NPPN Fall Convening and National Preservation Easement Summit

Downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin

September 18-19, 2025

Register Today for NPPN’s Fall Convening and/or National Preservation Easement Summit!

REGISTER

NPPN Fall Convening

September 18th and 19th

NPPN members will gather at the Fall Convening for meetings, tours and networking events in downtown Milwaukee. It’s the perfect opportunity to reconnect with colleagues from across the country and get the latest information on what’s happening in the field of preservation. View the full schedule and register.

Registration Fee: $200 – NPPN Members / $250 Non-Members

National Preservation Easement Summit

September 18th

Organizations that hold preservation easements or would like to start an easement program will hear from national experts and connect with colleagues for a full day of specialized programming. View the full schedule and register.

Registration Fee: $150

Planning to attend both events?

Registration Fee: $300

Register HERE.

NPPN Fall Convening Schedule

September 18 – 19

*Registration includes two lunches, breakfast, tour & Cocktail Supper Reception*

Thursday, September 18th

Downtown Milwaukee Conference Center, 161 West Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee

12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. | Partners Lunch – Featuring Topic Tables

Grab a bite to eat as you arrive and connect over shared interests. Topics:

  • Awards Programs
  • Endangered Properties Programs
  • Membership Programs
  • Organizational Management Issues
  • Historic Properties Redevelopment Programs

1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. | Affinity Group Sessions

This is your chance to meet with your Affinity Groups in person! Discuss challenges and opportunities big and small with the people who understand them best – your NPPN peers.

Affinity Groups: Statewide Organizations, Local Organizations and Big Cities

2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. | Federal Advocacy Update: The Road Ahead

Shaw Sprague (NTHP), Christina Hingle (NCSHPO), Rob Naylor (Preservation Action)

This is the place to be for the most current updates on the Federal legislative landscape as we prepare to advocate for the future of preservation. Join our panel of the nation’s top preservation advocacy experts to equip ourselves, stronger as a united field, for the road ahead.

3:30 – 4:00 p.m. | Q&A with Carol Quillen, President, National Trust for Historic Preservation

4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. | Tour of Journal Square

2024 Richard H. Driehaus Foundation National Preservation Award Winner

In downtown Milwaukee, a trio of former newspaper buildings has been reborn as a vibrant, interconnected hub for education, housing, and community. The ambitious redevelopment of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel required overcoming major design and finance challenges to reimagine a landmark deeply embedded in the city’s history. With support from J. Jeffers & Co, Heritage Consulting Group, and architecture firm EUA, the Journal Square Block project successfully transformed a fading industrial complex while preserving the site’s history as a cornerstone of Milwaukee’s public life. (From savingplaces.org)

5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. | Cocktail Supper Reception in the Starlight Room

3rd Street Market Hall – 275 W. Wisconsin Avenue

Enjoy Midwestern bites and good company in the hip 3rd Street Market Hall, just a short walk away. Meal and drink tickets will be provided.

Friday, September 19th

Downtown Milwaukee Conference Center, 161 West Wisconsin Avenue

9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. | Gathering & Continental Breakfast

9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. | NPPN Membership Meeting

NPPN Board President Catherine Stroh and Executive Director Kim Trent

Join us for updates on new NPPN programming and the opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback for the year ahead. The National Preservation Partners Network exists to serve you! This is your chance to learn about the newest tools and programs designed to support you, and to help us continue to improve and expand the value we bring to our members.

10:45 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. | Diversity, Housing, and Preservation – Data from NPPN Members in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

Katlyn Cotton and Alyssa Frystak, PlaceEconomics

12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. | Lunch – Featuring Topic Tables

Grab a bite to eat as you arrive and connect over shared interests. Topics:

  • Working with Diverse and Underrepresented Communities
  • Preservation Easement Programs
  • Fundraising / Development Programs
  • Communications
  • Rural Preservation

1:15 p.m. – 2:15 p.m. | Integrating Historic Trades Into Pre-Apprenticeship Construction Training

Manny Rodriguez and Megan Lydon, Revolution Workshop

Revolution Workshop (RW) is a nonprofit workforce development organization founded in 2017 by a small group of skilled trades employers and workforce leaders with a two-fold mission: to reduce inequity in Chicago by providing training leading to financial prosperity for residents in underserved communities; and to decrease the acute talent shortage in the construction sector by providing diverse trained workers to skilled-trades employers. In 2024, RW began integrating skilled historic trades exposure into their established training programs as part of a larger initiative to close the wealth gap for communities of color. Learn how RW is utilizing pre-apprenticeship training, advanced historic trades training, and transitional employment for program graduates to help make historic preservation education more accessible and equitable.

2:15 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. | Networking Break

2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. | Messaging the Current Moment: Making the Case for Your Work

Cindy Olnick, Cindy Olnick Communications & NPPN Board Member

Conveying the value of preservation has never been more important. How are you talking about your work now? How can we clearly connect preservation to urgent issues and everyday life? Using recent examples, the results of our brainstorming last spring in Asheville, and our previous discussions in Milwaukee, we’ll workshop some messages and strategies you can use right away to help your audiences understand what’s at stake.

4:00 p.m.-4:30 p.m. | Wrap Up Session: How Can We Help You Be Successful?

5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. | Happy Hour Meet-Up, Newsroom Pub – 137 E. Wells Street

Cocktail Supper Reception Guests

Guests of attendees are welcome to attend the Thursday evening Cocktail Supper Reception at 3rd Street Market Hall’s Starlight Room for an additional fee. Subject to availability. Purchase tickets HERE.

Hotel Block

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has reserved a block of rooms September 14 – September 19 for PastForward attendees at the Hilton Milwaukee – 509 W. Wisconsin Avenue. You can request the conference rate for Friday night as well, but it will be subject to availability.

Find more information on conference hotel reservations HERE.

Not a member yet? Learn more about the benefits of NPPN membership and how your organization can become a NPPN member HERE.

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