Staff Recommendations for AHA26

After more than a year of preparation, it is finally time for the 2026 AHA annual meeting in Chicago! While we travel to the midwest, we gathered suggestions from our staff of sessions and events that AHA26 attendees just won’t want to miss.

Laura Ansley, director of publications

AHA26 will feature our fourth annual Op-Ed Workshop, which is one of my favorite events. But what I’m most excited for is a new workshop that follows the same model. On Saturday, January 10 at 1:30 p.m., the Nonfiction Trade Book Proposal Workshop will share advice and tips from authors, editors, and an agent about trade publishing. After the panel, attendees will be able to get personalized feedback in small groups. Professional development has become a key piece of the AHA annual meeting, and I’m excited that we continue to help historians to find their way into new publishing opportunities.

Debbie Ann Doyle, meetings director

For most of the meeting, you’ll find me staffing the AHA’s Information Desk near registration. So the only session I regularly get to attend is the annual Gender Equity Breakfast, since I staff the committee that organizes it. The conversation is always thought provoking, and I am looking forward to this year’s discussion on “Gender as a Conservative Category of Analysis?” I find that sessions are an excellent way to catch up on historical research that is relevant to contemporary conversations, and wish I had time to learn about The USA at 250 and the Meanings of Patriotism, or attend one of several sessions on the history of gun culture in Europe and the United States.

Brendan Gillis, director of teaching and learning

There are so many great teaching and learning sessions at AHA26, that it’s hard to choose just one. I’m looking forward to the presidential session National History Day and the Power of Student Research, which will feature students Avani Nandi and Maria Tinoco Sandoval in conversation with the 2025 National History Day senior division Teacher of the Year, the director of Chicago Metro History Day, and National History Day’s deputy director, educational programs. Hearing budding historians discuss the thrill (and frustrations) involved in independent research should provide just the jolt of energy I need on Sunday morning.

Alexandra Levy, director of communications and public affairs

I’m excited for the second annual Sinclair Workshop on Historical Podcasting, especially the conversation with NPR’s Throughline and the panel on Engaging Storytelling. I’ve enjoyed helping to organize the workshop for the past two years (despite not being a podcaster myself, other than an avid listener!). I’m disappointed my schedule will likely not allow me to attend Classification, Declassification, and Disappearing Data: Updates and Perspectives on Government Archives and Access, which is among the many conference sessions offering important context relevant to the current moment.

Elizabeth Meggyesy, publications and communications associate

At my first AHA annual meeting in 2023, I was able to slip away from the conference hotel and attend an incredible LGBTQ+ walking tour of Philadelphia. I enjoyed oriented myself to the city and exploring its rich local history, so now I’m always eager to see what local tours the program holds. Readers should check out the Tour of Bronzeville with Chicago Mahogany Tours on Saturday, January 10 at 10:00 a.m. This bus tour will explore Chicago’s historic Bronzeville neighborhood with stops at the Eighth Infantry Armory, Ida B. Wells-Barnett’s mansion, the Supreme Liberty Life Insurance Building, and more.

Jake Purcell, meetings and programming specialist

While ideally you can find me at the AHA’s Information Desk for 95 percent of the meeting, I always look forward to seeing the new undergraduate history research at the First and Second Undergraduate Poster Sessions and General and Thematic Undergraduate Lightning Rounds. This year, I will regret not getting tips on Publishing Off the Tenure Track or brushing off my medievalist “auxiliary disciplines” at Prosopographical Approaches to Premodern Women’s History.

Ben Rosenbaum, public affairs associate

After working on the AHA’s federal advocacy over the last year, I’m excited to share this work directly with our members at the annual meeting. In The Historian as Advocate: A Strategic Seminar on Influencing Policy, our government relations partner Jess Venable will be sharing a strategic framework to guide attendees in their advocacy for the issues that matter to historians.

Sarah Weicksel, executive director

I’m especially looking forward to the plenary sessions this year. The Thursday night plenary, “Let Facts Be Submitted to a Candid World”: Historians, their Publics, and the 250th Anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence, brings together historians and other scholars working in a range of venues, to discuss tensions between memory, commemorations, and history, and public engagement. On Saturday night, we’ll be talking about “Making History Indispensable at Your Institution: Historians and General Education.”

Rebecca L. West, marketing coordinator

At each annual meeting, I look forward to seeing the documentary that won that year’s John O’Connor Film Award, so I’m excited to attend the screening of Hannah Arendt: Facing Tyranny. Director Jeff Bieber, co-director and producer Chana Gazit, and archive producer Pearl Lieberman will participate in a Q&A following the screening. I know that they’re excited to talk with historians about their film, and I always find the conversations between filmmakers and my fellow historians interesting and illuminating.

Rachel Wheatley, education and professional affairs associate

For AHA26, I will be assisting my colleagues from home, and I’m excited to follow the action on Bluesky (follow along with me @historians.org on Bluesky or on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram!) and see what our attendees love about Chicago, history, and each other. I’m especially looking forward to hearing about the Career Contacts at the Annual Meeting session where attendees will get to speak with professionals from a wide variety of career pathways like publishing, museums, nonprofits, education and more. Stop by to hear about their careers and get inspired about your own!