LANDSCAPE HISTORIAN & CULTURAL RESOURCE SPECIALIST

Katy Holmer brings experience in cultural landscape preservation, environmental management, and historic site stewardship to her work with Queen City Preservation. Raised in the Rountree neighborhood of Springfield, Katy developed an early appreciation for the city’s architectural character and natural beauty—values that continue to guide her professional and personal pursuits.

After earning a B.S. in Wildlife Conservation and Management from Missouri State University, Katy began her career with the U.S. Geological Survey, working across National Park Service prairies throughout the Midwest. She went on to earn her Master’s in Landscape Architecture from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, focusing on Cultural Resource Preservation and Landscape History. Her graduate thesis—a Cultural Landscape Report for the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore—sparked a lifelong commitment to understanding how landscapes tell human stories.

Katy has since served as a historic preservation consultant for Mead & Hunt, a preservation specialist with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, and most recently as Deputy Regional Director for Missouri State Parks. Her work has taken her from the rolling prairies of Missouri to the historic homes of Hermann, where she managed the Deutschheim State Historic Site, and now back home to Springfield, where she owns a 1927 Tudor Revival in the University Heights neighborhood.

Whether managing construction projects, assisting park operations, or overseeing cultural resources, Katy approaches preservation as both a science and an art—protecting Missouri’s historic and natural treasures so that future generations can experience their stories firsthand.