The ACHP's 24 statutorily designated members, including the chairman who heads the agency, address policy issues, direct program initiatives, and make recommendations regarding historic preservation to the President, Congress, and heads of other federal agencies. Members meet several times per year to conduct business. ACHP members are from various federal agencies, local and state government, the public, and historic preservation organizations. 

Council Members

Four members of the general public and four historic preservation experts are appointed by the President, including the chairman and vice chairman.

Sara C. Bronin was confirmed by unanimous consent by the United States Senate in December 2022 to serve as the 12th chair of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. A Mexican American, she is the first person of color to serve in this position. Chair Bronin is on leave from her tenured position at Cornell University, where she serves as Professor in the College of Architecture Art & Planning, Professor in the Rubacha Department of Real Estate, an Associate Faculty Member of the Law School, and a member of the Graduate Faculty in the Field of Architecture. Chair Bronin received a J.D. from Yale Law School, an M.Sc. in Economic and Social History from the University of Oxford, where she was a Rhodes Scholar, and received a B.Arch. and B.A. in the Plan II Liberal Arts Honors Program from the University of Texas at Austin.
Chair
Term of Office:
2023-2025
General Public
Sara C. Bronin was confirmed by unanimous consent by the United States Senate in December 2022 to serve as the 12th chair of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. A Mexican American, she is the first person of color to serve in this position. Chair Bronin is on leave from her tenured position at Cornell University, where she serves as Professor in the College of Architecture Art & Planning, Professor in the Rubacha Department of Real Estate, an Associate Faculty Member of the Law School, and a member of the Graduate Faculty in the Field of Architecture. Chair Bronin received a J.D. from Yale Law School, an M.Sc. in Economic and Social History from the University of Oxford, where she was a Rhodes Scholar, and received a B.Arch. and B.A. in the Plan II Liberal Arts Honors Program from the University of Texas at Austin.

Jordan E. Tannenbaum, an ACHP staff member from 1972-82, has been Chief Development Officer of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum since 2004. He is responsible for directing a $1 billion comprehensive campaign and overseeing all of the Museum’s fundraising activities including major gifts, the annual fund, planned giving, and corporate and foundation relations. From 1999-2004, Tannenbaum was Vice President for Development for Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life in Washington, D.C.

Vice Chairman
Term of Office:
2021-2025
Fairfax, Virginia
General Public

Jordan E. Tannenbaum, an ACHP staff member from 1972-82, has been Chief Development Officer of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum since 2004. He is responsible for directing a $1 billion comprehensive campaign and overseeing all of the Museum’s fundraising activities including major gifts, the annual fund, planned giving, and corporate and foundation relations. From 1999-2004, Tannenbaum was Vice President for Development for Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life in Washington, D.C.

John G. Finley is Chief Legal Officer of Blackstone, an investment firm, and a member of the firm’s Management Committee. Before joining Blackstone in 2010, Finley had been a partner with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett for 22 years where he was a member of that law firm’s Executive Committee and Co-Head of Global Mergers & Acquisitions. 

Term of Office:
2020-2022
New York, New York
General Public

John G. Finley is Chief Legal Officer of Blackstone, an investment firm, and a member of the firm’s Management Committee. Before joining Blackstone in 2010, Finley had been a partner with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett for 22 years where he was a member of that law firm’s Executive Committee and Co-Head of Global Mergers & Acquisitions. 

Former Connecticut State Representative John H. Frey is a real estate broker and lifelong resident of Ridgefield, established in 1708 and the location of the only land skirmish in Connecticut during the Revolutionary War. He lives in a restored 1753 residence that was the home of a Revolutionary War soldier. He served as president of the Lounsbury House (formerly the home of the late Connecticut Governor Phineas C.

Term of Office:
2020-2024
Ridgefield, Connecticut
General Public

Former Connecticut State Representative John H. Frey is a real estate broker and lifelong resident of Ridgefield, established in 1708 and the location of the only land skirmish in Connecticut during the Revolutionary War. He lives in a restored 1753 residence that was the home of a Revolutionary War soldier. He served as president of the Lounsbury House (formerly the home of the late Connecticut Governor Phineas C.

Rick Gonzalez is President and Co-Founder, with his father Ricardo, of REG Architects in West Palm Beach, specializing in architecture, historic preservation, interior design, and community planning. He earned two architecture degrees from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he first discovered his love of historic architecture. He also studied design in Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Italy. 

Term of Office:
2020-2023
West Palm Beach, Florida
Expert

Rick Gonzalez is President and Co-Founder, with his father Ricardo, of REG Architects in West Palm Beach, specializing in architecture, historic preservation, interior design, and community planning. He earned two architecture degrees from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he first discovered his love of historic architecture. He also studied design in Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Italy. 

