Linda is the director of the Texas Historical Commission’s Community Heritage Development Division (CHD). Through the Texas Main Street Program, Certified Local Government, and Heritage Tourism teams, CHD connects communities to preservation and planning tools. CHD also manages the agency’s Real Places Conference, which draws more than 800 attendees each year to learn about the broad range of agency programs, develop better understanding of historic preservation practices, and connect to partner organizations. Linda first joined the Texas Historical Commission in 1997 in a role supporting the agency’s early military sites and historic courthouse programs. She later served as editor of The Medallion, wrote several hundred historical markers, processed National Register nominations, and reviewed projects under state and federal cultural resource laws. She left to work at the Texas Department of Transportation from 2018 to 2024, when she returned to the agency. A lifelong Texan with degrees in architecture, English, and public affairs from the University of Texas at Austin, she believes strongly in the power of stories, the appeal of historic buildings and sites, and the importance of public service.