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

[WASHINGTON, DC] – Today, U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) applauded the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s approval of Sara Bronin’s nomination to chair the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. In a bipartisan 12-8 vote, the committee advanced Bronin’s nomination to be considered by the full Senate.

“Today’s bipartisan vote highlights Sara Bronin’s extraordinary expertise and experience as a preservation advocate and steward,” said Blumenthal. “Her commitment to this vital cause is demonstrated convincingly by her championing vulnerable community assets across Connecticut. As chair of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, she can take this work to a national level.”

“Sara Bronin is a nationally-recognized expert in historic preservation law and policy. I’m proud of the work she’s done in Connecticut, and her work to advance equity in our state will prove invaluable as chair of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. I look forward to her confirmation by the full Senate,” said Murphy.

If confirmed 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. Video of opening remarks by Blumenthal and Murphy is available for download here.

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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