Blumenthal & Murphy Applaud Senate Approval of Sara Bronin's Nomination to Serve as Advisory Council on Historic Preservation

[WASHINGTON, DC] – U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) applauded Senate confirmation of Sara Bronin’s nomination to chair the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.

“Sara Bronin’s extraordinary expertise and experience as a preservation advocate and steward will make her an outstanding chair of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation,” said Blumenthal. “Her commitment to this vital cause is demonstrated convincingly by her championing vulnerable community assets across Connecticut. In this new role, she will take this work to a national level.”

“Sara Bronin is an architect, attorney, and nationally-recognized expert on historic preservation – there is no one better suited to serve as chair of this council. I’m proud of the work she’s done to advance equity in Connecticut and the city of Hartford, and I’m confident she will bring the same expertise and passion to this new role. I’m thrilled to see her confirmed by the full Senate,” said Murphy.

As chair of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, Bronin will lead the agency in addressing policy issues, directing program initiatives, and making recommendations regarding historic preservation, enhancement, and sustainable use of our nation’s diverse historic resources to the President, Congress, and heads of other federal agencies.  

Last September, Blumenthal and Murphy introduced Bronin before her Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Hearing.

Sara Bronin is a Mexican-American architect, attorney, professor, and policymaker whose interdisciplinary work focuses on how law and policy can foster more equitable, sustainable, well-designed, and connected places. She is a Professor of the Cornell College of Architecture, Art, and Planning, an Associated Faculty Member of the Cornell Law School, and a Faculty Fellow of the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability. Bronin is also an elected member of the American Law Institute and leads the research team behind the groundbreaking Connecticut Zoning Atlas, the first interactive GIS map of all of the zoning regulations in a single state.

Bronin is a board member of Latinos in Heritage Conservation, an advisor for the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Sustainable Development Code, and the founder of Desegregate Connecticut, a coalition that successfully advanced the first major statewide zoning reforms in several decades. Previously, she chaired Preservation Connecticut, served on the city of Hartford historic preservation commission, and led Hartford’s nationally-recognized efforts to adopt a climate action plan and city plan, and to overhaul the zoning code. Bronin holds a J.D. from Yale Law School (Harry S Truman Scholarship), M.Sc. from the University of Oxford (Rhodes Scholarship), and B.Architecture/B.A. from the University of Texas.  While in law school, she clerked for then-Judge Sonia Sotomayor on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

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