Donna Ann Harris is a native New Yorker who has lived and worked in Philadelphia for more than 30 years. Donna has worked in historic preservation for her entire career. She credits her parents with introducing her to historic sites during their many family vacations along the Eastern Seaboard. After college Donna worked at the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island as a seasonal interpreter for visitors and school children. At graduate school at Columbia University in NYC she earned a Master of Science degree in historic preservation and launched her career as the first executive director of Preservation New Jersey. Since then, Donna has worked for preservation organizations at the state and local levels in Philadelphia, on the Main Line and in Chicago. In Illinois she was the State Coordinator for Illinois Main Street for several years before starting her consulting firm Heritage Consulting Inc. in 2004. She is a nationally known speaker and trainer on downtown revitalization topics and works with historic sites on organizational sustainably issues. Her book, New Solutions for Historic House Museums: Ensuring the Long-Term Preservation of America's Historic Houses, is an outgrowth of a project suggested by the American Association for State and Local History. This project, to provide a guide for historic site stewards who were struggling or could no longer care for their historic site, is meant to provide alternatives and options to make sure that these landmark buildings are preserved. Her book, published under the AASLH joint publishing agreement with Rowman and Littlefield Publishers has generated considerable discussion and reviews in academic and preservation circles. This title has been a best seller for AASLH since 2007 and a second edition was published by Rowman and Littlefield/AASLH in November 2020. To learn more visit Donna's web site www.heritageconsultinginc.com.
