IN OCTOBER 2020, David Duncan took over the position of president of American Battlefield Trust, following Jim Lighthizer’s long tenure. A lifelong Virginian, Duncan became a member of the Civil War Trust in the 1990s. When Jim Lighthizer became the president in 1999, he hired Duncan as chief development officer for his background in direct mail and fundraising. Over Duncan’s two decades in that role, the organization—renamed the American Battlefield Trust in 2018 with an expanded mission—has raised $240 million and preserved nearly 45,000 acres of battlefield.
CWT: Tell me the challenges you are facing.
Jim announced his intention to retire formally in October 2019, and the world had not so radically changed at that point. My first interview
