Greg Werkheiser’s mission is connecting the lessons of our past to the leadership of our future. He is a trial lawyer and strategist who uses the law to protect cultural heritage and hold governments and institutions accountable.
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, and has helped shape outcomes in nationally significant disputes.
Greg has secured landmark victories for Tribal Nations, descendant communities, and public-interest clients across the country. He has protected sacred Indigenous sites from destruction, helped secure shared governance for descendants at James Madison’s Montpelier, and led efforts to return stolen art and artifacts to rightful owners. He developed the legal strategy that enabled the removal of the most prominent Confederate monuments in the United States. He is currently leading litigation to require federal compliance with historic preservation laws in connection with proposed changes to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, cases that test the limits of executive authority over nationally significant civic architecture.
Greg’s work has been featured in more than 1,000 media stories and has helped shape national conversations around cultural heritage, civil rights, and public accountability—including in The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, NPR, and National Geographic. He was awarded the 2023 Simons Medal of Excellence for his contributions to cultural heritage preservation.
Greg is also co-founder and CEO of ARtGlass, a technology company pioneering the use of wearable augmented reality to transform how people experience history at cultural sites around the world. Its platform enables immersive, place-based storytelling that brings underrepresented histories to life for millions of visitors.
In addition to his legal and entrepreneurial work, Greg has been a pioneer in civic and leadership education, helping design programs that have prepared tens of thousands of emerging leaders across sectors. His work in this field has been recognized by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
Earlier in his career, Greg served as a speechwriter, including at the White House and the U.S. Embassy in Paris.
Greg graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law and the College of William & Mary, where he served as student body president. His path to college was made possible in part by the generosity of a stranger—an experience that continues to shape his work and values.
He lives in Richmond, Virginia.
See also: gregwerkheiser.com.
Selected keynote addresses, featured presentations, and invited talks on cultural heritage, law, and public leadership:
Greg’s work has been featured in more than 1,000 media stories and has helped shape national conversations around cultural heritage, civil rights, and public and private sector accountability.
The Washington Post: “Kennedy Center renovation hit with lawsuit filed by preservationists.” Kelsey Ables, March 23, 2026.
The Washington Post: “Trump administration agrees not to paint the Eisenhower building before 2026.” Brianna Tucker, November 19, 2025.
Bloomberg Law: “Eisenhower Building Changes Delayed After Preservationists’ Suit.” Shweta Watwe, November 19, 2025.
CNN: “Preservationists Sue Over Trump’s Latest Plans to Refashion a Federal Building to Match His Aesthetic.” Piper Hudspeth Blackburn and Betsy Klein, November 16, 2025.
The Washington Post: “Preservationists sue Trump over plans to paint Eisenhower building.” Jonathan Edwards, November 15, 2025.
AP News: “Nantucket officials accuse offshore wind developer of going into hiding since Trump’s election.” Leah Willingham, July 29, 2025.
Bloomberg News: “GE Vernova Pays Nantucket $10.5 Million for Busted Blade.” Cam Baker and Josh Saul, July 11, 2025.
BBC: “Which US will tourists find when they visit?” Lynn Brown, April 10, 2025.
Bloomberg Law: “Nantucket Challenges Wind Farm Approvals Over Tourism Concerns.” Shayna Greene, March 27, 2025.
Esquire: “The U.S. Is Standing in the Way of Repatriating the Bodies of Native Kids Who Died at the Carlisle School.” Charles P. Pierce, September 3, 2024.
AP News: “Two Native American boys died at a boarding school in the 1890s. Now, the tribe wants them home.” Jim Salter, February 1, 2024.
Axios: “Tribe sues U.S. Army over remains of two children buried at troubled boarding school.” Russell Contreras, January 18, 2024.
AP News: “‘Wounded Indian’ sculpture given in 1800s to group founded by Paul Revere is returning to Boston.” Mark Pratt, August 15, 2023.
The New York Times: “Virginia Museum Will Return ‘Wounded Indian’ Statue to Boston.” Tom Mashberg, August 9, 2023.
The Washington Post: “Norfolk museum agrees to return ‘Wounded Indian’ statue to Boston.” Gregory S. Schneider, August 9, 2023.
The Washington Post: “Mystery of ‘The Wounded Indian’: Who owns a statue once thought destroyed?” Gregory S. Schneider, May 21, 2023.
The New York Times: “Richmond’s Last Confederate Statue Is Removed.” Christine Hauser, December 12, 2022.
AP News: “Madison estate rehires staff let go during recent turmoil.” June 5, 2022.
The New York Times: “At Montpelier, Slaves’ Descendants Will Share Power With White Board Members.” Alyssa Lukpat, May 16, 2022.
The Washington Post: “James Madison’s plantation vowed to share power with Black descendants. Then things blew up.” DeNeen L. Brown, April 22, 2022.
The New York Times: “At Madison’s Montpelier, a Fight Over Power for Slaves’ Descendants.” Michael Levenson, April 22, 2022.
The Washington Post: “Opinion: A slaveholding president’s estate faces a modern racial controversy.” April 5, 2022.
The Washington Post: “Battle over Native American burial site in Virginia ends in tribal victory.” Gillian Brockell, March 16, 2022.
PBS: The Good Road | Virginia: Balance | Season 2 | Episode 208 [Profiling the legal efforts to save Rassawek, the ancient Monacan capital], January 7, 2022.
BBC: “Virginia Confederate monuments likely headed to black history museum.” December 30, 2021.
National Geographic: “Who do American monuments honor the most? A landmark study finally has answers.” Andrew Lawler, September 29, 2021.
NPR: “Virginia’s Massive Robert E. Lee Statue Has Been Removed.” Whittney Evans, September 8, 2021.
Virginia Mercury: “Va. Supreme Court clears way for removal of Lee monument in Richmond.” Ned Oliver, September 2, 2021.
VPM: “Several Groups File Briefs to Support Lee Statue Removal.” Whittney Evans, April 20, 2021.
Politico: “The Black, Millennial Mayor Who Tore Down His City’s White Monuments.” August 9, 2020.
The Washington Post: “Virginia’s Monacan tribe uses new federal status to take a stand for what could be its long-lost capital.” Gregory Scheider, January 5, 2020.
National Geographic: “Native American Monacan capital among 11 most endangered historic sites.” Andrew Lawler, September 24, 2020.
WAMU 88.5: The Kojo Nnamdi Show “The Monacan Indian Nation Fights To Keep A Historic Site Untouched.” February 20, 2020.
Smithsonian Magazine: “Eleven Historic Places in America That Desperately Need Saving.” Livia Gershon.
Law 360: “NJ Agrees To Recognize Tribe, Pay $2.4M To End Court Battle.” Bill Wichert, November 15, 2018.
AP News: “Court allows tribe’s lawsuit over recognition to advance.” July 13, 2017.
The Philadelphia Inquirer: “The Lenni-Lenape say they’re a tribe, and want N.J. to agree.” Jacqueline L. Urgo, July 17, 2017.
For more press coverage, see here.