Jim Lighthizer Retirement Announcement

Jim Lighthizer announces his retirement to the dedicated members of the American Battlefield Trust after 20 years as the head of the organization. While Jim is looking forward to spending more time with his family, he has no intensions of "leaving" the Trust, as he will remain on the Board of Trustees and will also serve as President Emeritus. When Jim accepted the position in 1999, the Trust had 7,000 acres of preserved battlefield land. Thanks to our devoted supporters, that number has grown to 52,000 acres and also includes a deep network of history education content.

UPDATE: The American Battlefield Trust has begun a search to identify a successor to Jim Lighthizer, who plans to step back from his President role in 2020. A search committee has been organized under the leadership of Trustee Bob Daum and we have engaged the services of leading national executive search firm, Heidrick & Struggles, to assist the Board in this important search, selection, and transition effort. On December 6, the first phase of the process was completed with the approval of the President Position Specification. This document was developed after soliciting input from staff and Board members as well as from a number of external stakeholders.

Now comes the next phase during which we are developing candidates for consideration. We will provide updates on this process to keep you posted.