Kristopher King studied architectural history at Trinity College and obtained a Masters in Historic Preservation from the University of Pennsylvania. Over the past 25 years, he has developed deep professional connections and knowledge of Charleston. He has managed hundreds of historic properties under conservation easements, has developed and built numerous projects, and worked on countless rehabs and restorations.

Term of Office:
2020-2024
Charleston, South Carolina
Expert

Kristopher King studied architectural history at Trinity College and obtained a Masters in Historic Preservation from the University of Pennsylvania. Over the past 25 years, he has developed deep professional connections and knowledge of Charleston. He has managed hundreds of historic properties under conservation easements, has developed and built numerous projects, and worked on countless rehabs and restorations.

Luke Nichter is a Professor of History and James H. Cavanaugh Endowed Chair in Presidential Studies at Chapman University in Orange, California. He is also a 2020-2021 National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow. His area of specialty is the Cold War, the modern presidency, and U.S. political and diplomatic history, with a focus on the “long 1960s” from John F. Kennedy through Watergate. Nichter is a noted expert on Richard Nixon’s 3,432 hours of secret White House tapes.

Term of Office:
2020-2022
Bowling Green, Ohio
Expert

Luke Nichter is a Professor of History and James H. Cavanaugh Endowed Chair in Presidential Studies at Chapman University in Orange, California. He is also a 2020-2021 National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow. His area of specialty is the Cold War, the modern presidency, and U.S. political and diplomatic history, with a focus on the “long 1960s” from John F. Kennedy through Watergate. Nichter is a noted expert on Richard Nixon’s 3,432 hours of secret White House tapes.

Jay D. Vogt is the recently retired director of the South Dakota State Historical Society and State Historic Preservation Officer. A South Dakota native, Vogt is a past president of the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers, and he has served on several national task forces on various historic preservation issues.  Vogt is also active in the American Association for State and Local History. He and his wife Elizabeth live in Pierre, South Dakota, and have three grown sons, Gabriel, Joshua, and Zachary.    

Term of Office:
2019-2023
Pierre, South Dakota
Expert

Jay D. Vogt is the recently retired director of the South Dakota State Historical Society and State Historic Preservation Officer. A South Dakota native, Vogt is a past president of the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers, and he has served on several national task forces on various historic preservation issues.  Vogt is also active in the American Association for State and Local History. He and his wife Elizabeth live in Pierre, South Dakota, and have three grown sons, Gabriel, Joshua, and Zachary.    

A member of an Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization, a governor, and a mayor are appointed by the President.

Reno Keoni Franklin is Chairman, Kashia Band of Pomo Indians, and Vice Chairman of the Sonoma County Indian Health Project, a position he has held since 2002. Franklin previously served as Vice Chairman of the Kashia Band of Pomo Indians from 2010 to 2012.
Indian Tribe Member
Term of Office:
2016-2020
Santa Rosa, California
Reno Keoni Franklin is Chairman, Kashia Band of Pomo Indians, and Vice Chairman of the Sonoma County Indian Health Project, a position he has held since 2002. Franklin previously served as Vice Chairman of the Kashia Band of Pomo Indians from 2010 to 2012.
Vacant
Governor
Hon. Robert Simison (Meridian, Idaho)
Mayor

Two federal agency heads and the Architect of the Capitol are permanent members of ACHP.

Hon. Tom Vilsack
Secretary of Agriculture
Hon. Deb Haaland
Secretary of the Interior
Hon. J. Brett Blanton
Architect of the Capitol

Seven federal agency heads are designated by the President to terms on ACHP.

Hon. Robin Carnahan
Administrator, General Services Administration
Hon. Lloyd J. Austin III
Secretary of Defense
Hon. Pete Buttigieg
Secretary of Transportation
Hon. Alejandro Mayorkas
Secretary of Homeland Security
Hon. Marcia Fudge
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Hon. Miguel Cardona
Secretary of Education
Hon. Denis McDonough
Secretary of Veterans Affairs

Ex-officio representatives of national preservation organizations round out ACHP's membership.

Ramona Bartos
President, National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers
Designee
Erik Hein
Executive Director, National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers
Shasta Gaughen
Board Chairman, National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers
Designee
Valerie Grussing
Executive Director, National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers
Martha Nelson
Chair of the National Trust for Historic Preservation
Designee
Jay Clemens
Interim President/CEO, National Trust for Historic Preservation

ACHP Observers

Designated observers may actively participate in certain activities of the membership, but may not make or second any motion and may not vote.

Hon. Jennifer Granholm
Secretary of Energy
Hon. Brenda Mallory
Chairman, Council on Environmental Quality
Paula Mohr, PhD
Chair, National Alliance of Preservation Commissions
Katherine Slick
ACHP Foundation
Ann Alexander Walker
Preserve America Youth Summit Director