Kenneth L. Brown has been President of the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training since May 2001. As a career Foreign Service Officer from 1961 to 1995, he served at the American Embassy in Brussels and six posts in Africa. The latter included tenure as the United States ambassador to Congo-Brazzaville, Cote d'Ivoire, and Ghana. At the Department of State he held a series of positions, including Director of Central African Affairs and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Africa.

After leaving the Foreign Service, Ambassador Brown was Director of the Dean Rusk Program in International Studies at Davidson College from 1995 to 2001.