Brad White

2026 Landmarks Illinois Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Award for Leadership

Brad White is among Illinois’ most influential preservation leaders with over 40 years of experience in community development, affordable housing and philanthropy. White retired from his position as Senior Program Director of Built Environment at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation in July 2026. Throughout White’s career, his success stems from his ability to bring together diverse stakeholders around preservation goals – advising elected officials, developers, community organizations and residents and preservation groups and helping them navigate complex preservation and land use challenges. His leadership is most notable in projects including the restoration of Unity Temple in Oak Park, the development of the 606 Trail and the creation of the National Public Housing Museum in Chicago and developing strategies related to racial and economic inclusion for grantees at Alphawood Foundation.

White also played a significant role in advancing policy and financial incentives at the state and national level. White was nominated by President Barack Obama to serve on the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation from 2011–2020, where he helped develop a policy framework that is in use today.
White has made a broad, innovative and lasting impact on preservation policy, people and the built environment through his career. He cares deeply about his work and the impact of the work on the people of Illinois and beyond.

(Brad White at the restoration ribbon-cutting ceremony at Unity Temple in Oak Park, June 2017. Photo courtesy Carol White)

Additional information

Prior to serving at the Driehaus Foundation, White worked for Alphawood Foundation, Related Midwest and Clarion Associates, Inc. In Illinois, White was crucial in advocating for Illinois’ Section 707 review process (the state version of Federal 106 review requiring all projects that accept government funding to undergo review for negative impact to historic resources). During his tenure as a board leader and chairman of Landmarks Illinois, White championed the designation and protection of 29 threatened historic buildings in Chicago, including the original Sears Tower, now a community anchor in North Lawndale. He also helped prevent the demolition of 520 N. Michigan Ave. and successfully advocated for the creation of Illinois Section 707, requiring state agencies to consider historic and cultural resources in projects involving state funds, permits or approvals. Additionally, he contributed to strengthening Illinois’ historic preservation easement legislation. More recently, he worked tirelessly to advocate for the retention of the U.S. General Services Administration-owned Century and Consumers Buildings in the Loop, yielding a programmatic agreement draft.

(Pictured: Brad White (right) with Judith McBrien, former Chair of Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois; Ron Emrich, former Executive Director of Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois; and Lisa DiChiera, former Director of Advocacy for Landmarks Illinois, pictured on N. Michigan Avenue in Chicago.)

Throughout your career, how have you measured success in preservation beyond saving a physical structure from demolition?

Brad White

My work has never been about the buildings. It has been about people and connecting with people. Participating in the restoration of Unity Temple was spectacular—it is an amazing building, and I had the privilege of working with a wonderful design and development team. But the most fascinating thing to me was restoring a building that still had the same use—as a church/house of worship—that it had when it was constructed in 1908. There was so much history in that building. Just thinking about the number of people honored and eulogized there. How many celebrations of life and death? How many members worshipped in that space? It’s astonishing to think about their stories and histories.

When I was a consultant, I worked as part of a team going to smaller towns throughout the country to work on their downtowns. What I learned from these experiences is that the answers to many of the problems many community members described were right there in front of them. At best, we helped to distill the answers that were already in the community. I see success as helping people to see that the answers to challenges about their historic places—Main Streets, historic buildings, landscapes, among other resources.

(Brad White announcing the Most Endangered Historic Places in Illinois in the mid-1990s as Chair of Landmarks Illinois, then called Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois. Photo courtesy of Lisa DiChiera.)

What is one thing you want people to understand about the impact and power preservation can have in their community?

Brad White

The historic preservation I believe in is one where the tangible and intangible intersect, one that combines history, story and people. A building is just an object without these elements. Incorporating all these creates place. Historic preservation and the physical manifestation of place help to ensure memory, history and story, which are all integral to the human experience. Historic preservation connects the history of the past, recent past and present to reveal the story of a place and its people and helps to pave a path for our shared future.

(Brad White & Manny Rodriguez, Executive Director of Revolution Workshop, in July 2026, at Revolution Workshop on W. Lake Street in Chicago during tour with the Board of the Driehaus Foundation. Photo courtesy Revolution Workshop)