2026 Statewide Historic Preservation Conference

Keynote Speaker

We are excited to welcome Christy S. Coleman, Executive Director of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, as the keynote speaker for the 2026 Statewide Historic Preservation Conference. 

Christy S. Coleman is a tireless advocate for the power of museums and narrative correction. She’s an innovator in the museum field having held leadership roles at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, the Wright Museum of African American History, and the American Civil War Museum. She now serves as the Executive Director of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation. 

Ms. Coleman is the recipient of numerous awards for her decades of impact, including four Honorary Doctorates. In 2018, Time Magazine named her one of the 31 People Changing the South and in 2019, Worth Magazine named her one of 29 Women Changing the World. In 2023, she received the David McCullough Prize for Excellence in American Public History. 

She’s also an accomplished public speaker and has appeared in award-winning documentaries including Grant, Abraham Lincoln, Black Patriots: Civil War Heroes, When the Monuments Came Down and Kevin Costner’s The West. In her spare time, she’s a historical consultant for film and television. Most recently she’s worked on the award-winning film Harriett, Showtime’s miniseries Good Lord Bird, and the upcoming miniseries, The Gray House. 

Tours and Workshops

Join us for an exciting line up of tours on Wednesday, November 4. Tours this year include:

• Cemetery Preservation Workshop 
• The Chapel on Sycamore, Sycamore Building, and High House
• Decatur in Detail: An Architectural Walking Tour
• Fem History of Decatur
• Waffle House Museum Tour
• Sycamore Street
• Olmsted’s Druid Hills: Landscape, Legacy, and Stewardship 
• Decatur Cemetery
• Brutalism in Decatur

Please note that many of these are walking tours outside. 

We are also excited to bring back workshops led by HPD staff designed for advanced practitioners. Topics include:

• “How Much is Enough?”: National Register 101 and Focus on Significance
• From Archives to Answers: Researching Historic Properties using Resources at HPD 
• Can’t escape the Landscape: The Effect of Geography on Archaeology in the Section 106 Process
• Historic Rehabilitation Tax Incentives: An Advanced Look Workshop

Sign up for these optional tours and workshops when you register. Capacity is limited.

Hotel Blocks

Room blocks have been arranged at the Courtyard by Marriott Atlanta Downtown Decatur/Emory. Please use the booking information at this link to secure your room for the conference. Availability is limited.

If you prefer to call to make reservations, please reference the "2026 Statewide Historic Preservation Conference Room Block" to receive the conference rate.

 If you run into difficulties with booking the rooms, please call the hotel at 404-371-0204. 

Please note the hotel block closes for reservations on October 3!

Conference events will be held in several locations. Most speaker sessions will be held at the Decatur Conference Center, at the same location as the Courtyard by Marriott, 130 Clairemont Ave, Decatur, GA 30030.

Poster Session

The Georgia Statewide Historic Preservation Conference will host a poster session at the 2026 annual conference to showcase recently completed research and works-in-progress. We have updated the criteria this year and the subject of the proposal is no longer expected to be geographically based in Georgia. Topics must still have a historic preservation, public history, or related fields focus. The call is open to students and recent graduates (no more than 5 years out).

Proposals should include a title, abstract (no more than 300 words), and a one-page resume or CV. If you have any questions about the poster session, please contact committee chair Chad Keller [email protected].

Poster presenters will need to register for the conference, but admission will be complimentary. The Georgia Statewide Historic Preservation Conference is scheduled to be held November 4-6,2026, in Decatur, GA. The conference brings together preservationists, non-profits, planners, architects, historians, architectural historians, archaeologists, city and county administrators, historic preservation commission members and students from across Georgia.

The deadline to submit a proposal is August 1.

For information on abstract and evaluation criteria, please see the call for proposals.  (PDF, 38.28 KB)

Schedule at a Glance

To assist in planning your trip to Decatur, please utilize this preliminary schedule at a glance  (PDF, 835.25 KB) . Note that times are subject to change. An official program agenda will be released in the fall.

Conference Sponsorships

Sponsorship opportunities are available for this year's conference! Various levels of sponsorship are available to organizations, companies, and individuals looking to support the 2026 Statewide Historic Preservation Conference. 

2026 Statewide Historic Preservation Conference Sponsorship Levels and Information  (PDF, 294.86 KB)

To inquire about sponsorships, contact Brynn Chanudet, Senior Director of Development with the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, [email protected].

Meet the 2026 Partners!

Local Planning Partners

• City of Decatur
• DeKalb County Planning and Sustainability
• DeKalb History Center

Organizational Partners

• Georgia African American Historic Preservation Network
• Georgia Alliance of Preservation Commissions

Thank You to Our Sponsors