Home About ACHP ACHP Membership

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

Chairman John L. Nau, III
Houston, Texas (term of office: 2001-2009)* (General Public)

John Nau is president and CEO of Silver Eagle Distributors, L.P., a position he has held since 1990. He was appointed to the Texas Historical Commission by the Governor in 1993, and was reappointed to the commission in 1999 by then-Governor George W. Bush. Since 1995, Nau has served as chairman of the commission. In addition, he serves on the board of directors of The Civil War Preservation Trust, is a member of the Texas State History Museum Advisory Committee, and was appointed to the President's Transportation Infrastructure Streamlining Task Force.

Nau also serves on the board of the Downtown Historic District, is an advisory board member for the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance, and is a charter member of the Monticello Cabinet, Charlottesville, Virginia. He also sits on the executive committee of the National Capital Campaign of the University of Virginia, and the Board of Directors of the Greater Houston Partnership.

Vice Chairman Susan S. Barnes
Aurora, Illinois (term of office: 2002-2010)* (Expert)

Susan Snell Barnes is the president and CEO of The Landmark Group of Companies, headquartered in an Aurora, Illinois, landmark firehouse. She is founder and owner of the company, which specializes in the acquisition, renovation, and management of its multi-million dollar portfolio of Midwestern historic properties. She represented Illinois on the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Board of Advisors from 1993 - 2002, and is now an Advisor Emeritus. Barnes serves on the Chicago Advisory Board of The Trust for Public Land and the board of Landmarks Illinois (formerly Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois) in Chicago. She also serves on the board of Rush-Copley Medical Center and Purdue University's $1.5 billion Capital Campaign Committee. Having worked on the finance committees of several local, state, and federal elected officials, she continues, as she has since 1986, on the congressional finance committee of former Speaker of the House J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL). In 2006 she was designated the ACHP's Vice Chairman.

Rhonda Bentz
Washington, DC (term of office: 2006-2009) (General Public)

Rhonda Bentz works for Washington lobbying firm Navigators. Most recently she was vice president for public affairs with Visa USA, Inc., in Washington DC. Since 2000 she directed public affairs programs and served as press spokesperson on public policy and product issues. Prior to assuming that position, she was vice president of public affairs for APCO Worldwide, where she designed and implemented communications, grassroots, political and legislative strategies for issue campaigns. Bentz also has extensive prior experience in the public affairs, corporate, and political consulting fields based primarily in Washington, DC, and Sacramento, California. She has served as a member of campaign steering committees for U.S. Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN), and U.S. Representative Tom Feeney (R-FL), as a volunteer for the Bush-Cheney campaign, and in numerous other state and national campaigns.

Julia A. King
St. Mary's City, Maryland (term of office: 2007-2011) (Expert)

Julia A. King is associate professor of archaeology and anthropology at St. Mary's College of Maryland. With more than two decades' experience as an archaeologist, researcher, author, and educator, King holds a doctorate in American Civilization from the University of Pennsylvania, a master's degree in anthropology from Florida State University, and a bachelor's degree in anthropology and history from the College of William and Mary.

Ann A. Pritzlaff
Denver, Colorado (term of office: 2007-2011) (Expert)

Ann A. Pritzlaff is outreach coordinator for Colorado Preservation, Inc., where she oversees the annual Saving Places conference--the largest statewide preservation conference in the nation--and works on youth programs and heritage tourism. Through her service with the ACHP she has played a key role helping to create, grow, and sustain the Administration’s Preserve America initiative. With a long preservation resume that includes serving as the Arizona State Historic Preservation Officer, she holds a bachelor’s degree from Scripps College and a master’s degree in historic preservation from the University of Vermont.

Mark A. Sadd
Charleston, West Virginia (term of office: 2008-2012) (General Public)

Mark A. Sadd is a partner with the law firm of Lewis Glasser Casey & Rollins PLLC in Charleston, West Virginia, and has practiced law since 1992. Sadd has had a professional emphasis on real property, zoning, planning, land-use law, taxation, and other matters pertaining to property issues. He is a city councilman at large for West Virginia's capital, Charleston.

