Good morning everyone and thank you Reverend for that lovely welcome. My name is Brent Leggs and it is my honor and pleasure to stand before you today as the eleventh president and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

This is our first National Preservation Summit, and there could not be a more fitting place to gather as a field than in the heart of our country’s capital. Our goal in opening this convening to the public free of charge is grounded in the Power of Partnerships. Preservation is about more than saving buildings. It is about building stronger communities. And to do that, we need to ensure everyone has a seat at the table. As I look around this room, I see so many old friends, and just as importantly, I see new faces. Together, you represent nearly all fifty states and hundreds of communities that hold the legacies of courage, resilience, joy, entrepreneurship, and innovation that have shaped America from its foundation.

A lot has happened in this commemorative year. Celebrating the 250th anniversary of our democracy has brought opportunities to celebrate the resonance of our work and numerous challenges to the bedrock protections that have secured even our most precious and iconic historic sites. The task, and I would say the advantage, of the preservationist in these times is to ground ourselves in the lessons and inspiration of the past amid the uncertainty of the present. Not to remain there, but to ensure that we, and our fellow Americans, have the fullest foundation from which to build a brighter, more innovative, and more inclusive future. That takes bravery and perseverance: in the face of natural and man-made disasters, bureaucracy, conflict, underfunding, or even simply time.

It’s important then, to know and continually affirm that we are not alone in this effort. Our successes and our setbacks — whether they happen in rural Alaska, on a coastline in Puerto Rico, or in the center of Washington DC — are shared. And the stakes have never been higher. As preservationists, we are on the national stage. All eyes are on us. My question to you today is – what are we going to do in this moment?

Founding Mission of the National Trust

As I prepared to take the helm of the National Trust this year, particularly as our first CEO of color, I took the time to look back at the foundational mission of the organization, and my own “why” in my preservation career, to chart a path forward into a new chapter. It was affirming for me to reflect on the fact that just as in 1949, when President Truman signed the National Trust’s Congressional Charter, to 2026 during such a pivotal year for our nation, partnerships and community have remained the key to our shared success.

In 1949, at the end of two World Wars and on the cusp of America’s Urban Renewal program, many saw the appeal of a clean slate — clearing away all the complexity and reminders of difficult times to build a fresh, bright future. Yet, there were those who saw clearly what was at stake. They recognized that tangible connections to our nation’s past deserved to be memorialized for future generations rather than irreversibly sacrificed to the bulldozer, the wrecking ball, and the highway.

In the words of former National Trust President James Biddle: “Perhaps because they were familiar with the past, they could predict a future in which America found itself without roots, without a sense of identity, with nothing to lose.” That foundation enabled half a century of slow yet steady progress — expanding the national narrative, embracing complexity, supporting economic development, and increasing the diversity of the preservation movement itself.

It was that progress, and that faith that the past is worth saving, that laid the groundwork for where we find ourselves today. While we have much to celebrate, we still have a journey ahead, and a question that I’ve kept coming back to. “What is a nation without its history?”

From Intern to CEO

I grew up in Paducah, Kentucky, raised by parents who instilled in me a reverence for the contributions of everyday people like themselves, and luminaries like Madam C.J. Walker, Congressman John Lewis, Satchel Paige, and others who each made American history in their own way.

My passion for preservation was sparked by a transcendent experience that shaped my personal values and understanding of historic preservation’s potential. After receiving an MBA from the University of Kentucky, I faced an unexpected health crisis. My primary concern became securing health insurance. My goal was to return to school and secure a scholarship that provided tuition assistance, a stipend, and healthcare.

While touring the University of Kentucky’s College of Design, I had a chance encounter with the chair of the graduate historic preservation program, Dr. Dennis Domer, who encouraged me to apply. At that moment, I realized that out of crisis comes opportunity. I embarked on a path toward healing and a professional calling that has led me to this very moment.

As I pursued my graduate degree there in 2004, I studied Washington-Rosenwald schools in my home state of Kentucky and, in doing so, learned that both of my parents had attended these schools. Suddenly, I felt a connection to the past, and to Booker T. Washington and Julius Rosenwald like never before.

I could see a restored or decaying history when I touched it in its material form. I could feel the sun’s warmth through historic windows and hear the creaking floorboards as I walked inside these often forgotten and abandoned buildings. I began to understand the power of place to bring the past into the present unlike any other form of history.

Through Washington and Rosenwald’s vision to provide quality education to Black students, a continuity was established, a throughline to future generations. It is ongoing and real, and their vision of social impact and multi-racial partnership a century ago has directly impacted my own life, and countless others.

I feel passionately that culture, landscape, and history matter – that our individual and collective identities matter. It is our history, the storehouse of our proven identity, that reminds us of who we are, what truly we value, and that teaches us how to navigate any new age.

That revelation stayed with me. Over twenty years later – from the first days of my internship, to my founding leadership of the National Trust’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, to taking up the mantle of CEO – I’ve had the privilege of traveling across this country and seeing how places, and the people who steward them, have so much power:

• The power to shape public memory – moving beyond the artificially narrow toward narratives that are as expansive as they are historically accurate.
• The power to revive cultural assets and create a renaissance in communities that had been historically overlooked.
• The power to create resilience through economic development and climate-positive restoration.
• And the power to heal, to offer justice.

The Work Today

The National Trust’s 11 Most Endangered Places in America list, and the work we do every day, is centered in these values. Through preservation, we are affirming that all people are created equal and deserve to have their stories told. And not all of these stories are easy. They don’t always show America at our best. But these hard truths have enormous value.

