Shaw Sprague

Shaw Sprague joined the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 2012 and serves as Vice President of Government Relations, where he is a member of the executive leadership team and directs the organization’s federal advocacy strategy before Congress and the Administration. In this role, he leads a high-performing team and cultivates strategic relationships across government, nonprofit, and private-sector partners to advance a shared preservation agenda.

Shaw has a strong track record of building and managing broad-based coalitions that secure funding for historic preservation programs, strengthen state and federal incentives for building reuse, and elevate the role of preservation in addressing national priorities. His work emphasizes collaboration, aligning diverse stakeholders around policies that protect historic places and ensure their relevance for future generations.

Prior to joining the National Trust, Shaw advanced land conservation initiatives at The Trust for Public Land. He also served on Capitol Hill as a senior advisor to Senator Susan Collins, where he managed a wide-ranging policy portfolio including natural resources, trade, and judiciary issues.

Shaw holds a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School in Boston, Massachusetts, with a concentration in environmental, municipal, and land use law.