May 2013

The Board of Directors of the Maryland Association of Historic District Commissions (MAHDC) is pleased to announce the appointment of Melanie Lytle as the new Executive Director. Ms. Lytle will lead the organization in its mission to provide training and programs for Maryland Historic Preservation Commissions, and to educate and advocate for local governments and community preservation.

Ms. Lytle comes to MAHDC from URS Corporation (San Diego, CA and Germantown, MD), where she was employed as an architectural historian and associate project manager. Her broad experience applying local, state, and federal preservation laws and technical expertise as a historic preservation professional will be a valuable asset to MAHDC. Ms. Lytle is also the owner of My Friend in DC, a small business based in Washington, DC. The Board anticipates that her entrepreneurial and social media skills will prove very useful as MAHDC works toward increased recognition and presence in the preservation community. Ms. Lytle has a Master of Arts in historic preservation (Goucher College) and a Bachelor of Arts in history (California State University, Sacramento).

Ms. Lytle replaces MAHDC’s outgoing Executive Director, Karen Theimer Brown, who served as Executive Director from 2009 to 2013. Ms. Theimer Brown has left MAHDC to pursue preservation consulting work in Annapolis and the greater Washington, DC region.