A Common Cause To All Agenda – Virginia American Revolution 250 Commemoration

A Common Cause to All: A Convening of the States

Monday, March 24 – Wednesday, March 26, 2025
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

The VA250 Mobile Museum Experience: Out of Many, One will be available to visit throughout the conference!

Colonial Williamsburg Merchants Square
Monday, March 24 – Wednesday, March 26
Hours: 10:00 am – 6:00 pm

Sunday, March 23

Optional (Richmond): To mark the 250th anniversary of Patrick Henry’s famous “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” speech, the Virginia Museum of History & Culture will be livestreaming the historical reenactments from St. John’s Church at 1:30 pm and 3:30 pm. Also, all Common Cause registrants get free admission to the VMHC and access the Virginia’s official 250th exhibition, “Give Me Liberty: Virginia & the Forging of a Nation,” which was produced in partnership by the VMHC and Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, and is presented by VA250.

Monday, March 24

Conference attendees are encouraged to visit our partner museums.	American Revolution Museum at Yorktown and Jamestown Settlement Colonial Williamsburg Fort Monroe
2:00 pm	Registration Opens
4:45 pm	Welcome to Virginia Reception (Virginia Room Foyer)
5:45 pm	Special Presentation: Of Liberty and Death featuring Patrick Henry Welcome Remarks and Dinner The Honorable Glenn Youngkin, Governor of Virginia Keynote Remarks Pete Williams, Emmy Award-Winning Journalist

Tuesday, March 25

7:00 am	Breakfast Buffet
8:30 am	The Impact of the Declaration of Independence The Honorable Douglas Ginsburg, Senior Judge, United States Court of Appeals and Professor of Law at the Antonin Scalia Law School of George Mason University
9:15 am	Keynote Remarks Alan Taylor
10:00 am	An Interview with Rick Atkinson, Pulitzer Prize Winning Author Interviewed by Douglas Bradburn, President and CEO, George Washington’s Mount Vernon
10:45 am	Renewing American Democracy John Bridgeland, CEO, More Perfect and Former White House Domestic Policy Director (Moderator) Dale Anglin, Director, Press Forward Brian Hooks, Chairman and CEO, Stand Together and President, Charles Koch Foundation Dr. Jane Kamensky, President and CEO, Thomas Jefferson Foundation Cecilia Munoz, Co-Chair, More Perfect and Former White House Domestic Policy Council Director
11:45 am	Lunch Buffet
1:00 pm	An Interview with Ken Burns, Award Winning Documentary Filmmaker Interviewed by Jeffrey Rosen, President and CEO, National Constitution Center
1:45 pm	I Too, Am America Christy Coleman, Executive Director, Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation (Moderator) Cainan Townsend, Executive Director, The Moton Museum Jorge Zamanillo, Founding Director, National Museum of the American Latino Emily August, Chief Public Engagement Officer at the Weitzman National Museum of Jewish History
2:25 pm	250th Legacy: Collaborations at the Regional, State, and National Levels Jamie Bosket, President and CEO, Virginia Museum of History & Culture (Moderator) Amy Braden, Director of Programs, USC-Huntington Early Modern Studies Institute, and the USC Mellon Humanities in a Digital World program Mia Nagawiecki, Vice President for Education Strategy & Civic Engagement, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
3:00 pm	Educational Resource Fair (Tidewater Room) Attendees are invited to discover valuable resources from national organizations that support 250 programs, events, and outreach.
4:00 pm	Cocktail Reception
5:00 pm	States Dinner The Honorable Mamie Locke, Member, Virginia Senate Carly Fiorina, VA250 National Honorary Chair and Chair, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Board of Trustees The Honorable Stephen Adkins, Chief of the Chickahominy Tribe
6:50 pm	Gather in Arrival Hall for a Processional to the Governor's Palace led by the Colonial Williamsburg Fife and Drums
7:00 pm	Processional to the Governor’s Palace led by the Colonial Williamsburg Fifes and Drums
7:30 pm	Preview of Ken Burns’s Upcoming Film, The American Revolution (Palace Green) Join Ken Burns and co-directors Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt as they speak to his latest project prior to a special preview of the film on an outdoor screen. (Chairs will be provided for conference attendees. Please dress for the weather.)

Wednesday, March 26

7:00 am	Breakfast Buffet
8:00 am	Breakout Sessions: State 250th Planners Local VA250 Committees
9:15 am	Youth250: Making the 250th Matter to Younger Generations Caroline Klibanoff, Executive Director, Made By Us
10:00 am	Indigenous Perspectives on the 250th Scott Stephenson, President and CEO, Museum of the American Revolution (Moderator) The Honorable Stephen Adkins, Chief of the Chickahominy Indian Tribe Kitcki Carroll, Executive Director, United South and Eastern Tribes, Inc.
11:00 am	From Start to the Finish, Lessons from the States John Dichtl, President & CEO, American Association for State and Local History (Moderator) Jason Hanson, Chief Creative Officer and Director of Interpretation and Research, History Colorado and Commissioner, America 250 - Colorado 150 Margaret Koch, Director, Bullock Texas State History Museum and Chair, Texas America250 Commission Cheryl Wilson, Executive Director, American Revolution 250 Commission (VA250)
11:45 am	Lunch Buffet
1:00 pm	Closing Keynote The Honorable John Charles Thomas, Justice, Supreme Court of Virginia (retired)
2:00 pm	Closing Event in Colonial Williamsburg Historic Area The Declaration of Independence united many voices into one Common Cause. Join us for this one-time event as we align with partners across the nation in our shared march towards 2026.