Annie Liang-Zhou Builds on a Legacy in Historic Preservation

When mid-career professional Annie Liang-Zhou began studying at Weitzman in 2024 to expand her skill set and continue a lifelong education, it marked a pivotal moment in her family’s legacy: Her great-grandparents, Lin Huiyin and Liang Sicheng, both pioneers of modern Chinese architecture, had enrolled at Penn a century earlier in 1924.

Set to graduate this December with a Master of Science in Historic Preservation degree, Liang-Zhou recalls her parents and grandparents frequently took her to visit museums, cultural landmarks, and historic architecture during her youth. These early experiences shaped her interests at the intersection of preservation, built heritage, and community engagement.

“As I grew older and was exposed to my family’s story, especially dating back several generations, it reinforced that interest and passion,” Liang-Zhou says.

Liang-Zhou’s path to studying historic preservation at Penn was nonlinear. After finishing undergraduate degrees in business and political science, she spent the first four years of her career in finance. She then worked for a think tank before earning her first master’s in public administration with a focus on international affairs, followed by an MBA degree. In 2016, Liang-Zhou co-founded the Asia Green Fund—an organization specializing in green impact investment—and she got involved with the Beijing Cultural Heritage Protection Center, leading educational tours around Chinese cultural heritage.

Most recently, she has served on the International Council of the World Monuments Fund (WMF), helping research, restore, and raise awareness about threatened historic cultural sites.

“These heritage sites that are being threatened are reminders of the greatness of the past, but also what connects us as human beings,” says Liang-Zhou. “That’s one of the biggest motivators for me to continue this work.”

Liang-Zhou used this line of thinking to inform her capstone with fellow student Yuming Jin—a participatory, community-responsive project aimed at supporting the preservation, visibility, and resilience of the Strawberry Mansion neighborhood in North Philadelphia.

Mentored by Weitzman professor of practice Jules Dingle, Liang-Zhou and Jin developed a comprehensive online platform to help preserve the neighborhood’s culture, assets, and heritage. Centering the needs, stories, and insights of residents and stakeholders, Liang-Zhou says, was essential to project implementation.

“One of the most important things about preservation is listening to those communities rather than imposing what you think they need in the neighborhood,” Liang-Zhou says.

Liang-Zhou met with representatives of the Strawberry Mansion Community Development Corporation (SMCDC), the Strawberry Mansion Learning Center, and Brothers of Strawberry Mansion (BOSM), an organization dedicated to food distribution and mutual aid. She also volunteered with BOSM—a role she is continuing this fall—to directly engage with residents and better understand their evolving needs.

These conversations enabled Liang-Zhou and Jin to curate a historically informed, culturally attuned web presence for Strawberry Mansion, with an emphasis on local stakeholders telling the neighborhood’s stories “through their own lens.”

Jin applied his coding expertise to build the online platform. The website includes an interactive story map of Strawberry Mansion, a virtual tour of historic sites, and neighborhood photo archives, among other features.

Read the full story on Penn Today.