Dr. Zak Leonard

Dr. Zak Leonard is a historian and historic preservationist who has trained at Cornell University. His current master's thesis analyzes past efforts to identify, designate, and commemorate Underground Railroad sites throughout New York State and Canada. Having previously interned with or consulted for the Cambridge Historical Commission, the George & Rebecca Barnes Foundation, and Historic New England, he has experience in producing National Register nominations, historic structure reports, adaptive reuse proposals, and landscape restoration master plans. In addition to his preservation work, Dr. Leonard is a scholar of South Asia and the British Empire (University of Chicago, PhD 2019). His first book, Ethical Empire? India Reformism and the Critique of Colonial Misgovernment, will be published in October 2023 through Cambridge University Press.