Milford Wayne Donaldson, FAIA

Chairman of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP)
2018 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient

This lifetime achievement award recognize Milford Wayne Donaldson’s achievements as a leader in historic preservation at the local, state and national level. In addition to his numerous achievements as an architect, Wayne was a former President of the California Preservation Foundation, Chair of the State Historical Building Safety Board, State Historic Preservation Officer and appointed by President Obama to serve as the Chair of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.

He will be presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award on Friday, October 19, 2018 at the California Preservation Awards ceremony at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. Tickets and sponsorship options are available at californiapreservation.org/awards.

About Wayne

Milford Wayne Donaldson is an architect of innovative design, a past-president of the California Preservation Foundation, and a tireless advocate for historic preservation. In 2010, he was appointed by President Barack Obama as Chairman of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. Wayne had previously served as the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) for the state of California from 2004 through 2012. As SHPO he streamlined the Section 106 process of the National Historic Preservation Act and led the national initiative towards the sustainability and greening of historic resources.

Before his appointment in 2004 by Gov. Schwarzenegger, Wayne had a successful 26 year practice as a preservation architect and contractor in California, Arizona, and Nevada. He is a former Chair of the State Historical Building Safety Board, a past member of the State Historical Resources Commission and past-president of the California Preservation Foundation.

Throughout a career that spans more than four decades, Wayne has established himself as a leader in historic preservation and adaptive reuse of existing structures. In 1978, Wayne founded Heritage Architecture & Planning, which he sold when he was appointed as the California SHPO. He has completed over 3,000 projects, mainly throughout the western portion of the United States. His depth of knowledge unites nineteenth century building methods with state-of-the-art twenty-first century construction technologies.

Wayne has received several awards in preservation architecture including the California Council of the American Institute of Architects Award of Excellence and the Historic Preservation Award, and the 1996 Preservationist of the Year Award from the California Preservation Foundation. He served as a member of the Preserve America Summit “Determining What’s Important” committee.

Wayne is a 1967 graduate of the California Polytechnic University, where he earned a Bachelor of Architecture. He received his Master of Science from the University of Strathclyde, Scotland and a Masters in Public History and Teaching from the University of San Diego.