Project Lead
The Trust for the National Mall is leading the implementation of Beyond Granite, a dynamic new set of commemorative artwork, performances, and installations designed to create a more inclusive, equitable, and commemorative landscape on the National Mall – and beyond.
As the leading nonprofit, nonpartisan philanthropic partner of the National Park Service dedicated to restoring, preserving, and enriching the National Mall, the Trust brings expertise, private funding, and in-kind support to time-sensitive restoration and sustainability projects on the National Mall. The Trust also mobilizes a volunteer operation and provides educational opportunities to ensure that the National Mall endures and evolves as a vibrant civic stage for all. With over 36 million visits each year, the National Mall’s aging infrastructure and visitor amenities are in urgent need of repair and improvement as we prepare for America’s 250th anniversary in 2026. The Trust is also the philanthropic partner of President’s Park, adjacent to the National Mall. To learn more and to support our mission visit www.nationalmall.org.
Project Partners
Established by Congress in 1924, the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) is the federal government’s central planning agency for the National Capital Region. Through planning, policymaking, and project review, NCPC protects and advances the federal government’s interest in the region’s development. The Commission provides overall planning guidance for federal land and buildings in the region by reviewing the design of federal and certain local projects, overseeing long-range planning for future development, and monitoring capital investment by federal agencies.
The National Park Service's National Mall and Memorial Parks preserves, protects and interprets symbolic, monumental and dignified civic spaces and commemorative works in the center of the nation's capital that honor American ideals and values, distinguished public figures and civilian sacrifices and contributions. National Mall and Memorial Parks serves as a public park and open space for First Amendment gatherings, national celebrations, active civic and cultural engagement, recreation and public enjoyment.
Pilot Exhibition Collaborators
Monument Lab is a nonprofit public art and history studio based in Philadelphia. Monument Lab works with artists, students, educators, activists, municipal agencies, and cultural institutions on participatory approaches to public engagement and collective memory. Founded by Paul Farber and Ken Lum in 2012, Monument Lab cultivates and facilitates critical conversations around the past, present, and future of monuments.
As a studio and curatorial team, Monument Lab collaborates to make generational change in the ways art and history live in public. Its approaches include producing citywide art exhibitions, site-specific commissions, and participatory research initiatives. Monument Lab aims to inform the processes of public art, as well as the permanent collections of cities, museums, libraries, and open data repositories. Through exhibitions, research programs, editorial platforms, and fellowships, it has connected with hundreds of thousands of people in person and millions online. Monument Lab critically engages our inherited symbols in order to unearth the next generation of monuments that elevate stories of artists, educators, and grassroots coalitions.
Justice & Sustainability Associates specializes in designing and implementing large and small group multi-stakeholder agenda setting and decision-making processes.
JSA focuses on using alternative dispute and conflict resolution techniques (fact-finding, facilitation, mediation, negotiation, consensus building, etc.). Its niche is to use these techniques in public policy, civic engagement and organizational development processes related to achieving sustainable community development, environmental justice and smart growth.
JSA has excelled in delivering measurable civic engagement in simple and complex urban development projects. In the Washington metropolitan region and throughout the U.S., we have successfully helped implement numerous community visioning, waterfront, community redevelopment and transportation projects.
LINK is a strategic communications, stakeholder engagement, and social impact consulting firm. By understanding and respecting the communities in which we operate, LINK helps its clients create and apply the right tools and strategies to translate challenges into opportunities for hyperlocal success.
LINK’s world-class and diverse team of professionals lead offices in Washington, D.C. (headquarters), Phoenix, St. Louis, New York, Austin, and Manchester, England and community-based work in communities across the country and around the globe.
Dr. Elizabeth Morton
Dr. Elizabeth Morton is a DC-based planning educator and consultant, specializing in urban design, cultural heritage and public spaces. She is currently teaching in George Washington University's Sustainable Urban Planning graduate program. Dr. Morton has worked for a variety of cultural organizations and has been appointed to numerous public art and planning advisory bodies.
Pilot Exhibition Team Members
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Catherine Townsend
President & CEO
Trust for the National Mall -
Teresa Durkin
Executive Vice President
Trust for the National Mall -
Marcel Acosta
Executive Director
National Capital Planning Commission -
Dr. Salamishah Tillet
Professor of Africana Studies
Rutgers -
Paul Farber
Director
Monument Lab -
Don Edwards
CEO & Principal
Justice & Sustainability Associates -
Donzell Robinson
COO & Principal
Justice & Sustainability Associates -
Dr. Elizabeth Morton
Adjunct Professor
George Washington University
and Planning Consultant -
Michael Akin
President
LINK Strategic Partners -
Julie Moore
Vice President of Communications
Trust for the National Mall -
Lauren Wilson
Senior Project Manager, Beyond Granite
Trust for the National Mall -
Julia Koster
Director, Office of Public Engagement
National Capital Planning Commission -
Michael Sherman
Director, Policy & Research Division
National Capital Planning Commission -
Johanna McCrehan
Urban Planner, Policy and Research
National Capital Planning Commission -
Aaron Webb
Senior Manager of Marketing and Communications
Trust for the National Mall -
Eduard Krakhmalnikov
Director of Public Engagement Programs
Trust for the National Mall -
Hana Hancock
Communications Manager
Trust for the National Mall -
Erin Plant
Public Engagement Coordinator
Trust for the National Mall -
Nico Rodriguez
Associate Director of Projects
Monument Lab -
Alexis Robinson
Associate
Justice & Sustainability Associates -
Nina Young
Project Coordinator
Justice & Sustainability Associates -
Connie Harvey
Creative Director
Connie Harvey Design -
Blair Richardson
Creative Director
MiniSuper Studio -
Tricia Edwards
Event Manager
Trust for the National Mall -
Destinee Hodge
Senior Director of Special Programs
Trust for the National Mall -
Jack Ronayne
Public Engagement Assistant
Trust for the National Mall -
Jasmine Musgrave
Manager, Marketing and Communications
Trust for the National Mall -
Sheena Pegarido
Vice President, Communications & Events
LINK Strategic Partners -
Kennedy Chester
Project Manager
LINK Strategic Partners -
Christian Clansky
Director of Community Engagement
LINK Strategic Partners -
Gina Ciralli
Senior Project Manager
Monument Lab -
Matthew Seamus Callinan
Project Specialist
Monument Lab -
Yannick Trapman-O'Brien
Project Specialist
Monument Lab -
Amelia Carter
Managing Director
Monument Lab