Bridging the Gap Webinar Series

We’re happy to announce the 2025 launch of a new webinar series funded by a grant from the Historic Preservation Education Foundation (HPEF). This series, entitled Bridging the Gap Between Theory and Practice, will provide specialized preservation training to emerging professionals entering the heritage field.

Many believe that there is a significant gap between the preservation theory learned in classrooms and the knowledge and skills needed for a successful career in preservation practice. Our training will aim to bridge this gap by addressing real-life applications that aren’t typically covered in academic settings. In a recent survey, we asked both professionals and graduate students in preservation what topics emerging professionals are not adequately familiar with when they enter the job market. Some of the most popular responses included familiarity with Section 106 and the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards, as well as skills in grant writing, technical writing, budgeting, and project management. Our webinar series will address these topics, facilitate stimulating discussions, answer questions, and provide additional resources for further study.

In our second episode of the Bridging the Gap webinar series, we will cover the basics of the Section 106 process. What is an undertaking? What triggers a Section 106 review? What steps are involved? Who are consulting parties in a Section 106 process?

Blythe Semmer, Assistant Director for Special Initiatives at the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, is a planner and historian. She focuses on improving federal preservation and interagency coordination through policy and guidance development and by educating Section 106 review participants about the requirements of the process. She previously coordinated the ACHP’s Section 106 training program and has assisted a range of federal agencies with National Historic Preservation Act compliance. Prior to joining the ACHP, Blythe worked in a State Historic Preservation Office and for Nashville’s Metropolitan Historical Commission. She holds a Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Planning and Design from the University of Maryland.

Krista Horrocks works as Department Manager of Education & Support Services for Ohio’s State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) at the Ohio History Connection (OHC), where she manages a team of administrators, grant managers, GIS coordinators, and database managers in the support of all program areas for the SHPO. She also serves as OHC’s cemetery preservationist, where she works providing research support, guidance, and presentations on all-things-Ohio-cemetery-related. Krista previously spent 8 years as an Archaeological Project Reviews Manager for the Section 106 review team and 10 years in cultural resource management as a Principal Investigator and Project Manager. She holds an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) in Archaeology from Hocking College (Nelsonville, Ohio), Bachelor of Specialized Studies (BSS) in Historic Anthropology from Ohio University (Athens, Ohio), and a Master of Arts (MA) in American Studies, focus in Public History, from Youngstown State University (Youngstown, Ohio). She is a 6th generation native Ohioan originally from the Village of Fredericktown, Knox County, Ohio.

In our first episode of the Bridging the Gap webinar series, we covered the basics of heritage legislation in the United States. How is our heritage system organized and governed at the federal and stste levels? What key laws should every preservationist be familiar with? Where does tribal heritage fit in?

Chris Cody is Associate General Counsel for the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Mr. Cody specializes in legal advocacy, including federal administrative processes like Section 106 and NEPA, local and state historic preservation laws, and litigation. Mr. Cody previously served as the Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer for the State of Arizona and as Manager of Advocacy and Staff Attorney for Historic Charleston Foundation in Charleston, South Carolina. Mr. Cody holds a B.A. in History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a J.D. from the University of South Carolina, and a M.A. in Preservation Studies from Tulane University. A native of McLean, VA, Mr. Cody lives in Madison, IN with his wife Kathryn and daughter Genevieve.

Shannon O’Loughlin is a citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and serves the Association on American Indian Affairs as its Chief Executive and Attorney. The Association is the longest serving national Native non-profit, since 1922. Shannon has been practicing law for more than 24 years and is a lecturer at Johns Hopkins University. Shannon serves as Vice Chair of the Board at Native Ways Federation, which educates about informed giving to Native-led nonprofits. She also serves on the Board of Potawatomi Ventures, the economic development corporation of the Forest County Potawatomi Nation, and serves as their Governance Committee Chair. She is a former Chief of Staff to the National Indian Gaming Commission, where she assisted in the development and implementation of national gaming policy, and oversaw the agency’s public affairs, technology, compliance and finance divisions. Shannon has also served Native Country in the private sector​ as an attorney​, leading a large national firm’s Native Nations law practice group that worked to strengthen, maintain and protect sovereignty, self-determination and culture. Shannon was appointed by Secretary​ of the Department of the Interior, Sally Jewell to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act Review Committee in 2013; and was appointed by President Barack Obama as the first Native American to the Cultural Property Advisory Committee within the State Department in 2015. ​Shannon received a B.A.​in American Indian Studies​ from California State University, Long Beach and joint M.A. and J.D. degrees from the University of Arizona​ in Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy​.