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.

Erica Avrami, PhD, is the James Marston Fitch Assistant Professor of Historic Preservation at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, and a research affiliate with the Columbia Climate School's Center for Sustainable Urban Development. She received her B.A. in architecture and her M.S. in historic preservation, both from Columbia, and her PhD in Planning and Public Policy from Rutgers University.

Term of Office:
2024-2028
Summit, New Jersey
Expert

Erica Avrami, PhD, is the James Marston Fitch Assistant Professor of Historic Preservation at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, and a research affiliate with the Columbia Climate School's Center for Sustainable Urban Development. She received her B.A. in architecture and her M.S. in historic preservation, both from Columbia, and her PhD in Planning and Public Policy from Rutgers University.

Frank G. Matero received his education in anthropology, architectural preservation, and material conservation. As an educator and conservation practitioner, he has shaped architectural conservation discourse and practice in the U.S. and abroad for more than 35 years. Matero is Gonick Family Professor and Chair of the Department in Historic Preservation at the Stuart Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania.

Term of Office:
2023-2027
Wilmington, Delaware
Expert

Frank G. Matero received his education in anthropology, architectural preservation, and material conservation. As an educator and conservation practitioner, he has shaped architectural conservation discourse and practice in the U.S. and abroad for more than 35 years. Matero is Gonick Family Professor and Chair of the Department in Historic Preservation at the Stuart Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania.

Monica Rhodes is an international award winning, accomplished cultural preservationist with more than 15 years of experience leveraging preservation as a strategic tool for advancing socially and economically inclusive heritage and preservation practices.

Term of Office:
2022-2026
Midlothian, Texas
Expert

Monica Rhodes is an international award winning, accomplished cultural preservationist with more than 15 years of experience leveraging preservation as a strategic tool for advancing socially and economically inclusive heritage and preservation practices.

Sonny Ward is a California architect and serves the California Department of Consumer Affairs as President of the California Architects Board. He holds a B.Arch. from Woodbury University and an M.Arch. from the University of California-Los Angeles. He serves on the National Center on Adoption and Permanency Board of Advisors, Woodbury University Architecture of Civic Engagement Advisory Board, and is an Emeritus Board Member for the Family Equality Council.

Term of Office:
2023-2027
Los Angeles, California
Expert

Sonny Ward is a California architect and serves the California Department of Consumer Affairs as President of the California Architects Board. He holds a B.Arch. from Woodbury University and an M.Arch. from the University of California-Los Angeles. He serves on the National Center on Adoption and Permanency Board of Advisors, Woodbury University Architecture of Civic Engagement Advisory Board, and is an Emeritus Board Member for the Family Equality Council.

Jane Woodfin joins the ACHP following a lifetime of public service and leadership. She was raised in historic Lexington, Massachusetts, and counts among her distant first cousins the midnight rider Paul Revere. Her mother worked for the curator of the JFK Library. After receiving her law degree from Georgetown University (magna cum laude), Woodfin practiced communications law before serving as Assistant Attorney General of Michigan for seven years. She served 26 years working for members of the U.S.

Term of Office:
2024-2028
McLean, Virginia
General Public

Jane Woodfin joins the ACHP following a lifetime of public service and leadership. She was raised in historic Lexington, Massachusetts, and counts among her distant first cousins the midnight rider Paul Revere. Her mother worked for the curator of the JFK Library. After receiving her law degree from Georgetown University (magna cum laude), Woodfin practiced communications law before serving as Assistant Attorney General of Michigan for seven years. She served 26 years working for members of the U.S.

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

Amelia Marchand earned a BA in anthropology from Eastern Washington University, an MA in environmental law and policy from Vermont Law School, and has more than 25 years working in the cultural and natural resources fields. She co-founded an Indigenous-led plant and pollinator conservation nonprofit, L.I.G.H.T. Foundation, and volunteers with the Center for World Indigenous Studies, an education, research, and public policy nonprofit.

Indian Tribe Member
Term of Office:
2024-2028
Colville Indian Reservation, Washington

Amelia Marchand earned a BA in anthropology from Eastern Washington University, an MA in environmental law and policy from Vermont Law School, and has more than 25 years working in the cultural and natural resources fields. She co-founded an Indigenous-led plant and pollinator conservation nonprofit, L.I.G.H.T. Foundation, and volunteers with the Center for World Indigenous Studies, an education, research, and public policy nonprofit.

Hon. John C. Carney (Delaware)
Governor
Hon. Randall L. Woodfin (Birmingham, Alabama)
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. Thomas E. Austin, PE, PMP
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. Adrianne Todman
Acting Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Hon. Brenda Mallory
Chair, Council on Environmental Quality
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
Chair, National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers
Designee
Valerie Grussing
Executive Director, National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers
Martha Nelson
Chair, National Trust for Historic Preservation
Designee
Carol Quillen
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.

Samantha Bosshart
Chair, National Preservation Partners Network
Abigail Christman
Chair, National Alliance of Preservation Commissions
Susan Snell Barnes
ACHP Foundation
Ann Alexander Walker
Preserve America Youth Summit Director