Professional Bio and CV
Sarah Martin is an architectural and public historian with more than 20 years of experience in public history and historic preservation in five states: Tennessee, Kansas, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. She brings to each project a passion for research and storytelling and an awareness of the important contributions of underrecognized communities to our collective history.
Martin spent her academic and early professional career in Tennessee, where she gained heritage development experience with the Center for Historic Preservation and the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area. During her eight years managing the National Register of Historic Places program for the Kansas State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), she served as a liaison between Kansas constituents and the National Park Service, overseeing more than 300 listings to the National Register. As a consulting historian, she has experience surveying, researching, and documenting a wide variety of buildings and landscapes, ranging from rural to urban, vernacular to high-style, and pre-settlement to modern. Recent consulting projects include nominations to the local, state, and national registers; reports for compliance and mitigation purposes; and content for history-themed walking tours.
Martin’s education and experience exceed the Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualification Standards for History and Architectural History as outlined in 36 CFR 61 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended.
Sarah J. Martin Cultural Resource Services LLC is licensed by the State of Washington and the City of Seattle. The State of Washington has certified the firm as a Women’s Business Enterprise.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Sarah J. Martin Cultural Resource Services LLC
Principal & Historian / June 2015 to present
University of Washington, School of Dentistry, Advancement & External Affairs
Advancement Services Officer/ 2022 to present
Advancement Coordinator/ August 2016 to 2022
University of Washington, Office of University Advancement, Gift Services
Contracted Records Project Coordinator/ February to August 2016
Kansas Historical Society, Kansas State Historic Preservation Office
National Register Coordinator & Historian / July 2006 to May 2015
Grants Reviewer / December 2004 to July 2006
Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area at Middle Tennessee State University
Coordinator, Heritage Development Institute / May 2004 to December 2004
Center for Historic Preservation at MTSU
Graduate Research Assistant / August 2002 to May 2004
Nashville Metropolitan Historical Commission
Intern / May to August 2003
Virginia Historical Society
Mellon Library Clerk / May to August 2001
EDUCATION
Middle Tennessee State University
M.A. in History, Concentration in Public History & Historic Preservation / December 2004
University of Kansas
B.G.S. in History, Minor in Anthropology / May 2002
ADDITIONAL EDUCATION & TRAINING
King County Historic Preservation Program, Hands-on Wood Window Restoration Workshop. 2022
King County Historic Preservation Program Training, Mid-century Resources. 2022
Amending National Register Nominations, PastForward Online. 2021
National Register Virtual Workshop, with NPS reviewer historian Paul R. Lusignan. 2021
Beyond Integrity in (X) Virtual Conference. 2021
Collections Care at Home, digital preservation workshop. Spencer Museum of Art. 2020
National Alliance of Preservation Commissions Virtual Forum. 2020
Dismantling Preservation Virtual Unconference. 2020
DAHP Academy. WA Dept. of Archaeology & Historic Preservation. 2019
Preservation Advocacy Workshop: Tools & Strategies. Historic Seattle. 2019
Preservation Special Projects grant workshop. 4Culture. 2018
Proofreading and Editing. UW Professional & Organizational Development. 2016
WISAARD Database Training. WA Dept. of Archaeology & Historic Preservation. 2016
Digging Deeper: Researching UW Special Collections. Historic Seattle. 2016
Kansas Preservation Conference. Kansas SHPO. 2005-2015
National Register of Historic Places Program Training. National Park Service. 2008
National Trust for Historic Preservation Conference, Tulsa. 2008
Evaluating Mid-20th Century Architecture. National Preservation Institute. 2007
National Trust for Historic Preservation Conference, Louisville. 2004
National Trust for Historic Preservation Conference, Denver. 2003
Numerous professional webinars offered by the National Park Service
PROJECTS/ FEATURE WRITING / PUBLISHED MATERIALS
See: Projects
PRESENTATIONS
Presentations to King County (WA) Landmarks Commission. 2018-present
Presentations to City of Seattle’s Landmarks Preservation Board. 2017-present
Presenter, Researching the History of a Property in Seattle. Historic Seattle & Black Heritage Society of WA State. May 2023
Contributing presenter, Seattle’s Maritime History – Lake Union, virtual event, Historic Seattle. June 2021
Presenter, From Canvas Tents to the Contemporary: An Overview of Redmond’s Historic Residential Architecture, virtual event hosted by City of Redmond, Oregon. May 2021
Third Friday Speaker, Center for Wooden Boats. March 2021
NASA’s Lunar Rovers. Virtual education series Preservation Station. July 2020. Presentation on the Lunar Rovers to Kent City Council. July 2019
Presentation on the Lunar Rovers to City of Kent Economic Dev. Council. May 2019
Quarterly presentations to Kansas Historic Sites Board of Review. 2006-2015
National Register Basics: Criteria & Integrity. Our Town. Osawatomie, KS. 2014
Researching Historic Properties. Our Town. Osawatomie, KS. 2014
Highlights of KU’s Historic Districts. Watkins Alumnae Brunch. Lawrence, KS. 2014
Farmsteads and the National Register. Kansas Barn Alliance. Abilene, KS. 2014
Navigating the National Register. KS Preservation Conference. Newton, KS. 2010
RELATED PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
Trustee. Historic Wallingford, Board of Directors, current
Member. Pacific Northwest Historians Guild, current
Member. Association of King County Heritage Organizations, current
Member. Historic Seattle, current
Member. Washington Trust for Historic Preservation, current
Member. Kansas Historical Society, current
Member. Grants Advisory Committee, Washington DAHP, 2017
Member. Lawrence (KS) Preservation Alliance, 2008-2017
Appointed Member. Douglas Co., Kansas Natural & Cultural Heritage Task Force, 2010-2011
Adviser. Kansas Barn Alliance, 2008-2015
Sarah J. Martin 