"I wanted to get behind the facade a little bit, get behind the party picture," says Profile host Greg Scheinman of this week's sit-down with Phoebe Tudor (10:30 tonight and 11 p.m. Friday night on Channel 8, Houston PBS).

"You see the same faces at these events and I wonder are we emphasizing the wrong things with photos and fashion instead of the work and the cause," Scheinman continues. "There are some people that are doing really good things, and often the work and the effort gets overlooked by the social and the supposed glamour of it. And its easy to knock that aspect rather than praise the work that's behind it."

If Scheinman was out to rehabilitate the image of the Houston socialite from Real Housewives ignominy, he could not have found a better exemplar than Phoebe Tudor. Raised in Louisiana, she has a Bachelor's degree in art history from the University of Virginia and a Masters in Historic Preservation from Columbia. Prior to her move to Houston, she was the architectural historian for the New Orleans Historic District Landmark Commission. She's married to Bobby Tudor, who was her high-school sweetheart.

"The premise of this Profile was really about her involvement with the Julia Ideson preservation project," Scheinman sats. Tudor was recruited to chair the Julia Ideson Library Preservation Partners by outgoing mayor Bill White and tasked with raising $32 million to renovate the historic downtown Houston library.

"She's done a lot of work as private consultant in historic preservation, and wasn't just lending her name and putting on a gala," Scheinman says. "The really interesting aspect is that obvious socialite element to Phoebe and attending all the galas and being a part of that, but what came across was it wasn't just about her attending — she is actively involved in these charities."

Scheinman and Tudor started at her house. They then made their way to the Julia Ideson Library, where they toured some of the newly completed research rooms and the work that's still underway. The new 21,500-square-foot storage wing is state-of-the-art yet fits within the original architectural design by Ralph Adams Cram. "It's obviously a landmark, but it's going to take a lot of time to make it more attractive for the public and to get it to be utilized as a multi-purpose destination," Scheinman says.

"Phoebe is a very positive presence, impeccably well put-together and well-spoken and humble and down to earth at the same time, and you gravitate to what she's doing because it seems right."

CultureMap is the official online home of Profile — and you can watch exclusive clips of all the episodes in the series (season one and the current season two) on our special Profile page.