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Latinos in Heritage Conservation Appoints Executive Director
Contact:
Dr. Sarah Zenaida Gould | Co-Chair | 361-247-0575 | latinoheritageconservation@gmail.com
Latinos in Heritage Conservation Appoints Executive Director
Only National Organization Focused on Increasing Latinx Representation in Historic Preservation -
Tucson, AZ, April 22, 2022 – Latinos in Heritage Conservation (LHC) named Sehila Mota Casper as the inaugural Executive Director of the premier national organization dedicated to increasing Latinx representation in historic preservation in the United States.
“Sehila Mota Casper is a recognized preservation expert and leader who will take the work LHC launched in 2014 as an all-volunteer organization to the next level. We are truly fortunate to have Sehila serve as our first Executive Director,” said Dr. Sarah Zenaida Gould, co-chair of LHC and chair of the search committee.
LHC will benefit from Casper’s extensive preservation network. Casper, who was previously the heritage tourism coordinator for the City of Austin and a senior field officer for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, has also served as a founding board member at LHC. She will lead LHC as it enters a new era, supported with a $750,000 two-year grant from the Mellon Foundation.
“We are grateful that support from the Mellon Foundation opened the doors for us to hire someone of Sehila’s demonstrated talent. Her track record of identifying and stewarding Latinx historic sites is unparalleled,” said Desiree Aranda, co-chair of LHC.
Casper is the chair of LHC’s biennial national conference, Congreso 2022, which is scheduled to take place April 28-30th in Denver, Colorado. The conference will feature U.S. Congressman Raul Grijalva, U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Kenneth Salazar, and Sara C. Bronin, nationally recognized expert on preservation policy, among others.
"It's a privilege to be the inaugural Executive Director of LHC," said Casper. "As a founding board member of the organization, our vision has been to build a more inclusive and equitable preservation movement. I look forward to building on this work and transforming our nation's cultural landscape."
Casper, a longtime historic preservationist and Latinx heritage advocate, is based in Texas where she serves on the board of the National Collaborative for Women’s History Sites, Preservation Texas, Texas Dance Hall Preservation, the Texas Historical Commission’s State Board of Review, and the Friends of the Texas Historical Commission.
About Latinos in Heritage Conservation
Founded in 2014, Latinos in Heritage Conservation is the leading nonprofit organization for the preservation of Latinx places, stories, and cultural heritage in the United States. Latinos in Heritage Conservation envisions a nation that values Latinx history and recognizes it as a part of the greater American story. It is building a diverse network of intergenerational advocates conserving Latinx sites and living cultures in the fabric of American society to attain inclusion and representation in the field of heritage conservation and affirm the value of Latinx history in the hemispheric struggle for social justice.