Lonnie G. Bunch III is the 14th Secretary of the Smithsonian. He assumed his position June 16, 2019. As Secretary, he oversees 21 museums, 21 libraries, the National Zoo, numerous research centers, and several education units and centers. Two new museums—the National Museum of the American Latino and the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum—are in development. Bunch was the founding director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. Bunch chronicled the creation of the museum in his book, A Fool’s Errand: Building the National Museum of African American History and Culture in the Age of Bush, Obama and Trump, and is the first historian to be Secretary of the Institution. In 2021, he received France’s highest award, The Legion of Honor.

Dr. Carla Hayden was sworn in as the 14th Librarian of Congress on September 14, 2016. Hayden, the first woman and the first African American to lead the national library, was nominated to the position by President Barack Obama on February 24, 2016, and her nomination was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 13.

Prior to her latest post she served, since 1993, as CEO of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, Maryland. Hayden was nominated by President Obama to be a member of the National Museum and Library Services Board in January 2010 and was confirmed to that post by the Senate in June 2010. Prior to joining the Pratt Library, Hayden was deputy commissioner and chief librarian of the Chicago Public Library from 1991 to 1993. She was an assistant professor for Library and Information Science at the University of Pittsburgh from 1987 to 1991. Hayden was library services coordinator for the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago from 1982 to 1987. She began her career with the Chicago Public Library as the young adult services coordinator from 1979 to 1982 and as a library associate and children's librarian from 1973 to 1979.

Hayden was president of the American Library Association from 2003 to 2004. In 1995, she was the first African American to receive Library Journal's Librarian of the Year Award in recognition of her outreach services at the Pratt Library, which included an after-school center for Baltimore teens offering homework assistance and college and career counseling. Hayden received a B.A. from Roosevelt University and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the Graduate Library School of the University of Chicago.

Dr. Colleen Shogan is the 11^th Archivist of the United States, and the first woman appointed to lead the National Archives. A proud Pittsburgh native, she is a recognized political scientist with expertise in the American presidency, political rhetoric, women in politics, and Congress. Prior to her appointment, she was the Senior Vice President and Director of the David M. Rubenstein Center at the White House Historical Association, and she served as a legislative assistant in the United States Senate and as a senior executive at the Library of Congress. Dr. Shogan was the Vice Chair of the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission and the Chair of the Board of Directors at the Women’s Suffrage National Monument Foundation.

John Dichtl became AASLH President & CEO in 2015. Prior to that he was the executive director of the National Council on Public History (NCPH) for nine years, and worked for the Organization of American Historians for fourteen years as deputy director and in several other roles. John received his MA and PhD in early American history from Indiana University, and from 2006 to 2015 was an adjunct faculty member of the history department at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. Before graduate school he worked for the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. He is a 2004 graduate of the Seminar for Historical Administration (now History Leadership Institute), a program that stems from an AASLH partnership with the Indiana Historical Society and other organizations. John helped to found the History Relevance Campaign, the International Federation for Public History, and is active in the National Coalition for History.

Our American Story is one of the major initiatives of America250. Starting July 4, 2025, America250 will be reaching out across the country to gather a collection of stories—recorded on video and preserved for posterity—that reflect our rich diversity and shared history. We hope to hear from Americans from all walks of life, whether it's a local leader who's made a difference in their community or a neighbor with an inspiring story. As America250 plans Our American Story, we're eager to find partners who can help make this effort a success.

America250 is a nonpartisan initiative working to engage every American in commemorating the 250th anniversary of our country. This multi-year effort, from now through July 4, 2026, is an opportunity to pause and reflect on our nation’s past, honor the contributions of all Americans, and look ahead toward the future we want to create for the next generation and beyond.

History.org provides teachers with comprehensive, easy to deploy primary source-based teaching resources from the nation’s leading museums and civic organizations. The site will include a library of 500+ short, animated videos, over 1200 items from museums’ collections, multimedia learning tools, and customizable instructional resources including discussion questions, vocabulary, and learning activities. Designed based on extensive research and developed with teachers, history.org has the power to reach all 55 million K-12 students in the United States and ignite their engagement with our nation’s past and their role in securing its future. 

