Speaker Biographies | Preservation Mass

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Melina Ambrosino

President | Cherrytree Group

Melina is a true mailroom-to-boardroom success story. After graduation from Suffolk University in 2011 she joined the Cherrytree Group as an entry-level administrative assistant, then steadily rose through the ranks. She now leads Cherrytree into its second decade. Melina has worked extensively with the many tax credit incentive programs in the Northeastern U.S., particularly in Massachusetts. As president, she focuses on business development, client relations and day-to-day operations while dedicating herself to understanding fundamentals of the tax credit incentive programs so that she can expand the firm’s client base. Melina serves as the first point of contact for LSPs, developers, and real estate professionals, assisting them in determining their tax credit eligibility and helping to structure their projects accordingly.

Melina is the President of Brownfields Coalition of the Northeast (BCONE), Chairs a Mentoring Committee for BCONE, and also serves on several National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) committees and event committees. Like Warren, she is a frequent presenter at industry conferences nationwide. Melina is a Boston Business Journal 2023 '40 Under 40' honoree. Chosen from among nearly 300 nominations, the BBJ recognized these 40 young professionals based on their “career accomplishment, focus on success and commitment to community.”

Alisa M. Augenstein

Senior Architectural Historian | The Public Archaeology Laboratory, Inc.

Alisa has more than 15 years of professional experience in cultural resource management, historic preservation planning, and regulatory compliance. She has special expertise in the utilization of state and federal historic tax credits and has consulted on the redevelopment of hundreds of buildings throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. In her capacity as a preservation specialist and architectural historian, Alisa provides guidance to developers and architects on appropriate methods and materials for complex redevelopments. Current projects include the adaptive reuse of the former William Barton Rogers School in Boston’s Hyde Park neighborhood to the state’s first LGBTQ affordable senior housing development and the rehabilitation of the Industrial Trust Company Building, also known as the “Superman Building,” in Providence, RI. Alisa has a BA in History and Anthropology and an MA in History and Archaeology from the University of Rhode Island. In 2018, she was recognized as an emerging leader in the preservation community with a Paul E. Tsongas Award from Preservation Massachusetts.

Susan Baker

Collections Manager | House of the Seven Gables

As Collections Manager for the 356-year old House of the Seven Gables in Salem MA. She has helped lead The Gables’ efforts to get involved in climate change actions, is the curator responsible for the institution’s collections and, in part, for the structures themselves. Baker joined Preservation Partners in Salem, a city-led forum for historic preservation groups to meet and share news and concerns. From there she participated in a sub-group led by the city’s preservation planner and including Salem Sound Coastwatch, Historic New England, the Peabody Essex Museum, Essex National Heritage Area, Destination Salem, Historic Salem and the National Park Service. This group has organized four conferences devoted to the topic of climate adaptations. Over the course of the sub-group’s work, she and Barbara Warren of Salem Sound Coastwatch collaborated to develop a successful Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management grant request for $509,919 to address the impact of climate change on the historic property. The grant, jointly administered by The Gables and its project partner Salem Sound Coastwatch, is the first in the state to a nonprofit museum for focusing on adaptations that are needed to the built environment.

Maureen Cavanaugh

Senior Planner | PAL, Inc.

Maureen is a Senior Planner with over 35 years of experience in cultural resource management, historic preservation planning, state and federal rehabilitation investment tax credits, and preparation of environmental analysis and regulatory compliance documents for review by the National Park Service, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, state historical commissions, and local planning boards and historical commissions. She has a wealth of professional experience in developing environmental planning documents for an array of public and private real estate projects. Maureen received a BA in Fine Arts from the University of Rochester and an MA in Urban Affairs from Boston University. She is the recipient of Preservation Massachusetts awards in 2014 for her contributions to historic rehabilitation projects and in 2016 honoring women in historic preservation.

Suzanne Cherau

Senior Archaeologist/Principal Investigator | PAL, Inc.

Suzanne has over 35 years of archaeological experience. Since joining PAL in 1987, she has directed over 400 cultural resource management projects in New England, New York, and New Jersey and has worked extensively in coordinating projects requiring review under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, National Environmental Policy Act, and Section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act. Suzanne specializes in Northeast historic urban and industrial archaeology and manages the archaeological aspects of all PAL’s work on dam removal and ecological restoration projects. Suzanne received a BS in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and an MA in Classical Art History and Archaeology from the Université de Dijon-Bourgogne, France.

