Caroline Legros Named Director of Education & Programs

Please join us in welcoming Caroline Legros as the John Marshall Center’s Director of Education & Programs, a new fulltime position created to lead existing and new education and outreach programs.

A former member of the Institute for Contemporary Art’s (ICA) education team, Legros co-developed and launched the ICA’s inaugural slate of public programming, including gallery tours and community engagement opportunities, as part of the ICA’s roll-out of 125 programs offered during the institution’s first six months of operation. Prior to ICA, Legros worked as Virginia Museum of History & Culture’s (VMHC) School Program Coordinator managing in-house educational programs and serving as the primary institutional contact for education-based programs, including coordinating education docents.

“I am excited to join the John Marshall Center in its efforts to help the public deepen its awareness of constitutional history. This work feels especially important at a time when so many of the issues being debated in the nation’s public square have roots in the rule of law and civic responsibility,” says Legros. “Offering a richer understanding of where our nation has been will better equip citizens to decide how to shape its future.”

Legros will join a team currently working under a grant by the Virginia Law Foundation to design new Advanced Placement lesson plans related to Marbury v Madison using footage from John Marshall: The Man Who Made the Supreme Court, a new documentary produced by Eaton Creative, as well as lessons designed around the VMHC’s Determined exhibit that explores the “400-year struggle for Black equality” in America. The new lesson plans will expand the John Marshall Center’s existing open access digital civics resources available at

justiceintheclassroom.net.

Legros’ hire is part of a multi-year strategic planning process, led by Bryan & Jordan Consultants, that yielded a focus on three major initiatives:

• developing a national academic center,
• engaging in a sustainability study of the JMF’s longstanding civics education program, Justice in the Classroom (JIC),
• and securing permanent office and programming space.

Strategic partnerships have helped the JMF make significant strides toward achieving those goals over the past several years: 

• The John Marshall Federal Courts Program, in partnership with William & Mary Law School and the Omohundro Institute of Early American History & Culture, was formed in 2019 to study the impact of our federal courts on American lives. The John Marshall Library, a digital portal of primary and secondary source documents and manuscripts, is under development with archivists affiliated with University of Richmond, University of Virginia, and George Washington’s Mount Vernon.
• The evaluation of JIC, conducted by Knowledge Advisory Group, led JMF to seek a fulltime Director of Education & Programs and to explore new programming, new lesson plans, and new remote learning opportunities.
• In 2019, the Foundation moved into space at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture, providing not only a home but endless programming and partnership opportunities.