Our Board

John M. Fowler retired in 2021 after serving 24 years as the Executive Director of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, overseeing the staff and daily operations of the ACHP. Before becoming Executive Director, Mr. Fowler was the General Counsel and Deputy Executive Director of the ACHP. In 2010, he received the Presidential Rank Award of Distinguished Executive for his work at the ACHP. He served twice as Chairman of the US Committee for the International Council of Monuments and Sites (US/ICOMOS) and was named a US/ICOMOS Fellow in 1994. He holds an honors degree in history from Princeton University and a law degree from Yale Law School. He is a member of the District of Columbia and US Supreme Court bars.

Manuel T. Ochoa Vice Chair has over 25 years’ experience in urban planning, housing, and community development. He served on the ACHP as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Grant Programs in the Office of Community Planning and Development, overseeing the Community Development Block Grant program, the HOME program, and Environmental Review Office. He was responsible for $30 billion in disaster recovery funds for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita as well as the Midwest Floods. During this time, he led the effort to launch HUD’s first Neighborhood Stabilization Program. Manuel is Principal and Founder of the Ochoa Urban Collaborative, a planning, community and economic development firm with an equity lens that provides strategy, policy, and implementation services to help people, neighborhoods, and communities revitalize and thrive. Previously, Manuel served as Director of Federal Affairs at the National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders (NALCAB) and Senior Policy Analyst and Program Director at Enterprise Community Partners.

Philip W. Grone is Vice President for Government Affairs at National Elevator Industry Inc. From 2001-2007, Mr. Grone served as Principal Assistant and Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Installations and Environment, representing the Secretary of Defense on the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. Subsequent to his Federal service, Mr. Grone was a senior official in the Internet Business Solutions Group of Cisco Systems. He subsequently established Findlay & Western Strategies, LLC, as a business and public policy consulting firm in 2011 and was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for the Defense Orientation Conference Association. He is currently a member of the National Policy Advisory Board for the Association of Defense Communities and the Board of Advisors for the Land Conservation Assistance Network. He holds a M.A. from the University of Virginia and a B.A. from Northern Kentucky University.

Julia King is a professor of anthropology and archaeology at St. Mary’s College in Maryland. She has 30 years experience studying, writing, and teaching about historical archaeology and Chesapeake history and culture. From 2003 to 2011, Dr. King served as an Expert Member on the ACHP. Her book, Archaeology, Narrative, and the Politics of the Past: The View from Southern Maryland, received a Book Award from the American Association of State and Local History in 2013. In 2018, the Society for Historical Archaeology presented Dr King with the J.C. Harrington Award in recognition of her scholarly contributions to the discipline. She has a Bachelor of Arts from William and Mary, a M.A. from Florida State University and a PhD from University of Pennsylvania.

Charlene Vaughn, Board Member AICP, retired in 2018 after a 39-year career on the staff of the ACHP. During her tenure, Charlene served as Assistant Director in the Office of Federal Agency Programs, and the only AICP-certified planner on the ACHP staff.  She oversaw Section 106 reviews, negotiated Programmatic Agreements, and coordinated the development of public policy statements with the ACHP members. Charlene is now a consultant with the Urban Collaborative, LLC, an architectural and planning firm located in Eugene, Oregon, specializing in military installation redevelopment and federal campus expansions. Charlene serves on the boards of the National Preservation Institute and the National Mall Coalition, actively participating in District of Columbia projects and national preservation activities. Since 2019, she has been a volunteer mediator with the District of Columbia Superior Courts. Charlene earned a Master’s Degree in Urban and Regional Planning from George Washington University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Urban Studies from Federal City College. As an alumna, she continues to mentor undergraduate students.

The National Trust Board Member is a statutory member of the ACHP and will be represented by its Deputy General Counsel Elizabeth Merritt on the Foundation Board. Foundation bylaws require that a sitting member of the ACHP be on the Board. The Foundation has partnered with the National Trust on past intern programs and sees Board representation for the Trust as enhancing collaboration in the future.

Tyriq Charleus Board Member interned in the first ACHP Preservation in Practice program and is currently a Historic Preservation Planner for the Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation in Baltimore City. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Architecture and Environmental Design and a Master of Architecture, both from Morgan State University. Charleus also serves as an adjunct professor, teaching architecture to first-year students at Morgan. He developed a deep appreciation for Baltimore during his time at Morgan and chose to make the city his home after earning his undergraduate degree. His passion for historic preservation stems from a love of uncovering forgotten stories and knowledge embedded in the built environment.