A new nominee for chairman of the White House’s Advisory Council on Historic Preservation has been named, placing a community activist and architect into a position of influence that had been only a part-time role until 2016.
"President Joe Biden will nominate Sara Bronin, who is the founder of Desegregate Connecticut and the former chair of Preservation Connecticut, as chairman of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the administration announced Thursday evening.
Bronin, who is married to Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, has specialized in “historic preservation, property, land use, and climate change,” and is an incoming professor at Cornell College of Architecture, Art, and Planning, the White House said. Bronin is also the founder of Desegregate Connecticut, a group working to reform Connecticut’s planning and zoning laws. She previously was a professor at the UConn Law School.
“I’m honored that President Biden nominated me for this position,” Bronin told the Cornell Chronicle. “If appointed, I hope to help ensure that our country’s preservation policies enable inclusive and joyous places – while at the same time advancing more sustainable and equitable transportation, energy infrastructure and housing. I’ll also work to increase public engagement with preservation issues, something that is core to Cornell’s mission of providing innovative, interdisciplinary historic preservation education.”
Bronin has “led Hartford’s nationally recognized efforts to adopt a climate action plan and city plan, and to overhaul the zoning code,” the White House said.
Bronin, who is Mexican-American, is a board member of Latinos in Heritage Conservation. She also serves as an adviser for the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Sustainable Development Code.
Bronin’s nomination comes after former council chairman Aimee Jorjani stepped down in February."
