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BeaufortLifestyle.com | January 2026 37A merican sociologist William H. Whyte once said, %u201cThe way we build cities, the way we make places, can have a profound effect on what kinds of lives are lived within those spaces.%u201d Lise Sundrla, executive director of the Historic Beaufort Foundation (HBF), is inspired by Whyte%u2019s belief, and it is this belief that fuels her work, as she and HBF continue to focus on preserving the history and identity of the Lowcountry and the people who live here. %u201cDoing what you can to protect the traditions and lessons of the past is what shapes our future,%u201d Lise says. %u201cYou learn from your past. Preserving it offers us tangible lessons. It%u2019s not just about saving the historic structures %u2014 it is about our identity, and how that resonates with the community as a whole.%u201d %u201cWe are fortunate that so many historic structures have been saved and preserved over the years in Beaufort. But we can%u2019t forget that there is always a danger of losing some part of that tangible history, and if we do lose that, we are losing a part of what makes us unique. It takes a concerted effort of the whole community coming together, and it takes organizations like Historic Beaufort Foundation, and so many other organizations, being willing to make a difference and to stand up for the past, and how it affects us today and in the future,%u201d she says. Lise was raised in Spartanburg, with both of her parents teaching at Converse College. Her mother was the head of the Art Department, and her father was the head of the Humanities and History Department. %u201cIt was written in stone that I would be going to Converse,%u201d Lise says, laughing. She attended, majoring in Art History and Sociology with a minor in Fine Arts. Lise%u2019s interest in preservation began with a fellowship to the Summer Institute at the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts. Seeking to further her education, she earned a master%u2019s in American History with a focus on Historic Preservation at Middle Tennessee State University, where a hands-on program allowed her to work directly with communities and nonprofits on preservation projects. Along the way, Lise interned with the Pennsylvania Bureau for Historic Preservation. %u201cThanks to my parents, I%u2019ve had an interest in history and art my whole life. It was always a part of our lives.%u201d Lise has 22 of her mother%u2019s paintings and sketches framed throughout her home. %u201cMy mom is gone now, and when I look at her paintings today, I see her interest in architecture, history, and fine arts. I never really realized that growing up.%u201d After finishing graduate school, Lise dove headfirst into downtown revitalization, the National Trust for Historic Preservation%u2019s Main Street Program, which was fairly new at the time. She started out in Gaffney, SC, not too far from home. %u201cIt was a great opportunity to work with a small town that I was familiar with, and to preserve its history and bring life back to its downtown area.%u201d From there, she came to Beaufort to direct the Main Street Program here. She arrived in 1988 and left in 1996. It was in Beaufort that Lise forged lifelong friendships and met her soon-to-be husband, John. Many of Beaufort%u2019s signature events and programs were created and honed during those early days. During Lise%u2019s tenure, Main Street Beaufort was recognized with 14 state awards for innovative events, building renovations, and economic development programs. By the time she left in 1996, Beaufort had been named a Main Street Success Story by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and National Main Street Center %u2013 one of only 44 in the nation. She went on to direct revitalization and economic development programs in Winchester, VA, Savannah, GA, and Naples, FL, before moving back to Beaufort in 2017. It was her work in Savannah that broadened her knowledge and understanding of neighborhood and community redevelopment. Lise headed up the Savannah Development Renewal Authority for 12 years, working with the entire historic district with a focus on Broughton Street and Martin Luther King Blvd. It was in this work where her earlier Main Street interests shifted to community redevelopment. Working with neighborhoods, and business and property owners along MLK Blvd, Lise was now addressing issues and concerns that were the result of the Urban Renewal efforts of the 1950s and