Alan J. Chille

General Manager | Providence Performing Arts Center

General Manager of the Providence Performing Arts Center and Vice President of Professional Facilities Management, Alan is a graduate of Rhode Island College (RIC). While at RIC, he managed the "Rathskellar College Pub," served as Operations Manager of the student union building, and oversaw programming as Assistant Director of Student Activities and Programming. Alan left RIC to work in concessions at the Worcester Centrum (now the DCU Center) for a time before joining PPAC in 1984. In his 35 years as General Manager, Alan has overseen over $30 million worth of capital facility improvements. With the establishment of Professional Facilities Management in 1989, a for-profit subsidiary of PPAC, Alan extended his responsibilities to PFM facilities and now serves as Vice President. He spearheaded the theatrical consulting of the Durham Performing Arts Center, a theater in North Carolina opened in 2008 that is managed by PFM.

Alan remains active in his college fraternity, Kappa Delta Phi. He currently serves on the RIC Foundation Board of Directors. He is a member of the Rhode Island Hospitality Education Foundation and of the International Association of Assembly Managers (IAAM). Alan is also a member of the Providence Design Review Commission (maintaining historical integrity in architectural projects throughout the downtown community). In 2009, he established an endowment at RIC, the Alan J. Chille Leadership Excellence Award. This is presented annually to a student who exemplifies what it means to be a student leader. Alan received an honorary doctorate from Rhode Island College in 2016.

Kayla G. Coleman

Kayla is an art historian, curator, educator, writer, and public art advocate who specializes in Modern and Contemporary art by Black artists in the United States and the Caribbean. Her work is rooted in topics that include access, post-colonialism, gentrification, and the intersections of marginalizations. Kayla received an AS in Gallery & Museum Studies and Photography from Queensborough Community College, a BA in Art History from Brooklyn College, and a MA in Art History from the City College of New York. Since beginning her career, Kayla has held positions at the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Studio Museum in Harlem, New York Historical Society, WhiteBox, and BronxArtSpace. She has delivered lectures and panels at Wofford College, Brooklyn College, BronxArtSpace, and the New York African Studies Association. She has contributed writing and research for books, magazines, and catalogs including publications on Alma Thomas and Bettye Saar. Passionate about Human and Civil Rights, Kayla has done community organizing around racism, prison reform, housing rights, immigration, abortion rights, and voting rights. She is excited to continue the important work of the New England Museum Association, where she can apply her knowledge and experience to continue cultivating a more equitable and informed museum world.

Janine da Silva

Program Manager, Visitor Experience & Resource Stewardship | New Bedford Whaling National Historic Park

Janine (Jan) heads park operations and programming, as well as being the park’s cultural resource expert, focusing not only on architectural history but also its local history. As part of her NPS duties, Jan sits on the New Bedford Historical Commission providing support on preservation of the local historic districts. She also serves as Chair of the New Bedford Community Preservation Committee. In addition to working for the National Park Service, Jan has served as a consultant to the New Bedford Historical Society and the Massachusetts Historical Commission. She is co-author, with Kathryn Grover, of a Historic Resource Study of the Boston African American National Historic Site prepared for the National Park Service. Jan graduated from Princeton University with a degree in History and from Roger Williams University with a degree in Historic Preservation.

Ted Dattilo

Cultural Resources Specialist | PAL, Inc.

Ted is a Cultural Resources Specialist who serves as a field archaeologist and supervisor, as well as working on projects involving historic buildings and cultural landscapes, including historic rehabilitation tax credit projects. He received a BA in Anthropology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, a post-baccalaureate certificate in Geospatial Intelligence Applications (GIS) from Pennsylvania State University, and a Master of Design Studies in Historic Preservation from the Boston Architectural College.

Erin Doherty

Senior Preservation Planner | Epsilon Associates, Inc.

Erin Doherty is a Senior Planner at Epsilon Associates, Inc. with over 10 years of professional
experience in cultural resource management and historic preservation planning. Erin provides
guidance to project teams navigating regulatory requirements affecting historic properties,
working to secure approvals from agencies such as local historical commissions, State Historic
Preservation Offices, and the National Park Service. Having spent much of her career in the
public sector, Erin has an intimate familiarity with environmental laws, regulations, and
guidelines affecting historic resources at the local, state, and federal levels. Erin also has
extensive experience in state and federal historic rehabilitation tax credit applications. Prior to
joining Epsilon, Erin worked at the Massachusetts Historical Commission as a tax credit
reviewer and at the Boston Landmarks Commission overseeing the administration of the City’s
Beacon Hill, Fort Point Channel, and Aberdeen local historic districts.

Jennifer B. Doherty

Local Government Programs Coordinator | Massachusetts Historical Commission

Jennifer has more than10 years of experience leading all aspects of historic preservation programs, including research and documentation work, municipal preservation planning and state historic preservation office staff, and serving on a municipal historical commission. With advanced degrees in both historic preservation and regional planning, her passion is strengthening the role of historic preservation within the larger planning processes at the local, regional, and state levels.

Dianna Doucette, PhD

Senior Archaeologist/Principal Investigator | PAL, Inc.

