Donovan Rypkema is president of Heritage Strategies International. The firm undertakes assignments at the nexus of heritage and economics and has worked in 52 countries and 49 US States. Clients have included the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, Council of Europe and UNDP.

Donovan teaches heritage economics at the University of Pennsylvania where he received the G. Holmes Perkins Award for Distinguished Teaching. He has authored numerous articles, publications, and book chapters on heritage economics including The Economics of Uniqueness; Heritage as an Asset for Inner-City Development; Heritage and Beyond; and Reconnecting the City: The Historic Urban Landscape Approach. Rypkema’s book, The Economics of Historic Preservation: A Community Leader’s Guide has been translated into Russian, Georgian, and Korean.

He is a member of the UN Economic Commission for Europe Real Estate Market Advisory Group, the Board of Directors of Global Urban Development, and the ICOMOS ISC on the Economics of Conservation.

In 2012 Rypkema received the Louise du Pont Crowninshield Award from the US National Trust for lifetime contribution to historic preservation. In 2019 he was a visiting fellow for the Centre for Liveable Cities in Singapore.

Rypkema holds a Masters degree in Historic Preservation from Columbia University.