Patricia Ploehn is a historic preservation specialist who works on the conservation team at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center. She is a graduate of the Clemson University Master of Science in Historic Preservation program, where she worked on the preservation and documentation of cultural heritage and researched the intersection of cultural and natural resource management. She specializes in the documentation, interpretation, and conservation of cultural landscapes, architectural heritage, and objects/artifacts using methods that include material analysis, 3D laser scanning, National Park Service HABS/HALS/HAER/CLR documentation, and National Register of Historic Places property/landscape nominations. S

he currently serves as the chair of the Lowcountry Alliance for Response, a network of cultural heritage organizations whose mission is to create connections and foster a community of cultural heritage professionals and emergency responders, provide support for organizations to write emergency plans, train cultural heritage caretakers to respond to various types of emergencies, and advocate for local cultural and natural resources that are at risk. Patricia manages the paint analysis projects for WLCC, and specializes in community-based outreach and preservation for the Lowcountry.

At the lab, she also works on conserving maritime cast and wrought iron artifacts from the H.L. Hunley submarine. Her interests include the intersection of cultural heritage and climate change, the relationship between Lowcountry natural and cultural resources, and updates to technology used within the historic preservation and conservation fields.