An experienced defender of cultural heritage, Adi Shamir-Baron currently serves as New York City Landmarks Preservation Commissioner. She served as an appointed commissioner, during the Obama administration, with the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO, focusing on advocacy and outreach related to World Heritage Sites. She is Vice President of Design & Construction at the development company Mccormack Baron Salazar.

Previously, as Executive Director of the Van Alen Institute, she led the national membership organization in developing programs dedicated to promoting public architecture and civic life. Her historical research and writing explores early Modernist architectural themes in diverse cultural heritage contexts, with contributions to international architectural journals as well as published books.

Adi holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Cooper Union, a Master of Architecture, and PhD in Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master of Business Administration from NYU Stern.

Here’s why Adi supports cultural heritage and community engagement.

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On the importance of preserving cultural heritage:

In a world increasingly invested in disembodied realities — the preservation of cultural heritage grants us access to the beauty and power of material experience.

On the ability of cultural heritage to change lives:

Cultural heritage engages people in relationship with their histories and enables an important personal and collective dialogue with the fabric of the past.

On the importance of engaging civil society in cultural heritage projects:

Cultural heritage is a universal value, but it belongs most meaningfully to the communities in which it is sited. These communities are in turn reflected and sustained in the preservation of their built heritage.

On the importance of women leadership in heritage:

Women like Abha Narain Lambah in India and Salima Naji in Morocco are exemplary models of preservation professionals whose work seamlessly integrates serious research, commitment to community, and rigorous attention to even the smallest details of material culture.

Dr Salima Naji meets community members at a Global Heritage Fund project site in Morocco.
Photo: David Goeury/Global Heritage Fund

On her support for Global Heritage Fund:

I am interested in the ‘Beyond Monuments’ platform, beyond the canon, in disinvested locations, in partnership with local communities.

On a GHF project that stands out to her:

The Moroccan Granaries project is especially compelling because it captures perfectly the ‘Beyond Monuments’ platform. In celebrating and investing in the Granaries we at GHF support sites, building methodologies, and programmatic uses (collectively owned resources) that exist outside the Western canon and are nonetheless still structures worthy of preservation and restoration.

A Global Heritage Fund’s granary project site in Morocco. Photo: David Goeury/Global Heritage Fund