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation preserves, restores and operates Virginia’s 18th-century capital of Williamsburg. Innovative and interactive experiences highlight the relevance of the American Revolution to contemporary life and the importance of an informed, active citizenry. The Colonial Williamsburg experience includes more than 600 restored or reconstructed original buildings, renowned museums of decorative arts and folk art, extensive educational outreach programs for students and teachers and 18th-century inspired culinary options from historic taverns situated along historic Duke of Gloucester Street. 

How do we build a future where young people gain the historical thinking and civic skills needed to strengthen their communities? This vision requires all of us in the history community to commit to a renewed sense of collaboration. We need to create welcoming spaces where students from all backgrounds can connect with history practitioners and organizations. Join Kim Fortney and Richard Josey to learn how you can support National History Day in this effort. Together, we can inspire students to build a stronger, more inclusive future.

National History Day is a nonprofit educational organization that seeks to improve the teaching and learning of history by providing students with historical thinking and other essential skills that will set them up for successful community engagement. NHD also supports teachers along their journey with students through robust professional development opportunities and materials for classroom use.

Collective Journeys, LLC is a belonging and wellness consulting and education firm that empowers individuals and organizations to foster inclusivity, belonging, and social change through education, dialogue, and action. Since 2018, we’ve been inspiring growth and connection, challenging ourselves and others to leave a legacy of empathy, respect, and positive impact. By embracing differences and creating safe spaces for meaningful conversations, we work together to shape a brighter, more inclusive future. 

In early 2025, Wiki Education will launch “250 by 2026”, a Wikipedia content campaign celebrating the United States Semiquincentennial in 2026. The initiative will engage 250 subject matter experts from state and local history associations and museums to improve history-related content on Wikipedia, benefiting millions of readers across the country. Participants will join a virtual barn-raising event, collaboratively exploring and reflecting on the past 250 years of American history.

Wiki Education, a nonprofit based in California, works to enhance Wikipedia’s coverage of topics relevant to the public. Operating across the United States and Canada, it supports university instructors in integrating Wikipedia assignments into their courses. Beyond fostering student contributions, Wiki Education also offers professional development through its Scholars & Scientists Program, equipping academics, scientists, and professionals with the skills to effectively contribute their expertise to Wikipedia and Wikidata.

Youth250, an initiative of Made By Us, is the dynamic, nonpartisan initiative to capture young people's imaginations, ideas and input as the United States turns 250 years old in 2026. With a toolkit for institutions, a living documentary of this moment, and the first-of-its-kind National Youth250 Bureau, we’re writing America’s next chapter, together.

Made By Us unleashes access to history and civics education for young adults by meeting them where they are with credible, timely content and resources sourced from a nationwide network of cultural institutions.

The American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) is the national professional association for history institutions and the staff and volunteers who make them run. AASLH offers resources, training, advocacy, research, and a sense of connectedness to over 5,500 institutional and individual members, as well as leadership for practitioners at the nation’s more than 21,000 history organizations. AASLH’s work is driven by the belief that history matters. AASLH strives to promote the history field’s key role in helping the American public to develop critical thinking skills, illuminate connections between past and present, and use history to make progress in American society.

In Fall 2025, PBS will premiere “The American Revolution,” a six-part film from Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein, and David Schmidt. The film will present the story of the men and women who waged and witnessed a war that changed the world. Weaving together a wide variety of perspectives from soldiers, civilians, and leaders—famous and forgotten, young and old, native and newcomer, enslaved and free, rich and poor, loyalist and patriot—“The American Revolution” will tell how, against the odds, thirteen British colonies on the Atlantic Coast united in rebellion, won their independence, and established an American republic that still endures. “The American Revolution” will feature the largest engagement plan in PBS history, reaching into classrooms and communities through powerful storytelling and the power of public media. In support of the film, PBS member stations will partner with local organizations to host screenings and discussions that will engage communities around the film, the history, and the anniversary.  PBS member stations will also work with teachers in their local school districts, amplifying educational resources and hosting learning summits for teachers around the country.

