For more than four decades, the center has been at the forefront of protecting the city’s finite stock of historic structures. And since February 2018, Del Sol has led the charge.

“Saving as much of what we have is a huge deal to us,” said Del Sol, who earned a master’s degree in preservation studies in 2011. “When it comes to tear-downs, people have the mindset: ‘We have plenty. We can get rid of a few and it doesn’t matter.’ But the reality is that if enough people say that, we will end up losing an incredible amount of historic structures.”

And thanks to the Tulane education that inspires her life’s work today, Del Sol is committed to ensuring New Orleans will remain home to an unparalleled collection of historic architecture for generations to come. The Preservation Resource Center is not just the “pretty police,” Del Sol said. “A historic property is an investment that everyone shares in.”