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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt">Announcing the 2026 Oregon Heritage Conference Plenary Speaker:
<br>
Monica Rhodes, Strategist, Preservationist, & Scholar<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><img width="313" height="313" style="width:3.2583in;height:3.2583in" id="_x0000_i1025" src="cid:image001.png@01DC9066.A18DC900"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt">2026 Oregon Heritage Conference<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt">& Heritage Excellence Awards<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">April 29-May 2, Woodburn<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Weaving Community History<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Featured Plenary Speaker:
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Monica Rhodes<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Next Assignment: Why the Future Will Ask More of Us</span></i></b><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><br>
April 29, 2026, 4:45 - 5:45 p.m.<br>
Mt. Angel Festhalle, 500 Wilco Hwy NE, Mt. Angel<br>
Included in Oregon Heritage Conference Registration or register to attend only this session. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Plenary Speaker is supported in part by a grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Speaker Bio:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">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.<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt">More information:</span></b><span style="font-size:14.0pt"> Learn more about the conference as events are updated by visiting
<a href="https://www.oregon.gov/oprd/OH/Pages/heritageconference.aspx">https://www.oregon.gov/oprd/OH/Pages/heritageconference.aspx</a>.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Registration:</span></b><span style="font-size:14.0pt"> Registration will open in Mid-February.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Thank you to conference sponsors:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><img border="0" width="82" height="82" style="width:.8583in;height:.8583in" id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image002.png@01DC9066.A18DC900">
<img border="0" width="82" height="83" style="width:.8583in;height:.8666in" id="Picture_x0020_2" src="cid:image003.jpg@01DC9066.A18DC900"> <img border="0" width="132" height="60" style="width:1.375in;height:.625in" id="Picture_x0020_3" src="cid:image004.jpg@01DC9066.A18DC900"> <img border="0" width="102" height="51" style="width:1.0583in;height:.5333in" id="Picture_x0020_4" src="cid:image005.png@01DC9066.A18DC900"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt">And to our awards sponsor:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><img border="0" width="178" height="76" style="width:1.85in;height:.7916in" id="Picture_x0020_5" src="cid:image006.jpg@01DC9066.A18DC900"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">***********************</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="m-8507567808504696362m-6612702833913944270m1415202010034393138m-4323459566430460315xxxxxxmsonormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in">
Follow us on Facebook at @oregonheritage, on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/oregon-parks-and-recreation-department/" target="_blank">
LinkedIn</a>, on the <a href="https://oregonheritage.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">
Oregon Heritage Exchange blog</a>.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">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 <a href="http://www.oregonheritage.org/" target="_blank">www.oregonheritage.org</a>. The news editor can be contacted at
<a href="mailto:heritage.info@oprd.oregon.gov" target="_blank">heritage.info@oprd.oregon.gov</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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