Marion F. Werkheiser

Founding Partner
703.489.6059

Firm co-founder and chief executive Marion Forsyth Werkheiser is an award-winning lawyer and internationally recognized trailblazer in the cultural heritage field. Her well-established practice is firmly rooted at the intersection of preservation and development. She has a proven track record of convening diverse stakeholders to identify shared values, solve tough problems, and scale solutions.

Advocacy
Marion advocates for increased support for the national historic preservation program at the federal level, including common sense improvements to make the federal permitting process established in Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act more efficient and effective. Marion also advocates on the federal and state level for the rights of Indian tribes and other underrepresented communities.

Section 106
Marion helps her clients navigate the Section 106 process at the project level. She negotiates on behalf of tribes, project proponents, local governments, and other consulting parties to achieve creative, win-win outcomes that appropriately balance preservation values and development needs.

Indian Law
Marion serves as general counsel to multiple federally recognized tribes, handling a wide array of issues including governance, economic development, federal funding compliance, sacred site protection, and child welfare. She represents tribes in consultations with federal and state agencies, negotiates avoidance and mitigation for cultural heritage impacts, and advises tribes on developing their own consultation and engagement protocols. Marion also seeks opportunities to incorporate principles of free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) into U.S. law.

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)
Marion works with investors, financial institutions, and companies to conduct due diligence, assess project risk, and improve internal governance to reduce the impact of infrastructure and other projects on indigenous peoples and cultural heritage worldwide.

For American Indian tribes, she advises on developing their own consultation and engagement protocols to promote free, prior, and informed consideration of project impacts.

About Marion
Marion earned her J.D. from Harvard Law School and is licensed to practice law in California, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. She is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Indiana University, where she was a Wells Scholar and earned her B.A. degree in political science and classical civilization with an emphasis in art and archaeology.

The Register of Professional Archaeologists honored Marion with the John F. Seiberling Award for her significant and sustained efforts in the conservation of archaeological resources, and she is a recipient of the 2023 Albert Simons Medal of Excellence in Historic Preservation.

REPRESENTATIVE ENGAGEMENTS

Negotiated community benefit agreements resolving the impacts of wind energy development for the first two offshore wind projects in the U.S., resulting in $18.5 million committed to heritage preservation efforts on Nantucket, MA and Block Island, RI.
Advocated successfully for passage of the African American Burial Grounds Preservation Act, which created a national grant program to support efforts to research, identify, document, preserve, and interpret African American burial grounds.
Represented federally recognized tribes in Virginia to negotiate an Executive Order with the Governor to affirm the Commonwealth’s obligation to consult with tribal nations on state permits.
Negotiated multiple agreements between real estate developers, federal and state government agencies, and American Indian Tribes to resolve impacts on traditional cultural properties and archaeological sites.
Represented the Monacan Indian Nation in their successful fight to save Rassawek, their historic capital and resting place of their ancestors, from unnecessary development.

SELECTED PRESENTATIONS

Panelist, Protection and Restitution of Cultural Property, G20 Culture Working Group Webinar, 2023.
Presenter, “Tribal Consultation: A Win-Win for Sovereignty and Conservation,” Sovereign Nations of Virginia Conference, Richmond, VA, 2022.
Presenter, “Offshore Wind Development: Protecting Tribal Resources and Creating Community Benefits,” National Congress of American Indians Annual Convention, Sacramento, CA, 2022.
Panelist, “Law and Preservation: Exploring Preservation through a Legal and Ethical Lens,” Women in Preservation Symposium, Smithsonian Institution, 2021.
Moderator, “Modernizing the NEPA Process or Returning to the Stone Age? Integrating New Definitions for Key Language in the NEPA-Section 106 Process,” National Association of Environmental Professionals, 2020.
Moderator, “The State of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent: Talk with the Washington Attorney General and National Congress of American Indians President,” Cultural Resource Protection Summit, 2020.

IN THE MEDIA

Grist, “Ignoring Indigenous rights is making the green transition more expensive,” by Anita Hofschneider (February 2, 2024)
WHRO Public Media, “Nansemond Indian Nation withdraws objections to pipeline expansion,” by Katherine Hafner (October 4, 2023)
Nantucket Current, “Balancing Wind Energy and Cultural Heritage Preservation,” by Will Cook, Greg Werkheiser, and Marion Werkheiser (September 16, 2023)
Washington Lawyer, “Keeping Up with Pioneers in Evolving Practices,” by Anna Stolley Persky (July/August 2023)
Lexis Nexis Practical Guidance, “Tribal Cultural and Historic Preservation,” by Marion Werkheiser and Olga Symeonoglou (2023)
RVA Magazine, “Rassawek: An Ancient Nation Continues to Fight an Uphill Battle,” by Carley Welch (October 20, 2020)
Politico, “The Black, Millennial Mayor Who Tore Down His City’s White Monuments,” by Andrew Lawler (August 9, 2020)
The Kojo Nmandi Show, WAMU, “The Monacan Indian Nation Fights To Keep A Historic Site Untouched,” by Julie Depenbrock (February 20, 2020)

PROFESSIONAL COMMITMENTS

Board of Directors, Chronicle Heritage
Board of Directors, SRI Foundation
Member, Virginia State Bar
Member, State Bar of California
Member, District of Columbia Bar