Lauren Oswalt McHale Named President and CEO of The L’Enfant Trust
Press Release June 22, 2017
WASHINGTON, DC – The Board of Trustees of The L’Enfant Trust is very pleased to announce the promotion of Lauren Oswalt McHale to President and CEO, effective July 1. In her new role, she will lead organizational development, fundraising initiatives, and work to identify additional opportunities to enrich the region through historic preservation and community revitalization.
McHale succeeds Carol B. Goldman, who is stepping down after serving as President and CEO of the Trust since 1998. During her tenure, Goldman directed the Trust’s dramatic expansion of the Conservation Easement Program into a nationally recognized model and oversaw the launch of DC’s first Historic Properties Redevelopment (HPR) Program.
McHale has worked for the Trust for over a decade, previously serving as the Executive Director managing daily operations and programs, and as the Director of Preservation, overseeing the Trust’s easement portfolio. In 2012, she initiated the HPR Program which rehabilitates distressed historic properties where such rehabilitation will have the greatest impact on community revitalization and sustainability.
“I look forward to this opportunity to lead and expand on the Trust’s programming and to further our work with Washington communities that want to experience the economic, environmental, and social benefits that historic preservation can provide,” said McHale.
McHale has a B.A. in Art History and Historic Preservation and Community Planning from the College of Charleston and a M.S. in Historic Preservation from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She also serves as President of the Latrobe Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians, and as a board member for both Preservation Action and the ACE DC Mentor Program.
As it approaches its 40th anniversary, The L’Enfant Trust now protects 1,136 historic buildings in the Washington, D.C., region through conservation easements—a form of voluntary preservation whereby property owners relinquish certain rights to alter the exterior of their historic properties, which may qualify them for a tax benefit recognizing their “gift to the street.” The Trust’s HPR Program has successfully rehabilitated two, long-vacant, and derelict houses in the Historic Anacostia community.