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Ruthann Lehrer, who has been in the forefront of the continuing battles to preserve Los Angeles landmarks, is taking her concerns, and energy, to Long Beach as its new neighborhood and historic preservation officer.

In nearly a decade as executive director of the Los Angeles Conservancy, Lehrer guided the group from a small band fighting to save the Central Library to nearly 5,000 members involved in a range of architecture and urban design issues.

Lehrer took a breather last year to work for the nonprofit Center for Law in the Public Interest, but, she said, she just couldn’t stay away from the pressing issues of preservation.

Now she’ll try addressing them from an official position, supported by a local government that according to its announcement wants to take “an aggressive pro-active role in the preservation of neighborhoods and structures with architectural and historic significance.”