PBS, with more than 330 member stations in communities around the United States, offers millions of Americans the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and digital content, available through the PBS App, YouTube, and PBS stations. Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS LearningMedia for free educational resources that are classroom-ready, aligned to state and national standards, and designed by teachers and subject matter experts.

Participants will learn how they can add historical landmarks and walking tours to Clio, a website and mobile app that guides millions of people to nearby historic sites. Clio is non-profit and free for everyone, with nearly 40,000 landmarks and 1700 walking tours, interpretive hiking trails, driving tours, and immersive virtual museum tours. Dr. Trowbridge will discuss lessons learned in his 12 years of working with hundreds of museums, libraries, historical societies, and universities who have used Clio and offer some quick tips for how to make everything from a single entry to a complete walking tour or virtual stie tour. For a quick introduction to Clio, please enjoy this one minute video on their YouTube page or the instructional guides and videos on their website. 

Clio Foundation is the non-profit foundation (501c3) that supports Clio's free website and mobile application. More information can be found on their website www.theclio.com and their mobile applications for iOS and Android. 

Handwork: Celebrating American Craft 2026, is a national Semiquincentennial initiative to showcase the importance of the handmade, both throughout our history and in contemporary life. Handwork 2026 will be a year-long collaboration among organizations, educators, and makers to celebrate the diversity of the crafts that define America, bringing compelling stories and underrepresented art and artists into the spotlight. Craft is universal and democratic; it unites us by bringing people of all backgrounds and beliefs together. A deeply important carrier of tradition and cultural practice, the handmade connects us through history and time.

Craft in America is a Los Angeles-based nonprofit arts organization founded in 2004 with the mission to promote and advance original handcrafted work through programs in all media. Their goals are: to document the importance of handmade objects and the artists who make them; to provide a gateway to discover, explore and experience craft; and to celebrate our nation’s cultures through craft.

The spirit of service has always been fundamental to our national character and essential to our democracy. In 2026, America will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, providing an ideal opportunity to celebrate the American spirit of service—a spirit so powerfully expressed in the closing words of the Declaration of Independence itself. "We mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor"

250 & Beyond is a national initiative, led by a coalition of leading service organizations, to create inspiring, inclusive, and enduring exhibitions to honor service in ALL its forms in communities, schools, libraries, and museums all across the country. It is a call to action, honoring our past, celebrating our present and inspiring our future, helping us respect our differences and transcend our divisions. If our nation is to last another 250 years, we must renew and sustain the American spirit of service among all our people and institutions.  Your museum, service organization, school, community or you as an individual can be part of this.

The National Museum and Center for Service is dedicated to creating a nationwide network of local service exhibitions and a signature national institution in a place of prominence near the National Mall in Washington DC.

As our country approaches America’s 250th anniversary in 2026, we have an opportunity to inspire learners everywhere with the core principles of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution—reclaiming their centrality to the American story and exploring their relevance to the country today. To help spark this national conversation, the National Constitution Center is creating a digital America 250 Civic Toolkit for learners of all ages that will offer the essential guide to the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and America’s founding principles. With the help of cross-country partners who can adopt part or all of the Toolkit resources into your museums and historic sites, we can ensure that the toolkit is widely distributed across America. The backbone of the Civic Toolkit will be a new Interactive Declaration of Independence along with the NCC’s acclaimed Interactive Constitution and serve as a hub for our America 250 resources. The toolkit will cover major constitutional ideas and principles and include essential videos from scholars, historians, and civic leaders explaining core constitutional concepts. The toolkit will provide Americans with a trusted, non-partisan framework—rooted in primary sources—to frame conversations at this crucial moment in American history.

The National Constitution Center serves as America’s leading platform for constitutional education and debate, fulfilling its congressional charter “to disseminate information about the U.S. Constitution on a nonpartisan basis in order to increase awareness and understanding of the Constitution among the American people.”

Uncover stories of the American Revolution as told by the people who lived it. The National Park Service and the National Archives and Records Administration are collaborating in a citizen archivist project to transcribe the pension records of more than 80,000 of America’s first veterans and their widows. The project will make a permanent contribution to the historical record for the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution. Everyone is invited to participate. 

