“Preservation Action is excited to announce its Hero of the Year! Chosen by her peers from a field of outstanding preservation advocates, the 2022 Preservation Action Hero of the Year is Sarah Marsom of Ohio. Congratulations, Sarah Marsom!
Based in Columbus, Ohio, Sarah Marsom works to improve the preservation movement’s accessibility by empowering the next generation of community advocates and increasing representation of lesser known histories as a heritage resource consultant. Since entering the cultural resource field more than a decade ago (B.S. Parks and Recreation Management from Northern Arizona University, 2010; M.S. Historic Preservation from Eastern Michigan University, 2013), Sarah has had the pleasure of working across the country with a variety of nonprofits, corporations, and other entities to achieve their preservation goals.
She's the organizer behind #DismantlePreservation, sewist of Tiny Activist Project dolls, and an advocate for labor equity in the cultural resources field. Her work has received awards from both the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the National Council on Public History, in addition to being featured in Curbed, Traditional Building Magazine, and the National Park Service’s LGBTQ America Theme Study, amongst other publications and podcasts.
Taking place July 26 - 30, the 2021 Dismantle Preservation unconference works to continue pushing cultural resource conversations in a range of directions and features current students/recent graduates from around the world! Topics this year range from affordable housing to preserving skateparks to healing-centered planning, and so much more.
In April, Dismantle Preservation hosted its first in person Learning Lab in partnership with Old Salem Museum & Gardens. Free virtual educational offerings this summer includes one-on-one resume review with cultural resource practitioners, an Ask Me Anything with Alexandra Lange, a new Discord channel, and more! The Fall Learning Lab will be hosted in partnership with the Decay Devils in Gary, Indiana! Sign up at https://www.sarahmarsom.com/dismantle
Thank you, Sarah, for embodying what it means to be a Preservation Action Hero!”