Location: Architecture Building Auditorium
This event is open to the public.
Historic Preservation Marvin Breckinridge Patterson Lecture Series
Speaker:
Greg Werkheiser
Founding Partner, Attorney at Law Cultural Heritage Partners, PLLC
About the lecture:
Since 1966, Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act has upheld a simple, bipartisan idea: before the federal government permanently alters places that matter to Americans, it must first understand what will be lost and listen to those who know those places best. Today, for the first time in the law's sixty-year history, Section 106 faces three coordinated threats at once—a regulatory rewrite that would strip Tribal Nations, states, and the public of their voice; legislative proposals to weaken the statute without evidence that it causes the delays critics allege; and executive actions that test whether the White House can simply sidestep the law altogether. These are not abstract policy disputes: they threaten irreplaceable historic and sacred places, Tribal rights, local economies, and the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of Americans who preserve and interpret this heritage. This presentation will dismantle some common myths about Section 106 underlying these attacks, provide actionable steps for advocates, and provide the latest updates on this critical fight.
About the speaker:
Greg is the founding partner of Cultural Heritage Partners, PLLC, a leading law firm focused on protecting access to history and culture as a human right. For more than two decades, Greg has led high-impact litigation and negotiations under federal and state law, helping clients safeguard historic places, cultural resources, and community identity. His work frequently sits at the intersection of civil rights, environmental law, and public accountability. Greg’s current cases include representing the DC Preservation League in two lawsuits to defend against attacks on the Eisenhower Executive Office Building and the Kennedy Center; representing the Lummi Nation on a case involving the desecration of Tribal ancestral remains; and coordinating the national response to attacks on the National Historic Preservation Act itself.