Gail Cornell is an architectural historian and independent scholar whose areas of focus include the urban development of Iberia by the Romans and the history of the Islamic civilization of al-Andalus. She has lectured on numerous educational tours to Portugal, Spain, Tuscany, and the Mediterranean over the last 13 years. Gail has a strong interest in historic preservation and raising architectural literacy. As a volunteer for the Save Ellis Island Foundation, she leads tours of newly restored buildings on Ellis Island in New York. She is a graduate of Harvard University's Graduate School of Design and a member of the Municipal Art Society of New York, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the Society of Architectural Historians.