Tyler A. Ray is a planner, historic preservationist, and public historian based in Philadelphia, PA. His call to historic preservation and public history was deeply inspired by his life growing up in North Central Philly and attending his familial house of worship, Church of the Advocate. Much like the Advocate, Tyler began to witness that many historic properties in his marginalized community were in disrepair. This led him to tackle the disparity between race, socio-economic status, and what is considered worthy of preservation. As a recent graduate of Temple University’s Regional Planning and Historic Preservation departments, Tyler has become involved with several preservation projects taking place in North Philadelphia such as: The Mount Vernon Cemetery Conservation Company, Friends of the Henry Ossawa Tanner House, and most personally, serves as lead historic researcher for the Church of the Advocate. Currently, Tyler works as a Complete Streets Coordinator for Philadelphia’s Office of Transportation, Infrastructure, and Sustainability (OTIS).