An Educational Symposium Brings Together Scholars, Members, and the Public, with Plenty of 250th Spirit!

Ginnie Sebastian Storage, President General

October 9, 2025

In September, close to 500 attendees joined us in DAR Constitution Hall for the Spain and the Birth of American Democracy Symposium, a two day event created in collaboration with the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute that included lectures from world renowned scholars.

Among the distinguished speakers were Richard L. Kagan, authority on modern Spanish imperial history and Professor Emeritus at Johns Hopkins University; Gonzalo M. Quintero Saravia, specialist on Bernardo de Gálvez; and Kathleen DuVal, 2025 Pulitzer Prize winner in History. Each of the talks were informative, and wonderfully prepared. Please find the full program here.

Remarks were also given by Her Excellency Ángeles Moreno Bau, Ambassador of Spain to the United States, and Pilar Llado, Chair of the QSSI Board. Begonia Santos, CEO of the QSSI acted as MC throughout the entire event.

In addition to session presentations, organizations offered interactive booths and educational resources in displays located around Constitution Hall. DAR members and Headquarters staff shared genealogical and membership resources with the public, specifically highlighting the ties to Spanish Patriots and encouraging attendees to trace their own family lineages.

Other participating organizations included the Museum of the American Revolution, Gilder Lehrman Institute, Military Women’s Memorial, the National America250 Commission, PBS and the upcoming Ken Burns multi-part documentary series American Revolution, George Washington’s Mount Vernon, and The American Revolution Institute of the Society of the Cincinnati. Numerous Spanish institutions, including the Spanish Royal Mint (Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre), San Pablo CEU University, Camilo José Cela University, the Institute of Military History and Culture, and the Bernardo de Gálvez y Gallardo Cultural Association were also represented.

President General Ginnie Storage and Queen Sofia of Spain in DAR's Library.

We were also delighted to host Her Majesty, Queen Sofia, during the Symposium. Prior to the Symposium starting, she joined me for a tour of our historic National Headquarters, where I was pleased to show her our DAR Library and several period rooms. After attending the Symposium Keynote Address by renowned professor Richard Kagan, it was my pleasure to accompany Queen Sofia around the Constitution Hall lobby, where Her Majesty interacted with many of our collaborating organizations, and greeted DAR members and staff.

It was an honor to host Queen Sofia at our National Headquarters! She was impressed both by our building and the work of the DAR at the national and local levels. It made me more proud than ever of our Society and the work we have been accomplishing for over 135 years!

The event was covered by local and international media outlets, and a crew from CSPAN came to record a majority of the lectures for their American History segments to be aired at a later date!

The Spanish Royal Household also posted some behind the scenes videos from the Symposium if you want to view them here:

In addition to this coverage, we are thrilled to announce that the Symposium in its entirety was recorded and can now be found on the Symposium page of the DAR Website. For those of you who were not able to join us, or simply want to relive the fascinating presentations, please watch share with others who may be interested. Photos from the Symposium can also be found on the DAR Website.

This Symposium thoroughly encompassed all three pillars of our Society’s mission, and I am so grateful to have been able to present this wonderful event for free, as a way to highlight our 250th efforts at the National level!

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