Christy Coleman, Executive Director of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, will highlight our Club’s focus on the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the launch of the American Revolution. She leads one of the country’s most significant historical institutions, overseeing the Jamestown Settlement and the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown, site of the surrender of British forces at the end of the war. Her distinguished career has spanned over three decades, including leadership of the American Civil War Museum in Richmond. An accomplished screen writer and public speaker, she has also served as a historical consultant for major film and television productions.

Coleman's leadership has been instrumental in developing inclusive and complex interpretations of history, advocating for the power of museums and narrative correction. She has received numerous accolades, including three honorary doctorates, and has been recognized as one of the "31 People Changing the South" by Time magazine and one of "29 Women Changing the World" by Worth magazine. Coleman's work has been recognized with the 2023 David McCullough Prize for Excellence in American Public History.