Preservation Ohio salutes the Columbus Landmarks Foundation as it enters its next chapter with a new leader at the helm and a familiar mission at its center: protecting the places that help define the city.
Chris Hune has been named chief executive officer of the local preservation nonprofit, succeeding interim CEO and board chair Toni Bell. The leadership transition was announced in May as the organization looks toward its 50th anniversary and the next phase of its work in neighborhoods across the region.
For Columbus Landmarks, the appointment brings together several threads: preservation advocacy, business development, civic involvement, and a lifelong interest in history. Hune steps into the role with experience that spans corporate communications, public administration, neighborhood leadership, and nonprofit governance.
A Mission Rooted In Place
Columbus Landmarks Foundation works to protect significant buildings, historic neighborhoods, and architectural heritage throughout Columbus. Its role is part watchdog, part educator, part civic convener. The CEO serves as the organization’s principal executive and public representative, leading preservation initiatives, fundraising, partnerships, and organizational growth in collaboration with the board.
That work comes at a moment when Columbus continues to face rapid growth, redevelopment pressure, and ongoing questions about how to balance new investment with the character of existing neighborhoods. For preservation groups, the challenge is no longer simply about saving individual buildings. It is also about helping communities understand why older places matter and how they can remain useful, affordable, and alive.
A Background In Business And Civic Stewardship
Hune brings roughly two decades of business development and marketing leadership experience to the position, most prominently through her work at Team Fishel, the Columbus-based national utility infrastructure contractor.
There, she advanced from major account manager in the company’s technologies division to national marketing manager, overseeing internal and external communications across multiple regional markets. That background gives her experience in organizational messaging, relationship-building, and long-term business strategy, skills that can translate directly into preservation advocacy and donor development.
Before Team Fishel, Hune served as director of administration for the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board. In that role, she had oversight of administrative functions connected to the Ohio Statehouse and its major renovation project in the early to mid-1990s. That experience placed her close to one of Ohio’s most prominent historic public buildings and gave her a working view of how preservation, public facilities, and civic identity intersect.
Neighborhood Leadership At The Core
Hune’s appointment also reflects a strong neighborhood connection. She has been deeply involved in community and housing organizations, including service as immediate past president of the German Village Society. Her prior service with Homeport, where she was profiled through the organization’s board spotlight, also points to experience in mission-driven governance and housing-related nonprofit work.
That combination is significant for Columbus Landmarks. Preservation today often involves more than architectural appreciation. It touches affordability, neighborhood continuity, public memory, and civic pride.
Hune’s public-facing biography emphasizes her as a Columbus-area native, a lifelong lover of history, and a community advocate. That framing positions her as someone who can speak both the language of organizational growth and the language of resident-led neighborhood stewardship.
Looking Toward The 50th Anniversary
As Columbus Landmarks approaches its 50th anniversary, Hune will lead an organization with a long record of advocacy and an expanding set of tools. The foundation has highlighted her leadership experience, community involvement, and passion for preservation as central to the selection. Her background in business and organizational communication, including a Bachelor of Arts degree from Otterbein University, aligns with the organization’s emphasis on advocacy, partnerships, public education, and programs such as the Home Preservation Loan Fund.
For Columbus Landmarks, the leadership change is not just an internal milestone. It arrives as the city continues to decide what kind of growth it wants and what pieces of its built history should be carried forward. With Hune as CEO, the foundation is placing its next chapter in the hands of someone whose experience connects the boardroom, the neighborhood meeting, and the historic public square.
