncheon with State Department Counselor Michael Needham

September 26, 2025
12 pm - 1:30 pm
DACOR Bacon House
A BFF Special Event Only for Fellows and Members
Becoming a U.S. Diplomat

Introducing the State Department, the Foreign Service, and Related Career Paths
September 9, 2025, Half Day Event
Helms School of Government, Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA
A BFF Recruitment Working Group Special Event

Event Photos
AI and U.S. - China Relations: Tech Rivalry or Arms Race?

July 23, 2025
11:45 am - 1:30 pm
Hudson Institute
More Information
Event Photos
Event Video
Networking on Capitol Hill

July 22, 2025
5:30 - 7:00 pm
Dirksen Senate Office Building
Event Photos
Saudi Arabia and the U.S. National Interest

May 7, 2025
Noon - 1:00 pm
The Heritage Foundation
The United States and Europe: Quo Vadis? The Future of Transatlantic Relations

March 20, 2025
11:30 am - 1:00 pm
Hudson Institute
Greenland: An Arctic Horizon for the New Administration

February 13, 2025
5:00 PM
The Cosmos Club
The First Annual Ben Franklin Reception Dinner

In Celebration of Ben Franklin
January 14, 2025
The Army-Navy Club
Event Photos
How the Trump Administration Can Reform the Foreign Service

December 3, 2024
Hudson Institute
Event Video
De-Fogging Foggy Bottom: Prospects for State Department Reform

October 8, 2024
5:00 pm
University Club 1135 16th Street NW,
Washington, DC

*Special Event*
Presentation by Dr. John C. Hulsman

June 18, 2024

DACOR Bacon House

*Special Event*
Networking Event

April 26, 2024

Hotel Hive, Foggy Bottom
Inaugural Luncheon

February 29, 2024

DACOR Bacon House