Meet the Historic Preservation Officer

With the AOC's mission to Serve, Preserve and Inspire, the charge for the continuity and longevity of our buildings is no small task. The AOC's commitment to preservation is essential. The heritage assets in its care are among the nation's most significant and are recognized around the world as an image of the United States government and its representative democracy.

There is a powerful feeling that emanates when you are on the Capitol campus. Part of that sense of place is created by the heritage assets, including artwork and architectural features that require a special kind of care to maintain and ensure that they endure. Understanding and maintaining high standards for preservation is central to the agency's work conducted on heritage assets. Actions and interventions conducted by the AOC every day impact the life of a building. Conscious of preserving the heritage assets in its care, the AOC implements appropriate design solutions to ensure modern-day safety and technology needs are met in order to serve and inspire.

Preservation Policy and the Historic Preservation Officer

The Capitol campus represents more than 225 years of construction history as well as important moments for our country. It is the government's duty to ensure they remain for present and future generations. To do so, the AOC's Preservation Policy and Standards delegates the administration, interpretation and implementation to guide and inform the decision-making process to appropriately care for these assets, which brings us to the AOC's Historic Preservation Officer (HPO) — Donna Klee.

The Preservation Policy and Standards ensure that activities and projects are consistent throughout the vast Capitol campus. With more than 25 years of experience, Klee administers the AOC's policy to maintain and preserve as much historic "fabric" as possible and to find efficient methods that are the least disruptive to it. She states that "as we look at the repair process for either stone or plaster, the role of preservation is to find the least destructive, the minimal to stabilize and the maximum lifespan we can get out of the original material." Klee, who earned a Master of Architecture and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Historic Preservation from the Savannah College of Art and Design, takes this to heart for the sake of continuity and care of the AOC's heritage assets. "I fell in love with architecture and historic preservation at a young age. I was raised with a preservation ethic since my parents often restored old houses. I could fetch the right tool for them at a young age and my love for woodworking and other historic materials was born." Having spent nine years working on the Cannon Renewal Project, most recently as the Project Executive, few people have a more intimate knowledge of the Capitol campus than Klee.

Preservation: The Heart of the AOC's Mission

The first preservation policy guiding the work of the AOC was developed in 2006 and over time has formalized values and philosophies to guide modifications, restoration and conservation efforts as well as the day-to-day work of the AOC (in 2016, certain collections and assets were delegated to the AOC Curator, and living botanical assets were delegated to the U.S. Botanic Garden Curator). Even maintenance work is preservation, so it is important for AOC employees to know what to preserve and why, including the type of cleaning products to use on different materials. With historic buildings and fabric, making the wrong choice may cause damage that is irreversible. The policy also guides the work of contractors involved in projects on the Capitol campus.

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Donna Klee and Jayashree Shamanna examine a ceiling fresco in the U.S. Capitol.

Over the past two decades, the AOC's Architecture and Preservation Branch has compiled Building Preservation Guides, Cultural Landscapes Reports, and other tools such as envelope studies, metal inventories and paint analyses to ensure that the preservation policy and goals are carried out by providing context, information and inventory. They contain information about historically significant spaces and elements while clarifying preservation priorities and include historical background and/or chronology that shows the original designer or owner's intent through correspondence, annual reports, maintenance reports, expenditures, physical descriptions, historic building zone classifications, and determinations of the national, cultural and architectural significance.

HPO: A Voice for Heritage Assets

Since becoming the Historic Preservation Officer in 2023, Klee's goal is to expand the preservation culture by being both instinctive and proactive. Doing so requires information to be more accessible and consumable to those working and maintaining historic buildings on campus on a regular basis. In addition to everyday inquiries and current ongoing project considerations, foundational long-term projects are in development.

Klee sees more than most of us do. She avails of teachable moments around the Capitol campus for congressional staff, the public and AOC employees. She is eager to expand ways to educate and train, "We can honor these buildings by honoring the process in place to protect them. Beyond that, a robust maintenance and life-cycle planning program could avoid unintended losses and potentially decrease long-term costs."

Ultimately, the HPO is the voice for the buildings. In her role, Klee with her innate curiosity and desire to seek root causes about why a building may look and act the way it does, is active in project planning when scopes of work are formulated, facilities assessments are created, and project development plans are crafted — all with an eye to minimize negative impact. Before any intervention is conducted, careful examination and thorough documentation of the condition is carried out. Klee facilitates research on an asset in question, including arranging for any needed scientific investigation, such as paint analysis or plaster survey to assess the significance or condition. She is also eager to identify and use the highly skilled artisans on the AOC staff.

As HPO, speaking to the protection of historic fabric when work is performed near it, a simple consideration is asking, "What might be irreplaceable around me?" goes a long way in the AOC's everyday work. She stresses, "We all need to be preservationists in our work here. Not only is it part of our mission, but there's also only so much historic fabric."

While the protection of heritage assets requires balance, it can be achieved by understanding the AOC's preservation policy and through thoughtful planning and consideration in implementing projects. As Klee stated, "Historic preservation is the intentional actions we take to identify, document, maintain or repair heritage assets for continued use into the future." In her role as HPO, Klee plays a critical role for the AOC to educate and provide a better understanding and to seek appropriate solutions for upholding the AOC's preservation goals.