Dr. Marie D. Strazar has experience and expertise in preservation and protection of historic facilities.  With a Ph.D. in American Studies, she studied historic preservation at Boston University with Richard Candee and served on the historic commission for the town of Gardner, Massachusetts in 1973-74.  In 1982 she was employed by the State of Hawai`i at the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts where she directed the State’s History & Humanities Program for 17 years.  During the administration of Governor John Waihee, Dr. Strazar served two four-year terms on the Historic Sites Review Board.  Dr. Strazar then became the President/Executive Director of the Lyman Museum in Hilo, Hawai`i.  During her 9 year tenure at the Museum she oversaw the creation and implementation of a Historic Structures Report.  The Lyman Museum received awards from Historic Hawai`i for the preservation of the Mission House and for the publication that was done for the house AND was awarded the Award of Merit, the highest possible award, from the American Association for State and Local History for the model preservation and conservation project that was done for the Mission House.