Dianna is a Senior Archaeologist/Principal Investigator with over 35 years of archaeological experience in the Northeast. Her expertise and research interests include pre-contact Native American history, land use, and settlement patterns in the Northeast, and geoarchaeological methods. Dianna received a BA in Anthropology from the University of New Hampshire, an MA and PhD in Anthropology from Harvard University, and a Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies from the Harvard University Extension School.

Evy Dueck

Founder | 19 Carter

Evy founded 19 Carter in 2008 and collaborated with over 600 business professionals and volunteers to buy and renovate the charming, historic 1887 church in Berlin’s town center. Open to the public after 10 years of fundraising and construction, this unique gathering space now draws thousands of patrons annually. Dueck honed her knowledge of non-profit management as Executive Director of Indian Hill Music in Littleton (now Groton Hill Music) and the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra in Cambridge. In addition, she was chair of Berlin’s 1870 Town Hall Committee which revived a town-owned historic building. The building is now flourishing as an accessible function hall for cultural and community events. Her experiences allow her to balance historical significance with functionality when working in preservation. Previously she performed in Boston and throughout New England as a classical violinist and has also played fiddle in various contra dance bands.

Beth Giannini

Transportation Program Manager | Franklin Regional Council of Governments

Beth is the Transportation Program Manager at the Franklin Regional Council of Governments.
She works with the communities in Franklin County on projects related to transportation, recreation, and historic preservation. Beth serves as a member of the Western MA Historic Commission Coalition Steering Committee, and enjoys helping the towns in Franklin County to embrace their local history.

Jeff Gonyeau

Eastern MA Circuit Rider | Preservation Massachusetts

Naomi Gordon

Program Coordinator | Enslaved Legacy History Coalition

Naomi was first introduced to the Coalition through a joint internship between SLHC and Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site in the summer of 2023. Her role has evolved into working full-time as SLHC's Program Coordinator, where she provides strategic support to the growing organization. She fosters relationships with SLHC-affiliated member organizations and develops opportunities for joint program engagement. She also coordinates future SLHC speakers who are engaged in preserving the history of enslavement and freedom, as well as the accomplishments of enslaved descendants. Naomi is a recent graduate of Wellesley College, where she earned a bachelor of arts degree in Philosophy. She is based in Cambridge, MA.

Alex Goutier

Project Coordinator | Enslaved Legacy History Coalition

Alex Goutier is the 2024 Descendants and Interpretive Partnerships Intern at the Coalition, working in conjunction with the Longfellow House. As a Public History graduate student at Northeastern University, he is dedicated to communicating Historical Academia to wider, marginalized populations. In line with these teachings and experiences, he is most interested in developing the Coalition's research, writing, and community engagement resources.

Scarlett Hoey

Director of Membership Experience | NEMA

Scarlett connects museum professionals and institutions throughout the Northeast. She discovered her passion for museums while earning a BFA in Art History and Photography at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Her past work experience includes ArtsWorcester, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, The Boston Athenaeum, Boston’s Old South Meeting House, and Brisbane's Newstead House. At NEMA, she coordinates the Community of Practice on Interpreting Enslavement and Freedom along with organizing workshops on the topic. She is an active participant in the Gender Equity in Museums Movement and is a Leadership Worcester alumna (Class of 2017-2018). Her research and photography have been supported by grants from ArtsWorcester and the Worcester Arts Council. In her free time, she loves exploring museums with her toddler.

Michelle Johnstone

Senior Preservation Planner | City of Worcester

Michelle has been involved in the field of historic preservation for ten years. In her current role as Senior Preservation Planner for the City of Worcester, she strives each day to advance the city's historic preservation goals and initiatives. Her role involves coordinating and managing various preservation planning projects, including liaising the Worcester Historical Commission in carrying out the city's demolition delay ordinance and administration of local historic districts, project managing grant-funded initiatives, creating new local historic districts, making recommendations, as the liaison for a certified local government, in the review of Section 106 documentation, event planning for the biennial Worcester Preservation Awards, and generally infusing preservation advocacy into a city that she loves. Ms. Johnstone has a strong passion for preserving and promoting the history and culture of Worcester and its diverse neighborhoods and enjoys stimulating civic pride through sharing Worcester’s history.

Patricia (Patti) Kelleher

Preservation Planner | City of Salem

Patti has served as the City of Salem’s Preservation Planner since 2016, providing guidance to the Salem Historical Commission on proposed building projects in Salem’s four local historic districts as well as for preservation projects citywide. She has more than 25 years of experience in historic preservation planning.

John Kelly

Principal Investigator | PAL, Inc.