The National Park Service preserves nationally significant natural and cultural resources for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations.

Two Lights For Tomorrow (TL4T) is national call to action to display two lights (in any form, size, etc.) in communities across the country. For the anniversary of the alarm ride of April 18, 1775 that began it all with "one if by land, two if by sea," we're calling on all historical and cultural organizations to help spread the word about how we're trying to help people remember these coming historic anniversaries that it's not just about what happened back then; it's about what it was all for: the chance for a better tomorrow. This is a grassroots state-level initiative that formed from the inter-state collaborations made possible by AASLH and VA250.

The American experiment is not guaranteed; it’s something we must reinvest in with each new generation. Surrounded by political division, distrust, and polarization, too many young people are losing confidence and now view the United States as a “democracy in trouble.” We believe that the best way to strengthen our democracy is to teach it, and that when young people see they can shape our country, they believe in its future. Through National Civic Learning Week and other collective efforts connecting to the 250th, the more than 360 members of the national CivxNow Coalition advance our movement for high quality universal civic learning through awareness, policies, and collective will to invest in our youth and our democracy. Whether you’re a student who is learning, an educator who is teaching, a community member who is encouraging, or a policy- or decision- maker who is empowering teaching and learning, you can center civic learning as an essential foundation of what schools do in your community, state, and nation. How youth come to celebrate the nation’s 300th anniversary in 2076 is dependent on the decisions you make now.  

Founded in 2009 by Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, iCivics is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to advancing civic learning by providing educators and students with the knowledge, skills, and resources needed to embrace and engage in our civic life together. We empower educators and lead the movement to make civic education a nationwide priority so all young people have the confidence to shape the world around them and believe in our country’s future.

Rosie Rios is the Chair of America 250, the United States Congressional Commission planning the 250^th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 2026. She served as the 43rd Treasurer of the United States and was the CEO of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the U.S. Mint, including Fort Knox with oversight over 4,000 employees and a $5 billion budget. She also initiated and led the efforts to place a portrait of a woman on U.S. currency for the first time in over a century. Following her eight-year tenure, she was appointed as a Visiting Scholar at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University with a focus on Millennials and Post-Millennials and resumed her role as CEO of Red River Associates, an investment management consulting firm and a co-host of several reality series focused on pre-IPO investments. Rosie served twice on the Treasury/Federal Reserve Transition Teams on behalf of President Barack Obama at the height of the financial crisis in 2008 and again during the pandemic economy of 2020 on behalf of President Biden. 

Rosie’s entire career has focused on real estate finance, economic development, and urban revitalization in both the public and private sectors. Prior to her presidential appointment in Treasury, she was Managing Director of Investments for MacFarlane Partners, a $22 billion real estate investment management firm based in San Francisco. She is a graduate of Harvard University and was selected as the first Latina in Harvard’s 388-year history to have a portrait commissioned in her honor. The portrait was unveiled in Winthrop House in 2019. She currently serves on the board of American Family Insurance, Ripple Labs, Inc., and Fidelity Charitable Trust and was previously a board member for the Alameda County Employees Retirement Association (ACERA) prior to her time in the Obama Administration. Her personal passion includes serving as Founder and CEO of EMPOWERMENT 2026, an initiative that facilitates the physical recognition of historical American women in classrooms and public spaces across the country.  Rosie is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and was honored as one of USA Today’s Women of the Century. 

John Dichtl became AASLH President & CEO in 2015. Prior to that he was the executive director of the National Council on Public History (NCPH) for nine years, and worked for the Organization of American Historians for fourteen years as deputy director and in several other roles. John received his MA and PhD in early American history from Indiana University, and from 2006 to 2015 was an adjunct faculty member of the history department at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. Before graduate school he worked for the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. He is a 2004 graduate of the Seminar for Historical Administration (now History Leadership Institute), a program that stems from an AASLH partnership with the Indiana Historical Society and other organizations. John helped to found the History Relevance Campaign, the International Federation for Public History, and is active in the National Coalition for History.