Local History & Historic Preservation Conference
About the Conference
The 2023 Local History and Historic Preservation Conference will be held at the La Crosse Center
October 18-20
Conference information will be updated on this website as it becomes available.
Keynote Speakers
Omar Eaton-Martínez
Senior Vice President for Historic Sites
National Trust for Historic Preservation

Omar Eaton-Martínez is the Senior Vice President for Historic Sites at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, where he leads the preservation, interpretation and overall stewardship of 28 historic sites across the country to tell the full American story. Prior to this, he led the Prince George's County historical resources: historic house museums, an aviation museum, the Black History Program and archaeological parks. He also oversaw the programming of those sites with an emphasis on preserving, sustaining and enhancing these resources, as well as engaging and building communities through education, outreach and innovation. Recently, he managed the interns and fellows program at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. Eaton-Martínez has worked at the National Park Service, the Office of the National Museum of the American Latino Commission and NASA, and he also was a K-12 teacher in New York City and Washington, D.C. He builds coalitions that support diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion.
Eaton-Martínez has had leading roles in racial equity organizations like Museums and Race: Transformation and Justice and Museum Hue, as well as the Museum as Site for Social Action project. His research interests are Afro Latinx identity in museum exhibitions; diversity and inclusion in museums and cultural institutions; and Hip-Hop history, culture and education. Moreover, he has supported public history projects centering blackness in Puerto Rico.
Eaton-Martínez participated as an American Alliance of Museums Diversity, Equity, Accessibility and Inclusion Senior Fellow dedicated to diversifying museum boards. He is a gubernatorial appointee to the Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the first commission of its kind in the country. He is a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., a husband and a father of four children.
Jason Steinhauer
Founder & CEO
History Communication Institute

Jason Steinhauer is a bestselling author and public historian who operates at the intersection of history, tech, social media and politics. Technology has profoundly re-organized our ways of knowing things about the world, and the positive and negative effects of technology must be balanced with a humanistic perspective. Steinhauer brings this approach to his work, where he writes and speaks about how social media, tech and the web are shaping our history, politics, democracy and future. Steinhauer is currently a Global Fellow at The Wilson Center and a Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute; a contributor to TIME and CNN; a past editorial board member of The Washington Post "Made By History" section; and a Presidential Counselor of the National WWII Museum. He previously served as Founding Director of the Lepage Center for History in the Public Interest. Prior to this, he worked for seven years at the U.S. Library of Congress.
Steinhauer is the founder and CEO of the History Communication Institute, which seeks to ensure the Web and social media foster healthy online information ecosystems that promote history, democracy and human rights. His best-selling book, "History, Disrupted: How Social Media & the World Wide Web Have Changed the Past," examines how history gets communicated on the Web. Steinhauer has traveled overseas three times with the U.S. Department of State as part of diplomatic exchanges between the United States and the European Union, meeting with government officials, scholars and students to discuss the effects of the Web and social media on public understandings of news, history and information. He has spoken at events across the United States and Europe and appears frequently in the media.
In his keynote, Steinhauer will discuss the rise of what he calls e-history, historical information designed for the social Web and which leverages the mechanics of the social Web in order to achieve visibility. In his talk he will demonstrate how e-history has come to shape and define what the public knows--or thinks it knows--about the past.
Session Schedule
Wednesday October 18
2:00pm
Wisconsin Council for Local History Board of Directors Meeting
2:00 - 4:00
4:00pm
Wisconsin Council for Local History Annual Meeting of Members
4:30 - 5:30
Conference Packet Pick-up
4:00 - 6:00
6:00pm
Wisconsin Council for Local History Dinner (offsite)
6:00
7:00pm
Film Screening: Wisconsin Pride at the Rivoli Theatre
7:00
Thursday October 19
7:00am
Registration and Continental Breakfast + Resource Center Open
7:00 - 9:00
OPENING PLENARY
Making History Together with Christian Øverland
8:00 - 8:45
9:00am
Top 10 Ways to Mess Up Your Historic Building

