WASHINGTON, D.C.–The U.S. Senate voted by unanimous consent on December 22, 2022, to confirm Professor Sara C. Bronin of Connecticut as chairman of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP), following her nomination by President Joe Biden. Once sworn in, Bronin will lead the ACHP. The agency has operated under the oversight of its vice chairman, Jordan Tannenbaum, since June 2021.
"I am grateful to President Biden and the Senate for the incredible opportunity to lead the ACHP,” Bronin said. “Historic, tribal, and cultural resources connect us with our past, while offering a chance to shape our future. That is why preservationists must engage in current debates about energy policy, climate resilience, housing development, transportation infrastructure, tribal sovereignty, and the tax system.
“As chair, I hope to work with the agency’s experienced and knowledgeable staff to continue the ACHP’s involvement in these key issues, bringing a spirit of innovation, a commitment to inclusion, and a sense of deep responsibility to generations to come.”
Bronin is a Mexican American architect, attorney, and policymaker specializing in historic preservation, property, land use, and climate change. She is a tenured professor at Cornell University, with appointments in the Department of City and Regional Planning, the Rubacha Department of Real Estate, the Cornell Law School, and the Department of Architecture, and she is a Fellow of the Atkinson Center for Sustainability. Among her scholarly projects, she founded and directs the National Zoning Atlas, a multi-institutional effort to unlock research on the approximately 30,000 zoning codes that shape the American economy and society.
Active in public service, Bronin chaired Preservation Connecticut, served on the board of Latinos in Heritage Conservation, and served as an advisor for the National Trust for Historic Preservation. She also founded Desegregate Connecticut, led an award-winning overhaul of Hartford’s zoning code, and served as an advisor for the Sustainable Development Code.
Bronin holds degrees from the University of Texas, University of Oxford, and Yale Law School.
The chair serves a term concurrent with the term of the sitting President.