2024 Distinguished Alumna, Laura Kirn M.A.H.P. ’13, on what Goucher means to her

Laura Kirn M.A.H.P. '13, is the 2024 Goucher College M.A. in Historic Preservation distinguished alumna. We recognized her this year for her significant contributions to preservation practice and policy. Laura recently retired from over forty years with the National Park Service (NPS), where her work related to managing cultural resources in wilderness and facilitating NPS relationships with Native American tribes associated with federal lands.

In this video, she speaks about how Goucher was integral to her contributions to the field: “Goucher is the incredible place that unlocks people’s potential to become true public servants in the historic preservation realm.”

In receiving this Distinguished Alumna award, Laura has now received every award and prize that this program gives: the Alumnae Prize in her first year, the Lee Prize in the midst of her studies, and the McCullough Award for her thesis.