In an effort to support emerging leaders and amplify youth perspectives in the field of preservation, place stewardship, and community building, the Washington Trust is proud to offer the PLACES’ Advancing Leaders (PALs) Program. This program supports first-time attendance at the PLACES conference for students and young professionals with an interest in developing their network, growing as leaders, and deepening their understanding of place-based professions.
PLACES is Washington’s annual statewide conference focused on the continued care of place through historic preservation, placemaking, and economic vitality, brought to you by the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation and the Department of Archaeology & Historic Preservation.
Applications are now open through July 15 for our 2026 cohort.
About the PALs Program
Program Overview
PALs will attend PLACES 2026, held in Ellensburg, WA, October 6-8. Each participant will be matched with a leader in a related field to serve as a mentor, connecting with their mentor prior to and/or during the conference to discuss educational and professional paths. As a cohort, participants will be connected with each other, members of the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation team, and alumni of the program.
Following the conference, each participant will be asked to write an article about a relevant topic, ideally inspired by their first-time attendance at the conference to be published on the Washington Trust’s website.
This award includes the cost of registration for the PLACES conference, travel funding to the conference, and a one-year membership to the Washington Trust.
Eligibility
In alignment with the goals of the program, applicants should meet the following criteria:
- Student or young professional, including those young to the field (within 5 years of professional experience)
- In historic preservation, community development, architecture, history, archaeology, anthropology, engineering, construction, economics, sociology, or a related field
- Demonstrated interest in preservation, place stewardship, economic development, and/or the Main Street Approach
- Currently residing in Washington State
Timeline
Candidates will be informed of their acceptance status and any next steps by the end of August. Please let us know if this timeline presents any challenges for you.
Have Questions?
Why Apply?
Words from past participants on how this program impacted them:
“Each [participant in our cohort] had a different topic or interest area in preservation. … That was the first time I saw how multi-disciplinary preservation can be—it touches so many different fields.” –Cameron Wong, Development Specialist at Asian and Pacific Islander Americans in Historic Preservation (APIAHiP) and 2023 cohort member
“It was a great experience that inspired me to pursue a career in historic preservation. I can’t wait to hopefully work with the Trust and attend more conferences in the future.” –2022 cohort member
“The writing piece, while a little daunting, was one of my favorite parts of the program as it made me reconsider my perspective of my city’s organization, and the state and national organization’s approach as well.” –2022 cohort member
“The most memorable thing to me was how fun and welcoming everyone was. … It opened up to me a community that I could aspire to get involved in—all of these people who wanted the best for their towns while preserving their history.” –Patrick Hanley, Public Works GIS Supervisor, City of Vancouver and 2018 cohort member
“The conference showed me the variety of professions that can fall under the preservation umbrella, and it inspired me to think more broadly than I had before. I ended up deciding to pursue an advanced degree in urban planning, and I think that attending [the conference] was one of the steps I needed to get there.” –Katie Enders, Associate Planner at the Puget Sound Regional Council and current Washington Trust board member; 2018 cohort member
“Attending the [conference] placed me in the same room alongside preservation professionals from across the state of Washington. Historic preservation has had an immeasurable impact on my life ever since.” –John Rodezno, Architectural Designer at TIBEB.SPACE and 2018 cohort member
“The Trust really opened the door to preservation for me in a way that otherwise my master’s program wasn’t able to, and I’m so thankful for that at the PLACES Conference, I was chatting with engineers and architects and downtown nonprofit directors and preservationists—a really interesting mix of professional people. It made me realize that history can be a remunerative career. When you’re a young professional with student debt and you see this ecosystem where people are spending money rehabilitating these buildings and they’re relying on preservationists to help—that made me realize that there were careers to be had here.” –Logan Camporeale, Historic Preservation Specialist at the City | County of Spokane and 2017 cohort member
Read more from past program participants here.
Ready to Apply?
Photos by (from top to bottom): Casey Evans Media, Films by Rach, Jonelle McCoy, and Films by Rach.