Mike Jackson holds degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Columbia University in New York, and is a fellow with the AIA. He worked from 1983 to 2013 for the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, first as its chief architect and then as manager of the agency’s preservation services division where he provided guidance for the rehabilitation and restoration of some of the state’s most important and recognizable historic buildings, including his work as project manager for the restoration of the Frank Lloyd Wright's Dana-Thomas House in Springfield. I first met Mike in 1986-7 when I was working on the Historic Structures Report for the David Davis Mansion in Bloomington.

Outside of his work at the preservation agency, he has spearheaded several national initiatives, including Recent Past, encouraging the preservation of mid-late 20th century buildings; Green Preservation, promoting historic preservation as a form of sustainable building; and Upstairs Downtown, providing community workshops for reviving use of the upper floors of historic buildings.

Mike now has his own consulting business focused on building preservation capacity in small historic communities. Mike is a native of Savanna, Il and has a long history with Galena having completed his University of Illinois thesis on Main Street Galena in 1972, and has visited often and supported the City's preservation efforts ever since.