Fiscal Responsibility Is Sexier Than It Sounds
9:15 - 10:15The 1980 Cuban Refugee Program at Fort McCoy
9:15 - 10:15Postmarked for Local History
9:15 - 10:15Explore the Power of 21st Century Collaborations
9:15 - 10:15Take a break!
Resource Center Open + Snacks
10:15 - 10:45
Papers, Pictures and Patrons: The Basics of Managing an Archives
9:15 - 11:45Photo Corners for Exhibition and Storage
9:15 - 11:45Basic Training for Historic Preservation Commissioners
9:15 - 11:4510:00am
“How Did That Work?" Researching the Mechanical Systems at Hixon House

Developing a Community Preservation Ethic
10:45 - 11:45Blast from the Past: Using Pop Culture Nostalgia to Attract Exhibit Audiences
10:45 - 11:45How a Virtual Museum Turned Our Dream into a Reality
10:45 - 11:4511:00am
Noon
LUNCH & PRESENTATION
Cultivating Equity and Inclusion in Public History and Historic Preservation with Omar Eaton-Martínez
Noon - 1:00
1:00pm
Restoration Investigation at Circus World’s Historic Ringling Bros Business Office

Rural Historic Properties and County-Level Preservation Efforts
1:30 - 2:30It’s Not as Scary as You Think: Virtual Programming for Small Museums
1:30 - 2:30Presence of Slavery in Territorial Wisconsin and its Interpretation
1:30 - 2:30One-Stop Fundraising Shop: Your Questions Answered
1:30 - 2:302:00pm
Take a break!
Resource Center Open + Snacks
2:30 - 3:00
3:00pm
How to Develop and Implement a Preservation Plan

Building a History Army: Using Social Media to Drive Participation and Engagement
3:00 - 4:00Dark La Crosse: A Local History Success Story
3:00 - 4:00Inclusive Education: Connecting Content, Setting and Methods
3:00 - 4:00History Happens Here: Discussing Wisconsin's New History Center
3:00 - 4:004:00pm
Campfire Conversations
4:15 - 5:15
5:00pm
6:00pm
Students & Young Professionals Meet-up at Driftless Axe
6:00
Friday October 20
7:00am
Registration and Continental Breakfast + Resource Center Open
7:00 - 9:00
BREAKFAST AND PRESENTATION
History, Disrupted: How Social Media and the World Wide Web Have Changed the Past with Jason Steinhauer
8:00 - 8:45
9:00am
Archaeological Surveys for Urban Planning
9:15 - 10:15Historic Window Restoration

Public History, Community Partnerships and the UW System
9:15 - 10:15Stewardship of Native American Collections
9:15 - 10:15Take a break!
Resource Center Open + Snacks
10:15 - 10:45
Getting Started with Digitization Projects
9:15 - 11:45Creating Engaging Exhibits for Small History Organizations
9:15 - 11:45Wisconsin's Statewide Historic Preservation Plan
9:15 - 11:4510:00am
Dugout Canoes of Wisconsin
10:45 - 11:45Section 106 101: Complying with Federal Section 106 and Similar State Statutes
10:45 - 11:45A Fresh Look at Nathan Myrick & the Founders of Our Communities
10:45 - 11:45Top 10 Social Media Trends
10:45 - 11:4511:00am
Noon
LUNCH AND PRESENTATION
Awards Recognition & Closing Remarks with Christian Øverland and Staff
Noon - 12:30
How to Register
Regular Prices
Two-Day - $175
Thursday Only - $110
Friday Only - $105
Student Prices
Student Two-Day - $70
Student One-Day - $40
Wisconsin Historical Society Members receive a 10% member discount.
2023 Conference Partners
The Wisconsin Historical Society appreciates the support of our 2023 partners:
AIA Wisconsin
AIA Wisconsin is a Registered Provider for the AIA Continuing Education System (CES). AIA members will earn AIA/CES learning unit hours by participating in the designated sessions. Participants must attend entire session to receive AIA/CES credit.
Wisconsin Association of Historic Preservation Commissions
Have Questions?
Contact us at lhhpconference@wisconsinhistory.org.
Interested in submitting a session proposal for the 2024 conference? Please send an initial email to lhhpconference@wisconsinhistory.org by March 31, 2024.