Lee M. A. Simpson is professor of history and director of the General Education Honors Program at California State University, Sacramento. She received her M.A. in public history and Ph.D. in American urban history from the University of California, Riverside. She has authored books and articles on the history of historic preservation and urban planning in California and Oregon. Her most recent book, co-edited with Christopher Castaneda, is River City and Valley Life: An Environmental History of Sacramento.