John G. Williams, III
Seattle, Washington (term of office: 2008-2012) (Expert)

John G. Williams, III, is a founding partner with Hoshide Williams Architects in Seattle, Washington, and is a member of the American Institute of Architects, Seattle Chapter. For decades, he has been involved professionally and personally with historic preservation issues. Williams is currently chairman of the Washington State Governor's Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, is the national vice president of Preservation Action, and serves on the Board of Advisors of the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions, for which he is a former chairman.

John A. Garcia
Albuquerque, New Mexico (term of office: 2007-2009) (General Public)

John A Garcia is chief economic development officer for the University of New Mexico.  He also consults for Grubb & Ellis New Mexico and oversees his management company, Hospitotally.  He is the former Secretary of the New Mexico Department of Tourism and the New Mexico Economic Development Department, and served as the Senior Officer of Cultural Affairs for the state of New Mexico. He has experience on a statewide level in developing cultural tourism.  He received his BBA from the Anderson School of Business at the University of New Mexico. 

A Native American or Native Hawaiian member, a governor, and a mayor are appointed by the President.

John L. Berrey is a member of both the Quapaw Tribe and Osage Nation. He serves as chairman of the Quapaw Tribal Business Committee and the Downstream Development Authority. He is also a fourth-generation rancher on the family’s original allotment on the Osage Reservation located north of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Since graduating from the University of Arkansas with a degree in journalism in 1991, Berrey has held a number of business positions, including several with the Quapaw Tribe.

Governor Matthew Blunt
Jefferson City, Missouri (term of office: 2006-2009)

Matt Blunt was born in Springfield, Missouri, and attended public schools in Strafford before graduating from Jefferson City High School prior to entering the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in history. He was elected governor November 2, 2004, after serving as Missouri Secretary of State, as a member of the Missouri General Assembly, and as an active duty naval officer. He remains a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Naval Reserves.

Mayor Bill Haslam
Knoxville, Tennessee (term of office: 2008-2012) 

Bill Haslam began his first term as mayor of Knoxville in December 2003. Previously, he was president and director of Pilot Corp., a Knoxville-based company operating convenience stores and travel centers nationwide. He also is the former chief executive officer of SAKS Direct, the e-commerce and catalogue division of Saks Fifth Avenue. His historic preservation accomplishments include leading an effort to renovate the historic Bijou Theater and reopen the Tennessee Theatre, working to save the S&W Cafeteria, and initiating a public planning process to create a vision for Knoxville’s South Waterfront. 

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

Secretary of the Interior (Hon. Dirk Kempthorne)
Designee: Hon. Lynn Scarlett, Deputy Secretary

Acting Architect of the Capitol (Stephen T. Ayers, AIA)


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

Administrator, General Services Administration (Acting Administrator David L. Bibb)
Designee: David L. Winstead, Commissioner, Public Buildings Service

Secretary of Defense (Hon. Robert Gates)
Designee: Alex Beehler, Acting Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Installations and Environment), Department of Defense

Secretary of Transportation (Hon. Mary Peters)
Designee: Tyler D. Duvall, Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy

Secretary, Department of Housing and Urban Development (Hon. Steve Preston)

Secretary, Department of Commerce (Hon. Carlos M. Gutierrez)

Secretary, Department of Education (Hon. Margaret Spellings)

Secretary, Department of Veterans Affairs (Hon. Dr. James Peake)

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

Chairman of the National Trust for Historic Preservation (Cliff Hudson)
Designee: Richard Moe, President, National Trust for Historic Preservation

President of the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers (Jay D. Vogt)
Designee: Nancy Schamu, Executive Director, National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers

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.

General Chairman, National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers
Designee: Janine Bowechop, Vice Chairman

Secretary, Department of Homeland Security
(Hon. Michael Chertoff)

Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency (Hon. Stephen L. Johnson)
Designee: Lyons Gray, Chief Financial Officer

*Serve until successor is appointed

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