The White House Historical Association’s Presidential Sites Summit is September 25 – 28, 2023

Sep 07, 2023 Washington, D.C. —

The White House Historical Association will host the Presidential Sites Summit at the historic Mayflower Hotel September 25-28. The Summit, this year themed “Change and Continuity,” will draw leaders from presidential libraries, historic homes, and museums across the country to discuss changes in historic interpretation, educating the public, civic engagement, and technology.

This year’s Summit will feature speakers including former White House social secretaries and chiefs of staff, a curator from the National Portrait Gallery, staff from the National Museum of American History, presidential sites across the country, and many others.

The Presidential Sites Summit is open to the public, but registration is required.

Register for the Summit here

Interview Opportunities:

• Stewart McLaurin, President of the White House Historical Association
• Anita McBride, Chair of the Presidential Sites Summit Committee and former Assistant to President George W. Bush and Chief of Staff to First Lady Laura Bush

The 2023 Presidential Sites Summit will include:

A Special Evening Event at the Library of Congress moderated by David M. Rubenstein and featuring the heads of the Smithsonian, Library of Congress, National Park Service, and National Archives

WHEN: Monday, September 25, 7-9PM

The Summit begins with a special program and reception at the Library of Congress featuring a moderated conversation with Lonnie Bunch, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution; Dr. Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress; Chuck Sams, Director of the National Park Service; and Dr. Colleen Shogan, Archivist of the United States. In this first ever gathering of the four federal agencies and cultural institutions that oversee presidential sites, records and history, the group will discuss the role each organization has in preserving presidential history and sharing this history with the public. This program will be livestreamed on the Association’s Facebook and YouTube channels.

A Special Evening Event at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History: “Entertaining at the White House”

WHEN: Tuesday, September 26, 7-9PM

An evening event at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History will highlight the importance of the White House as a stage for hospitality and diplomacy and feature conversation with former White House staff. Anita McBride, Chair of the Presidential Sites Summit Committee and former Assistant to President George W. Bush and Chief of Staff to First Lady Laura Bush, will moderate a conversation with Jeremy Bernard, Former White House Social Secretary to President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama; Gahl Hodges Burt, Former White House Social Secretary to President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan; and Amy Zantzinger, Former White House Social Secretary to President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush.

The Presidential Sites Summit will also include moderated sessions on these topics:

• Engaging the Next Generation at Presidential Sites
• Innovative Technologies, Tools, and Platforms
• Telling the Full American Story at Presidential Sites
• Sharing Women’s Stories at Presidential Sites
• Engaging Audiences through Social Media and Podcasts
• Inspiring Civic Education through History
• FLARE (First Ladies Association for Research and Education) on the new book, U.S. First Ladies, Making History and Leaving Legacies

The Summit will also feature these speakers:

• Avery Akkenini, President, Vayner3
• Joni Albrecht, Director, John Marshall Center for Constitutional History & Civics
• Todd Arrington, Site Manager, James A. Garfield National Historic Site
• Jay Barth, Director, William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum
• Felicia Bell, Senior Advisor to Dr. Anthea M. Hartig, National Museum of American History
• Amy Bracewell, Superintendent, Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site
• Greta Brawner, C-SPAN, Host & Executive Producer for Public Affairs Programming
• John Bridgeland, Founder & CEO, Civic Enterprises
• Jim Byron, President & CEO, Richard Nixon Foundation
• Diana B. Carlin, Professor Emerita of Communication at Saint Louis University and FLARE Treasurer
• Jean Case, CEO, the Case Foundation and Member of the White House Historical Association’s Board of Directors
• Brooke Clement, Director, Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum
• Chris Cummings, Founder & CEO, Iconic Moments
• Mike Duncan, History Podcaster and author
• Meredith Evans, Director, Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum
• Barbara Franklin, 29th U.S. Secretary of Commerce
• Elizabeth Ghosh, Partner Manager, Meta
• Tammy Haddad, President & CEO, Haddad Media
• Sara Bon-Harper, Executive Director, James Monroe’s Highland
• Nik Honeysett, CEO, Balboa Park Online Collaborative
• Julia Kaufman, Associate Department Director & Senior Policy Researcher, RAND Corporation
• Caroline Kilbanoff, Executive Director, Made by Us
• Kate Lemay, Curator & Historian, National Portrait Gallery
• Stewart McLaurin, President, White House Historical Association
• Fionnghaula O’Reilly, Founder, Space to Reach and White House Historical Association Next Generation Leader
• Christina Shutt, Executive Director, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
• Julie Silverbrook, Senior Director of Partnerships & Constitutional Scholar in Residence, iCivics
• Nancy Kegan Smith, Author and Former Director of the Presidential Materials Division of the National Archives and Records Administration
• Sara Kanawati Stephany, Co-Chair, New Frontier Network at the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation
• Janet Tran, Director of The Center for Civics, Education, and Opportunity, Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute
• Gayle Jessup White, Public Relations and Community Engagement Officer at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson Foundation
• Sharon Yang, Policy Partnerships, Meta

See a complete schedule of events and list of speakers here.

The 2023 Presidential Sites Summit also includes optional tours of the National Mall, President Lincoln’s Cottage, Mount Vernon, and St. John’s Church.

WHERE: Daily moderated sessions will be held at the Mayflower Hotel, 1127 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, D.C. 20036

Watch a video message from President of the White House Historical Association, Stewart McLaurin, here.

If you are interested in covering this event as a member of the press, please contact press@whha.org.