[Heritage] 2026 Oregon Heritage Conference Plenary Speaker: Monica Rhodes

[INFO Heritage * OPRD]

Announcing the 2026 Oregon Heritage Conference Plenary Speaker:
Monica Rhodes, Strategist, Preservationist, & Scholar

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2026 Oregon Heritage Conference
& Heritage Excellence Awards
April 29-May 2, Woodburn
Weaving Community History

Featured Plenary Speaker:
Monica Rhodes
The Next Assignment: Why the Future Will Ask More of Us
April 29, 2026, 4:45 - 5:45 p.m.
Mt. Angel Festhalle, 500 Wilco Hwy NE, Mt. Angel
Included in Oregon Heritage Conference Registration or register to attend only this session.

The Plenary Speaker is supported in part by a grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Speaker Bio:
Monica Rhodes is an internationally recognized cultural heritage leader whose work is redefining how our nation understands memory and the future of historic places. She is the Founder of Rhodes Heritage Group, a cultural strategy firm pioneering new approaches at the intersection of people, place, story, and capital.
Rhodes created the first nationwide program designed to open the preservation field to new audiences and restructured legacy funding models to honor the full breadth of American history. Her leadership has protected some of the country's most iconic sites, engaged millions of visitors, and expanded who has the power to shape the past.

A Rome Prize Fellow and Harvard Loeb Fellow, Rhodes has advised the White House as an Expert Member of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, shaping federal policy on cultural heritage and public storytelling. She also serves on the board of the International Council on Monuments and Sites, contributing to global conversations, standards and collaborative models that guide the field.

Her work and insights have been featured in major outlets, including The Washington Post, Essence, Architectural Digest, CBS, PBS NewsHour, and This Old House. Through Rhodes Heritage Group and her speaking engagements, she advances a bold vision for cultural preservation as a catalyst for civic innovation, global exchange, and shared prosperity. She positions history as a strategic resource for shaping the next fifty years, inviting communities, institutions, and international partners to imagine new futures through the lens of a shared past.

More information: Learn more about the conference as events are updated by visiting https://www.oregon.gov/oprd/OH/Pages/heritageconference.aspx.
Registration: Registration will open in Mid-February.
Thank you to conference sponsors:
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And to our awards sponsor:
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Oregon Heritage News is a service of Oregon Heritage, a division of the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department that includes the State Historic Preservation Office. Learn more about our programs at www.oregonheritage.org<http://www.oregonheritage.org/>. The news editor can be contacted at heritage.info at oprd.oregon.gov<mailto:heritage.info at oprd.oregon.gov>.

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