(S-2) The Bicentennial and Beyond: Reshaping Preservation for 2026

Thursday, 10:45 am - 12:00 pm

Room 213

About this Session

Come explore the evolution of historic preservation from the 1970s to today! The National Historic Preservation Act was active for 10 years when the Bicentennial of 1976 marked 200 years of American independence, bringing with it an infusion of capital that bolstered our field.

By the 250th anniversary in 2026, historic preservation made immense strides while facing significant setbacks. Many of our sites use infrastructure, institutional documents, and interpretation from the Bicentennial era while stewards work creatively to modify them for new audiences and site needs.

This session is part-panel and part-roundtable discussion featuring speakers from New Jersey State Parks, Forests & Historic Sites, Hargrove International, Inc., and Palisades Interstate Park to observe how site management, visitors and interpretation have evolved since the 1970s, making recommendations to adapt existing preservation methods for the 2020s.

Presented by

Olivia VF Chaudhury

Olivia VF Chaudhury was born in New York and raised in Dhaka, Bangladesh. She earned a B.S. Urban and Regional Studies and an M.A. Historic Preservation Planning from Cornell University. Her research explores the American imaginary through events such as...

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Francesca Costa

Francesca Costa is a Public Historian at the Palisades Interstate Park in New Jersey where she oversees the Interpretive Ranger Program, and the park website. Other duties include assisting with park programming, giving illustrated talks, and leading history hikes. Francesca...

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Eric Nelsen

Eric Nelsen was hired as a seasonal employee at the Palisades Interstate Park in New Jersey in 1992. He earned a degree in English from Montclair State University in 1997, and the next year became a full-time public historian at the...

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Cheryl Hargrove

Author, Instructor, and 40-year travel industry veteran, Hargrove is best known as the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s first Director of Heritage Tourism. During her tenure, Hargrove developed the key steps and principles for sustainable tourism through a historical and...

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Elizabeth Dowd

Elizabeth Dowd began her career in the 1990s in the North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office as an Environmental Review Specialist and as a Preservation Planner in Greenville, NC. Upon returning to her native New Jersey, she was a Historic...

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Rebecca Fitzgerald

Rebecca Fitzgerald serves as the Administrator of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s State Park Service, overseeing the management and operations of 39 state parks, 11 state forests, and five recreation areas spanning more than 450,000 acres. She began...

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