President Donald J. Trump has announced his intent to nominate Aimee Jorjani as the first full-time chairman of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP). See the White House announcement here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/president-donald-j-trump-announces-key-additions-administration-34/

Mrs. Jorjani will be the ACHP’s first full-time chairman since the December 2016 enactment of the National Park Service Centennial Act, which contained amendments to the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) converting the current part-time chairman to a full-time position. The chairman provisions took effect on January 20, 2017, commencing a four-year term for that position. The chairman is nominated by the President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Current ACHP Chairman Milford Wayne Donaldson FAIA will serve until Mrs. Jorjani is confirmed.

“I congratulate ­­­­Aimee on her nomination as chairman of the ACHP,” Donaldson said. “Her leadership and dedication to historic preservation will ensure a bright future for the agency. She is a strong advocate for historic preservation, and her presence will add to the national preservation program.”

The idea for converting the ACHP chairman status emerged from the 2006 Preserve America Summit. A task force comprised of the national preservation organizations in 2011 also advanced the idea as part of a comprehensive proposal to improve the leadership of the national historic preservation program.

Mrs. Jorjani has nearly 20 years of experience in the fields of government and cultural resources from a variety of perspectives including both executive and legislative branches, as well as the non-profit sector. Her career began on Capitol Hill working as a legislative aide to Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI). She later moved to the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and held several positions, including serving as the Deputy Secretary’s Special Assistant for Historic Preservation and as DOI’s first Department-wide Historic Preservation Officer. She has a Masters in Historic Preservation from Goucher College.

Mrs. Jorjani succeeds Donaldson, who served two full terms as ACHP chairman. Donaldson’s terms were marked by a strong commitment to and fulfillment of the ACHP’s leadership role in the federal historic preservation program as originally intended by the provisions of the NHPA that created the agency and much of the nation’s historic preservation infrastructure. His leadership in involving all people in preservation and telling the stories of underrepresented groups has been widely commended.