Jacqueline Drayer

Bachelor of Arts 2015, American Studies; Master of Arts 2018, Historic Preservation 

After college, Jacqueline Drayer lived and worked in Belgium as a Fulbright Research Fellow. She traveled across the country documenting art spaces that had once been casinos, artists' homes, and warehouses; writing a book based on her research; and frequently mispronouncing Dutch words. She then returned to DC to work at the DC Preservation League. There, she led a robust historic landmarks program, worked with communities to protect places important to them, and managed a grants program. Subsequently she worked at the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions, where she coordinated a project with the National Park Service that provides cultural resource survey applications and disaster resiliency training to local communities. Recently she became a Senior Architectural Historian at EBI Consulting, where she provides technical direction and quality control on Section 106 and National Environmental Policy Act reports for projects across the country.

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What excites you about the work you do? Historic preservation allows me to bring philosophical thinking about history, historiography, and representation into the built environment and public policy discussions. The architecture we protect and interpret impacts and is impacted by our notions of equity, community investment, sustainability, and how we approach our country's many histories.

How did GWU and the UHP prepare you for your professional journey? In what ways has your career evolved since you graduated from GWU? It was at GW that I discovered the field of historic preservation while searching for a college major. The research experiences I had there set me up for my first professional experience as a Fulbright Grantee. 

Advice for current UHP students: Be open to change, whether in your opinions or your circumstances.