In his roles as the Executive Director and Senior Architectural Historian, Mr. Olausen oversees PAL’s Historic Preservation Team, which conducts projects that involve historic architectural and landscape properties. He manages compliance projects under state and federal historic preservation laws, including the National Historic Preservation Act, Section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act.

Since joining PAL in 1997, Olausen has overseen hundreds of projects for federal, state, and local agencies and private entities. The work has included the completion of historic architectural survey, planning, and documentation for a wide variety of transportation; wind, hydroelectric, and carbon-based electrical generation; electrical and natural gas transmission; and military, civil engineering, and private development projects. He manages National Park Service projects that involve preparing National Register and National Historic Landmark nominations, historic resource studies, administrative histories, and cultural landscape reports for some of the nation’s most significant historic properties, including Ellis Island and Appalachian Trail. Other areas of expertise include Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record (HABS/HAER) and state-level documentation, historic property management plans, memoranda of agreement, expert testimony, and interpretive exhibits and publications.