Richmond Times Dispatch columnist Michael Paul Williams recently caught up with Christy Coleman, the CEO of the American Civil War Museum. She has just been recognized by Time Magazine as one of “31 People Who Are Changing the South.”

Included in the piece is some of what’s new at Tredegar:

Five years after the merger of the American Civil War Center and the Museum of the Confederacy, the American Civil War Museum is preparing to open a new building in May at Historic Tredegar. The nearly 30,000-square-foot space will house the museum’s collections, including a new core gallery called “A People’s Contest: Struggles for Nation and Freedom in Civil War America.” The new building will also include storage space and five offices. The Tredegar foundry building will be converted from an exhibit space into an events venue. The exhibits are being installed now in the new space.

“Every day I go in there, I’m just so ecstatic to see this vision we’ve worked on for years now really come into fruition,” Coleman said. “This is another game-changer.”

The Museum continues to chin out some noteworthy events. It’s Foundry Series is pretty weighty. On January 24th it will have a program on Politics and the Supreme Court that features Dr. Timothy Huebner, Rhodes College, Memphis and will be moderated by Dr. Henry L. Chambers, University of Richmond School of Law. But it’s (free) “History Happy Hours” should also not be overlooked. On January 14, the Museum’s own Morgan Floyd will be hosting one called “Fight Like A Girl” at the Capital Ale House.