Carter C. Hudgins, is the president and CEO of the Drayton Hall Preservation Trust, a 501c3 responsible for the operation and administration of Drayton Hall, a historic site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Charleston, S.C. It is one of the finest examples of American architecture to survive from the colonial period. Dr. Hudgins has worked in the fields of archaeology, history and historic preservation for more than 20 years. Prior to coming to Drayton Hall, he worked as a senior staff archaeologist for the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities Jamestown Rediscovery Project. He has completed archaeological field work throughout southeastern North America and the Caribbean, in addition to instructing undergraduate and graduate students.

After graduating with a B.A. in history from Hampden-Sydney College, Hudgins received his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in history and material culture from Royal Holloway, University of London. He has lectured and published on the history, archaeology, and material culture of early America and post-medieval England with a particular focus on the 17th and 18th centuries. Hudgins is a board member of the Porter Gaud Alumni Association, an advisory member of the Charleston World Heritage Coalition, an advisory member of the American College of the Building Arts, an advisory member of The Mayor’s Walled City Task Force in Charleston S.C., and a project member of the First Colony Foundation.