The Honorable Dr. Don Ritter, who represented Pennsylvania’s 15th district from 1979 to 1993 in the U.S. House of Representatives, has long been interested in Afghanistan. As one of the leading congressional proponents of U.S. assistance to the people of Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion and occupation, Dr. Ritter continues his effort today via the economic and private sector to find solutions to Afghanistan's problems. He is Founder and former Chairman of the Washington, D.C.-based Afghanistan-America Foundation and a founder and a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of the Afghan American Chamber of Commerce. He served as Senior Advisor to the Afghan-American Chamber of Commerce and the Afghan International Chamber of Commerce in Kabul during their creation and development years, 2004-2005, under a USAID grant. Dr. Ritter now seeks to help build these organizations into national and international vehicles that will help to bring stability and prosperity to Afghanistan . He also wears the hat of private businessman and investor in Afghanistan and is active in businesses involving consumer services, construction, materials and tourism. Dr. Ritter holds an engineering doctorate from M.I.T.  He was a Scientific Exchange fellow in the former Soviet Union and speaks fluent Russian> He was a member of the faculty and administration at Lehigh University for 10 years, a consultant to industry, and, after 7 terms and 14 years in the US Congress, was Founder and President of the National Environmental Policy Institute for 10 years. Since 2002, he has worked full time on Afghanistan and has been back to the country 17 times.