By Bethany L. Hawkins

There are only a few weeks left before the early bird deadline for registering for the 2025 AASLH/OLHA Annual Conference. This year’s program offers great opportunities to build leadership skills as well as connecting with other history practitioners in similar leadership roles. In fact, there is at least one leadership-focused session in each block of concurrent sessions.

Here are a few of the sessions that excited me in my role as Executive Vice President and Chief of Operations with AASLH.

• Trauma-Informed Leadership: Advancing the American Experiment (Wednesday, September 10, 9 am-12:30 pm, $45) This preconference workshop is very timely. It helps leaders nurture a compassionate leadership style that encourages emotional safety and resilience in the workplace.
• History Leadership Institute Forum (Wednesday, September 10, 1:30-5 pm, $45) Also a preconference workshop, this session helps build leadership skills no matter what your current role is. It is led by Andrea Jones who coordinates AASLH’s History Leadership Institute.
• If History Is Hot, Why Are Museum Admissions Declining? (Thursday, September 11, 8:30-9:45 am) Although heritage tourism is increasingly popular, history organizations are seeing declines in attendance and museum store sales. Discuss why this is happening and strategies to reverse the trend.
• Making Sense of Numbers: Storytelling and Finance at Historic Sites (Thursday, September 11, 2-3:15 pm) Most of us do not enter the field with an accounting background and must build those skills on-the-job. This session will help build confidence in tacking financial activities at history organizations of all sizes.
• Values Matter: Building Shared Purpose in Chaotic Times (Thursday, September 11, 4:15-5:30 pm) For six months, one group of museum leaders experimented with using core values as a meaningful compass for their work. Attendees will leave with a step-by-step guide for identifying and activating values at work.
• Museum Leadership in a Time of Change (Friday, September 12, 8:30-9:45 am) This session recognizes the challenges in our profession following COVID. Costs are up, memberships and other revenue are down. How can we use our organizations unique assets and strengths as leaders to help then not only survive but thrive.
• FSA Tips: Real Talk About Burnout (Friday, September 12, 11 am-12:15 pm) The leaders of history organizations are tired. Join AASLH’s Field Services Alliance to join colleagues to share experiences and collaborate on realistic, actionable strategies for self and communal care amidst systematic burnout.
• Salaries, Demographics, and Perspectives of the Public History Workforce (Friday, September 12, 2:15-4:15 pm) This working group session will share early insights from AASLH’s National Survey of Public History Practitioners and use these findings to create more inclusive environments for staff and volunteers and stronger, more sustainable institutions.
• Building Humane Leadership and Work Culture (Saturday, September 13, 8:30-10:30 am) This working group will discuss the evolution of leadership skills/training and how social movements, DEAI, and trauma-informed practices have shaped our current field.
• Partnerships Between Local Media and History Organizations for Greater Impact (Saturday, September 13, 9-10:15 am) Attend this session to hear how local news organizations are collaborating with history organizations to combine resources for community engagement, increase the ability to tell undertold stories, fundraise, and more.
• The Three-Legged Race: Transformational Owner/Advocate Partnership (Saturday, September 13, 10:15 am-12 pm) This session will focus on the lessons learned as two organizations work in partnership to open and support a new historic site.

In addition to these great sessions, there are also numerous opportunities to meet and mingle with other leaders in the field including the History Leadership Institute Reception, exhibit hall breaks, evening events, and the CEO Forum.

Find more information about the 2025 AASLH/OLHA Annual Conference on the AASLH website. Early bird registration closes July 25.