Katherine Malone-France

Across three decades in the non-profit and private sectors, Katherine has created innovative and meaningful ways for Americans to engage with the richness of their cultural heritage through historic places, education, and the arts.

Prior to joining The Better Angels Society in 2023, Katherine spent over a decade at The National Trust for Historic Preservation, where she served as the Chief Preservation Officer and prior to that, as the Senior Vice President for Historic Sites. Under her leadership, the National Trust launched and expanded national grant programs, including Backing Historic Small Restaurants in collaboration with American Express, the Telling the Full History Fund supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Fund for Sacred Places and Preserving Black Churches supported by the Lilly Endowment. Katherine also developed a new initiative connecting historic sites and civics education, served as the national spokesperson for the organization’s annual 11 Most Endangered Historic Places advocacy campaign and PastForward conference, and she provided executive leadership for the growth of the organization’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, America’s Chinatowns initiative, and GIS program. In leading the organization’s portfolio of historic sites, Katherine led a successful capital campaign to address more than $21 million in deferred maintenance, developed an innovative “shared use” property at Cooper Molera Adobe that combined commercial and educational uses, expanded the Historic Artists Homes & Studios program, and fostered numerous programs connecting contemporary artists and historic properties.

Earlier in her career, Katherine served as the Deputy Director of Decatur House in Washington, DC and the National Trust’s Director of Outreach, Education, and Support. Her career in public history and historic preservation began as the Executive Director of the Historic Hillsborough Commission and Burwell School Historic Site in Hillsborough, North Carolina. She also served as the Senior Project Manager at Oak Grove Restoration Company. Katherine received her BA in History from Wofford College and her Masters in Historic Preservation from the College of Environment and Design at the University of Georgia.