Gary Sandling
Presidential Sites Summit Speaker
Gary Sandling is a seventeen-year veteran of Monticello, and currently is the Vice President of Strategy and Chief Content Officer as of January 2021. In this role, Gary will lead TJF’s strategic planning efforts around the 250th anniversary of American independence. He also oversees the foundation’s efforts to align its programming and communications channels to share the honest, inclusive history of Monticello and of Thomas Jefferson. From 2009 through 2020, Gary served as Vice-President of Visitor Programs and Services. In this role, he leveraged the Foundation’s scholarly work for Monticello’s more than 400,000 visitors annually through tours, workshops, and activities onsite and digital resources offsite. He worked for six years at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation training interpretive staff, planning programs, as a site supervisor, and as a front-line interpreter. Gary has produced new tours and programs and collaborated with colleagues on exhibitions including the Life of Sally Hemings exhibition. He also served as President (2016-2018) and Past President (2018-2020) of the Virginia Association of Museums. He is a graduate of Vanderbilt University. He holds M.A. and M. Phil. degrees in History from Yale University.
