Greg Werkheiser

Founding Partner
703.408.2002

Greg Werkheiser is a serial entrepreneur, cultural heritage and civil rights attorney, and leadership educator. He advances four strategies for shared social progress: leverage history; prepare leaders; engage directly; and secure rights.

Greg is cofounder of the law firm Cultural Heritage Partners, PLLC. To strengthen bridges between humanity’s past, present, and future, CHP serves clients worldwide who seek to solve complex challenges involving the preservation of artifacts, art, architecture, landscapes, sacred places, and living traditions. Greg’s advocacy has resulted in major victories for Indigenous and Black cultural heritage and civil rights, in particular.

Greg is also cofounder and CEO of technology company ARtGlass, a global pioneer in augmented reality (AR) software. ARtGlass enables museums, historic sites, and cultural attractions to offer immersive tours to millions of visitors, easily layering digital visuals and sound over real-world places and objects, as experienced through transparent smartglasses, tablets, and phones.

Named among America’s leading civic educators by the Carnegie Foundation for Teaching, over two decades Greg founded and led five national centers fostering movements toward new approaches to leadership education aimed at solving major societal challenges. These groundbreaking institutes include the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership at the University of Virginia’s youth programs in bipartisan civic engagement (formerly the Virginia Citizenship Institute), the Phoenix Project and its programs in social entrepreneurship and civic capacity-building in severely distressed communities, the George Mason University Center for Social Innovation, the Presidio Institute and its programs in cross-sector leadership, and the ARCUS academy for emerging leaders in heritage preservation.

To advance more thoughtful public leadership Greg has stood as a candidate for the Virginia legislature, earning the endorsement of The Washington Post, and raising more financial support than any prior candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates. His platform drove deeper debate in the Commonwealth about government ethics and electoral reform, civil rights, educational opportunity, child welfare, and transportation.

A student of oratory, Greg has written speeches at the White House, at the U.S. Embassy in Paris, and for candidates for national office. He is a frequent speaker on topics such as the societal implications of the exponential growth in technology, the value of heritage preservation, the evolving nature of public leadership, and the necessity of political engagement.

Greg earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law. He earned his B.A. in government from the College of William and Mary, where he served as student government president, chaired the statewide student coalition protecting investments in public higher education, and cofounded the NAACP.

REPRESENTATIVE ENGAGEMENTS

  • Led the federal civil rights lawsuit on behalf of an American Indian tribe against the State of New Jersey for undermining state recognition of the tribe.
  • Advised foreign governments seeking international cooperation on strategies for protecting their cultural heritage sites at risk of looting.
  • Negotiated a successful conclusion to the historic resources review process for the nation’s first off-shore wind farm, resulting in multi-million dollar investments in preservation,
  • Protected the Black Creek Site, a major Native American archaeological and sacred site, through 5-years of precedent-setting litigation – now a state park.
  • Managed Preservation 50, the multi-year national commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the National Historic Preservation Act, uniting an unprecedented coalition of public, nonprofit, and private partners.

REPRESENTATIVE PRESENTATIONS

  • Keynote Speaker” “National Native American Heritage Month,” National Labor Relations Board, Office of EEO, Washington, DC 2017.
  • Opening Keynote: “The Future of History,” U.S. Naval Academy, The Old Line State Summit, Annapolis, MD 2017.
  • Opening Keynote: “The Future of History,” Adler Theatre, Preserve Iowa Summit, Davenport, IA 2016.
  • Presenter: “Preservation50,” National Trust for Historic Preservation, PastForward Conference, Washington, DC, 2015.
  • Keynote Speaker, “The Future of Cultural Property Law,” Santa Clara University School of Law, Cultural Heritage Law Society, Santa Clara, CA, 2015.
  • Plenary Speaker, “Tribal Energy Development & Cultural Preservation,” Ute Tribe Energy Conference & Expo, Denver, CO, 2014.
  • Opening Speaker, “Building A Cross-Sector Leadership Movement,” The Presidio Institute & White House Forum on Cross-Sector Leadership, San Francisco, CA, 2013.
  • Keynote Speaker, “Keys to Success for Community Action Outcomes,” Community Action Partnership Management & Leadership Training Conference, San Diego, CA, 2013.
  • Panel Moderator, “Social Enterprise for Nonprofits,” Nonprofit Bootcamp 2013, Microsoft Campus, Mountain View, CA, 2013.
  • Keynote Speaker, “Solving Complex Social Challenges,” Social Innovation Program Commencement Ceremony, The Newseum, Washington, DC, 2012.
  • Opening Speaker, “Entrepreneurship in the Age of Austerity,” Accelerating Social Entrepreneurship Conference, Arlington, VA, 2011.
  • Speaker, “On New Forms of Public Leadership,” Active Citizen’s Conference, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA, 2011.
  • Keynote Speaker, “The Power of Social Innovation Education,” Launch of the George Mason University Center for Social Entrepreneurship, Fairfax, VA, 2011.
  • Keynote Speaker, “The Story of Your Founding,” NAACP William and Mary Chapter 15th Anniversary Celebration, Williamsburg, VA, 2009.
  • Presenter: “Preservation Litigation: The Battle to Save the Black Creek Site,” William and Mary School of Law, Williamsburg, VA, 2010.
  • Commencement Keynote, “Leading Your Life in Exponential Times,” South County High School, Fairfax, VA, 2010.
  • Keynote Speaker, “Phoenix Rising: Reviving Economically Distressed Communities,” Spencer Center for Civic and Global Engagement at Mary Baldwin College, Staunton, VA, 2008.

PRESS

Greg’s work has appeared in more than 500 media outlets, including in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and on National Public Radio. Examples include:

ADMISSIONS


  • Virginia State Bar
  • District of Columbia Bar
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
  • U.S District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
  • U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, pro hac vice
  • Virginia Supreme Court