2024 AHS History Awards

• Scott Vierick, Committee Chair

• Dr. Brenda Mitchell-Powell

• Patricia Walker

• Catherine Weinraub

A historian who worked for the National Park Service for many years John now teaches at the University of Maryland. His three books discuss the history of the American historic preservation movement and have served as valuable resources for citizens, civic servants, public officials, and students. An Alexandria resident since 1997, he has served on the Alexandria Historical Restoration and Preservation Commission, the Board of Architectural Review, and the Historic Alexandria Foundation. In 2022, he served as the treasurer of the Alexandria Historical Society. John holds a Ph.D. in American history and an M.A. in historical archaeology from the College of William and Mary.
(Dr. Eleanor Breen, City Archaeologist, accepted the award for John.)

A researcher, writer, communicator, and teacher of preservation and local history, Amy has been an Alexandria civil servant since 1996. She currently works for the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office and has previously worked for the Office of Historic Alexandria. Bertsch continues to conduct research for various City of Alexandria departments and has also taught classes at Northern Virginia Community College. She is a former Alexandria Historical Society board member and edited the society’s newsletter for several years. She graduated with a B.A. in Foreign Languages, focusing on Spanish from West Virginia University. She later received a M.A. in History from Sam Houston State University, specializing in 19th/20th century African American and American Southern fields, and she has earned a certificate in historic preservation from Northern Virginia Community College.