Commissioners

Lisa Kersavage, Chair

Lisa Kersavage has more than two decades of experience working at the intersection of historic preservation, urban planning, and sustainability, and a strong track record of executive leadership in both government and the non-profit sector.

Prior to her appointment as Chair, she served as LPC’s Executive Director for seven years overseeing the agency's operations, policy development, and strategic planning, and before that as LPC’s Director of Special Projects and Strategic Planning. Before joining LPC, Lisa was the Project Manager of Changing Course, an ambitious design competition to reimagine a more sustainable Lower Mississippi River Delta, bringing teams together from around the world to create innovative visions for one of America’s greatest natural resources. Responsible for the planning, development, and initial implementation of the project, she worked in collaboration with staff from the Environmental Defense Fund and Van Alen Institute, as well as the New Orleans-based Leadership Team, institutional and corporate partners, and consultants. Before joining EDF and VAI, she was the Senior Director of Preservation and Sustainability at the Municipal Art Society of New York, where she also served as the Director of Advocacy and Policy and the Kress/RFR Fellow for Historic Preservation and Public Policy. She also has held positions as a public policy consultant to the William Penn Foundation in Philadelphia, Executive Director of the James Marston Fitch Charitable Foundation, and Executive Director of Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts.

Lisa received her M.S. in historic preservation, with an urban planning focus, from Columbia University and her B.A. in art and architectural history from Penn State University.