Coastal Georgia Historical Society Executive Director, Dr. Whitney Nell Stewart, Named to Georgia Trend Magazine’s 40 Under 40
Dr. Whitney Nell Stewart
Each year, Georgia Trend, the magazine of Georgia business, politics, and economic development, selects outstanding “40 Under 40” candidates from across the state. The magazine looks for successful, passionate nominees whose dedication to their roles and communities goes beyond the bounds of their day-to-day jobs. The Coastal Georgia Historical Society (CGHS) is thrilled to announce that the organization’s Executive Director, Dr. Whitney Nell Stewart, has been named to Georgia Trend’s 2026 40 Under 40 list. Dr. Stewart truly exemplifies each of the qualities that the magazine searches for and personifies CGHS’s commitment to our mission, collections, and community.
Dr. Stewart began her career in Texas, where she earned her Ph.D. in History from Rice University in 2017. As a tenured professor of history at the University of Texas at Dallas, she taught and mentored thousands of students and authored numerous publications including her first book, This is Our Home: Slavery and Struggle on Southern Plantations. This is Our Home has since been awarded the Deep South Book Prize from the University of Alabama’s Summersell Center for the Study of the South, among several other prizes. Dr. Stewart joined the Coastal Georgia Historical Society as the inaugural Ellen H. “Mimi” Rogers Director of Collections and Education in February 2025 and became the Society’s Executive Director in August of that year.
In her first year as Executive Director, Dr. Stewart has led CGHS members, volunteers, and staff in bold new initiatives, maintaining CGHS’s innovative energy and increasing enthusiasm for the Society—and for Coastal Georgia history as a field of its own. She directed the successful week-long Revolution on the Coast festival in March 2026, which engaged more than 2800 participants from 19 states and brought the Museum of the American Revolution’s First Oval Office Project to Georgia for the first time. In keeping with CGHS’s recent strategic plan, “Preserving the Past, Shaping the Future: 2030 Vision”, Dr. Stewart has also forged new avenues for community outreach. The CGHS Local History Initiative helps local businesses and organizations research, preserve, and share their unique stories; the History Traveling Trunks bring the important lessons of the World War II Home Front Museum to Glynn County classrooms; and upcoming initiatives like the Sherri Jones Distinguished Research Fellowship will bring more scholars into direct contact with Coastal Georgia history.
None of this is possible without a team who brings the same zeal and dedication to work with them every day. “I am beyond blessed to have a team that uses their unique set of skills and experiences to engage our community and region in the interactive and important work of history,” Dr. Stewart notes. “We all share a core value: we believe in the power of history not only for what it reveals about the past, but what it helps us understand about ourselves today and how we might shape a better world tomorrow. From the CGHS staff and volunteers to the Board and Society members to our community partners and sponsors, it takes the whole of us to ensure that Coastal Georgia history is valued and preserved for future generations, and I’m incredibly grateful to have so many working alongside us to do that.”
The selection of Dr. Stewart—made possible thanks to several key community leaders who contributed letters of support—also represents southeast Georgia’s first inclusion in Georgia Trend’s 40 Under 40 in more than five years. Since her earliest days at CGHS, Dr. Stewart has represented Coastal Georgia and the entirety of the state with enthusiasm and drive. As the next generation of CGHS leadership and the latest in a line of groundbreaking women to lead the organization, her inclusion on the 40 Under 40 list marks an inspiring beginning to her tenure. In his letter of support for Dr. Stewart’s nomination, CGHS Board President Steve Kerr wrote: “An Executive Director needs to be skilled in multiple areas and use tact and persuasion to secure support from truly diverse stakeholders invested in community improvement. By any definition, Whitney is a true leader.” CGHS staff, volunteers, and members look forward to working alongside Dr. Stewart to increase the state- and nation-wide profile of our Society, fulfill our catalog of ambitious projects, and encourage more Coastal Georgians to make history.