Located in the San Francisco Bay, the Angel Island Immigration Station stands as a reminder that the United States has at times been unjust toward those pursuing the American dream. Built to enforce racially exclusionary immigration laws, the station detained more than 300,000 immigrants, primarily from Asia and across the Pacific. More than 200 poems carved into the barracks walls by detainees ultimately helped to save the buildings. These poems provide a rare first-person testimony of their experiences and inspired a grassroots movement to save the buildings from demolition.

There is a temptation to close and hide these chapters of our history. From Angel Island, to Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ in Chicago where Emmett Till’s funeral was held, to sacred Tribal lands that hold painful memories of loss and violence. From these moments of incredible darkness, comes hope, generational resilience, and progress that we should never ignore.

Earlier this month, we also commemorated the twenty-fifth anniversary of 9/11. These devastating attacks on New York City and Washington DC cost the lives of more than 3,000 courageous Americans. It was a day that changed our nation forever.

The preservation community and the National Trust, through the protections of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, helped to save the Vesey Street Stairway in the aftermath of the attack. Known as the Survivors’ Stairs, the Vesey Street Stairway served as an escape route for hundreds of people fleeing the twin towers and remained the only above-ground structure after their collapse. As redevelopment plans for the site advanced, preservationists and family representatives raised concerns that the stairway and other physical remnants of the towers would be lost in the rush to rebuild.

Thankfully, Section 106 regulations required public consultation before the stairway and other remnants could be altered or removed. Without it, the last surviving above-ground remnant of the original World Trade Center complex could have been lost. Instead, today, it is on view as a powerful part of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York City.

The Challenge We Face

And so we return this question. What is a nation without its history? What do we stand to lose if we ignore the full breadth of the American experience?

Once, we looked to the federal government as a foundational partner in the preservation of the American story. We had a shared understanding, even if from different sides of the aisle or cultural contexts, that saving our historical record mattered. But as the government divests from this work, it is up to us to take up this charge in earnest. Our national inheritance hangs in balance today.

In recent months, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) has been advancing a damaging proposal to rewrite the regulations for Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. If implemented, these new rules would dramatically diminish the current legal protections for historic sites and public lands across the country.

From the actions leading to the partial demolition of the White House...

• To the proposed Monumental Arch and Garden of Heroes
• To the proposed painting of the Executive Office Building
• To the mismanagement of the Reflecting Pool’s surface restoration
• To the attacks on the Smithsonian,
• To the threats of demolition facing the Kennedy Center.

The American public is demanding change and is impatient to see accountability from Congress, the Courts, and the Administration to ensure that no one can violate or weaponize policy to endanger these places. I’m proud to say that many of you here today, the preservation community, and our partners across the country, are mobilizing to fight these harmful actions. Every time in history has its challenges. We’ve all seen tides turn for and against us. But it is not an exaggeration to say that this moment is existential. For our field, for the communities we serve, and for generations to come.

The purpose of preservation practice is not to stop change, but to offer tools that help society manage change in ways that don't disconnect it from the legacy of its past. Done right, historic places can validate the lives of all Americans and the highest achievements of our nation. We've proven that we can use preservation as an effective tool for regulatory efficiency, sustainable revitalization, economic regeneration, affordable housing, commercial reuse, and more.

The Path Forward, Together: The Historic Preservation Defense Fund

So it is not only the threats, but the opportunities, that have us gathered here today.

Ensuring America’s tangible heritage survives these ongoing assaults will require bold, coordinated action across the field. That is why I am thrilled to announce, and welcome you all to join, the National Trust in launching the Historic Preservation Defense Fund.

Together, we will raise an initial $10 million over three years in a moonshot effort to ensure our nation’s civic and cultural heritage remains intact through tangible connections to our shared history. Through the Historic Preservation Defense Fund, the National Trust recognizes the magnitude of the crisis facing us today. And we stand ready to protect what’s at stake. Resourced by this fund, the National Trust will work alongside new and existing partners to provide foundational investment and support for a united preservation movement. It will provide resources for legal defense, public advocacy, and community action when historic places and the laws that protect them are under threat.

Rest assured, despite the difficult times we’re in, for every history of hardship there are more of joy, inspiration, creativity, and progress to be found. We’re all here because something in an archive, a historic building, or a landscape lit a fire in us. I’m sure everyone in this room can speak to a place that carries this meaning for them, their family, or their community, and we shouldn’t lose sight of the preservation victories that keep us motivated to do this work every day.

For me, that’s been opportunities

• To save Washington-Rosenwald Schools
• To restore Nina Simone’s Childhood Home in Tryon, North Carolina
• To walk through Arlington Cemetery here in DC
• To experience a Sunday service in Brown Chapel AME Church in Selma, Alabama
• And to honor the vibrant faith and culture of the Latinx community at Ruidosa Church on the U.S. - Mexico border.

I know so many of you in this room have experienced the power of place, and the weight of history, for yourselves. I hope you share these moments with your colleagues here today.

The speakers you are about to hear from on this stage, and the peers you will meet over coffee breaks, at lunch, and throughout this convening, are here because we share the same goal: to expand the American story, not to shrink in the face of a challenge.

Together, we are one movement. We can, and we will, save the historic places that have shaped our history. We represent communities that are looking to us to lead and we won’t let them down. Let’s get to work.