Historic Savannah Foundation (HSF) — the leading nonprofit cultural institution dedicated to saving the buildings, places and stories that define Savannah’s past, present and future — is delighted to welcome Kaylee Ann Johnson as the new Director of Preservation and Historic Properties. 

In her new position, Johnson oversees Historic Savannah Foundation’s Revolving Fund, which has saved more than 420 historic properties across Savannah, as well as HSF’s easement programs. She also represents HSF in the local preservation community, serving as a liaison to the City of Savannah’s Metropolitan Planning Commission and attending Historic Preservation Commission and Historic District Board of Review meetings. 

“Kaylee shares our deep commitment to preservation and embodies the same trailblazing spirit of Historic Savannah Foundation’s seven original founders, who launched Savannah’s preservation movement in 1955,” said Historic Savannah Foundation President and CEO Collier Neeley. “As a preservationist, she understands the importance of our work at HSF and is involved in our ongoing outreach, education and advocacy initiatives.” 

Before joining HSF, Johnson served as a Preservation Associate for the Historic Districts Council in New York City, where she evaluated proposals to the Landmarks Preservation Commission. She also worked as a Research Associate at the NY Landmarks Conservancy, where she assisted with the future nomination of two Staten Island, N.Y. churches for the National Register of Historic Places. While serving as a Research Intern at Save Harlem Now, she conducted vital research focused on creating a new historic district in Harlem, N.Y. 

Earlier in her career, Johnson worked as an artisan at OPUS Architectural Arts in New York, where she contributed to the restoration of several city landmarks and drew upon skills learned during a stone masonry apprenticeship with Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, N.Y. Always committed to advancing her hand skills, she is a certified Jahn Cathedral Stone Installer, and she recently participated in a hands-on Adobe Building Workshop at a Bio-Architecture Institute in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil as well as an Adobe Preservation Workshop in Mesilla, N.M.

Originally from Sherman, Texas, Johnson earned a M.S. in Historic Preservation from the Pratt Institute and a B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Texas at Austin. An accomplished researcher, she was honored as one of the Preservation League of New York State’s 2023 Zabar Scholars and earned a first-place award at the 2025 New Jersey History and Historic Preservation Conference as well as the Applied Research Award at the 2025 Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment. She recently relocated to Savannah’s Victorian District from New York City.