Longsworth attended Smith College interested in American history, architecture, and culture.
[3][6][7][8] Longsworth was interviewed and selected for the position by Tersh Boasberg despite not having a background in historic preservation.
[1][2][3][9] The advocates were successful and the structure was preserved and adapted to be the area of the library that holds collections of women's history and literature.
[11] Longsworth also lobbied landowners, did grassroots campaigning, mentored interns in the field, among other actions in her position.
in 1984, the list of candidates for the open president seat at the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1984 did not include a woman.
[13] In 1988, Longsworth started teaching at Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture and Planning.
[1][2][4] She taught on the subject of politics of historic preservation, including funding and public policy.
[2][3][7][11] After her retirement from Preservation Action, Longsworth became a government affairs consultant for the American Cultural Resources Association (ACRA) and Society for Historical Archaeology.