Greg Werkheiser

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.