Moss Rudley began his trades career under the guidance of a master mason and transitioned to the National Park Service in 2000. Starting as a mason, Moss worked his way up to become the current and active superintendent of the HPTC. He has used his position to leverage funding, advocacy, and partnerships to promote preservation trades training across the country. 

Moss relies on creative and innovative thinking to achieve long-held goals in the preservation community. He piloted the Traditional Trades Advancement Program in 2018. With the success of this inaugural year, the NPS continues to invest in internship offerings, building out their scale and quantity. TTAP is now part of a suite of internships called the Aspiring Preservationist Programs. Hundreds of young people have gotten paid learning experiences in the traditional trades through these programs. Many of these trainees would not have otherwise joined the field, and notable, many of them are still working in it. 

As superintendent, Moss has employed his influence to impact the private sector as well. Joining the Advisory Council for Historic Preservation’s Traditional Trades Training Task Force in 2020, he was part of a team that wrote the ACHP policy statement on how the federal government can support the industry through education and training. This policy provided the framework for HPTC’s partnership with Preservation Maryland—The Campaign for Historic Trades. This partnership is a dedicated workforce development program focused on the preservation trades. Its goals are to register historic trades apprenticeships, develop free and open educational resources for the trades, and recruit people into the career field. 

Rudley brings together different organizations to build on-ramps into the historic trades. He’s a dedicated supporter of PTN, hosting the IPTW in both 2018 and 2023, and ensuring that staff and interns have the opportunity to attend the conference. He started the Hands-on Historic Preservation program with support from the ACHP and the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s HOPE crew. The program sponsored HBCU Architecture and Construction Management students to travel to and train at the Western Center for Historic Preservation. With other trades organizations like NABTU, he’s piloting methods of providing Continuing Education Units through preservation workshops at NPS sites, expanding access to and knowledge of the preservation trades to large, national audiences.

Moss’s innovation, passion, and dedication are a true embodiment of this award. He honors Jim Askin’s legacy by using his role as HPTC Superintendent to do the most good for the most people.