John is a principal investigator who specializes in seventeenth- to nineteenth-century Native American sites, colonial New England farmsteads, and urban cemeteries and has led investigations at pre-contact and post-contact archaeological sites. He received a BA in Anthropology from the University of Connecticut and an MA in Historical Archaeology from the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Dan Kolodner

Partner | Klein Hornig

Dan focuses his practice on community development projects utilizing tax credit financing. He specializes in complex deal structuring, combining tax incentives – such as New Markets Tax Credits, Historic Tax Credits, Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, and Renewable Energy Tax Credits – with state tax credits and other financing sources in a variety of community development transactions. He regularly represents both for-profit and nonprofit developers, qualified active low-income community businesses (QALICBs), and community development entities (CDEs), as well as institutional tax credit investors. Dan regularly shares his expertise at conferences on both the national and local level, speaking on the topics of Historic Tax Credits, New Markets Tax Credits, and other Federal and state tax incentives.

In 2014, Dan was awarded the Paul E. Tsongas Award by Preservation Massachusetts for his work on historic tax credit projects across Massachusetts. The Paul E. Tsongas Award is given annually and honors “those who have played an extraordinary role in promoting historic preservation in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.”

Dan was also recently recognized by The National Law Journal as a “Boston Rising Star.” The Boston Rising Stars are selected as the region’s 40 most promising lawyers under age 40 who have “wielded influence in their practice areas, demonstrated strong leadership qualities, developed unique practice niches, showed expertise in litigation or transaction work, and committed themselves to pro bono work.” Dan was honored for his community development legal practice and his pro bono work.

Before joining Klein Hornig, Dan was an attorney in the Syndication Department at Nixon Peabody, where he focused his practice on community development finance.

Albert LaValley

President and co-Founder | Sustainable Comfort

Albert has more than 15 years’ experience in construction and real estate, having provided consulting services for developers, construction managers, and building operations and maintenance professionals in 10 U.S. states. Albert began his career in the trades as an electrician before achieving a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He joined Comfort Systems USA where he started a consulting practice focused on the development and operation of energy efficient, healthy, and environmentally friendly multifamily housing.

Paul Lessard

Architect

Brian Lever

Associate | Epsilon Associates, Inc.

Brian has over 20 years of experience in architectural history, archaeology and preservation planning. He provides assistance to clients in meeting regulatory requirements through consultation with state and federal agencies and the preparation of historic preservation compliance documentation. He has experience in implementing Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, and related local, state, and federal environmental laws, regulations, and guidelines affecting historic resources. Additionally, Brian has expertise in state and federal historic rehabilitation tax credits and formerly was the Senior Preservation Planner for the City of Newton.

Michael Lozano

Vice President of Development | Trinity Financial

Michael joined Trinity in 2016 and oversees development projects in Massachusetts and Connecticut. He manages the development team of professionals and consultants through the site acquisition, design, financing, construction, and marketing phases of each project. Michael has extensive experience with complex financial transactions, particularly those utilizing Low Income Housing Tax Credits and Historic Tax Credits. Recently completed projects include the redevelopment of the Washington Village public housing site in Norwalk, CT into a new 273-unit mixed-income transit-oriented development renamed Soundview Landing and the redevelopment of the former Worcester County Courthouse into 118-units of new mixed-income apartments. He is currently leading the redevelopment of the Curtis Apartments public housing site in Worcester into a vibrant new mixed-income community and 150 Centre Street at Shawmut Station, a transit-oriented mixed-income project in Dorchester, MA. Prior to Trinity, Michael was the team-lead on over half a dozen award-winning affordable housing developments for a prominent national non-profit development company and several local community development groups, and before that was an architect at a Boston-based firm. Michael has a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Cornell University and a Master of Arts degree in Urban Planning from Tufts University.

Lauren McCormack

Executive Director | Marblehead Museum

Lauren has served as the Executive Director of the Marblehead Museum since 2018, where she has led several projects to uncover and share the history of Black individuals who lived and worked in Marblehead throughout its history, for which the Museum earned a 2023 AASLH History Leadership in History Award. The Museum's current project is to research, preserve, and interpret the newly-acquired 1766 detached Kitchen and Slave Quarters of the Jeremiah Lee Estate. Prior to that, she was the Project Director for an Institute of Museum and Library Services National Leadership Grant, Engage Families, with the USS Constitution Museum, where she led a team that studied best practices for encouraging engagement and learning among and between all family members in museum programming (engagefamilies.org). She has also served as the Assistant Director of Education and Programming for Old Sturbridge Village. McCormack served as the Research Coordinator and Mass Humanities Scholar-in-Residence for the USS Constitution Museum, where she studied People of Color who served in the U.S. Navy during the War of 1812, as well as researched over 1,000 of USS Constitution’s crewmembers during the War of 1812. McCormack has a Masters of Arts degree in American History from Brandeis University and a Masters of Arts degree in American and New England Studies from Boston University, where her major paper was a study of the Black community living on the North Slope of Boston’s Beacon Hill in the early 19th century.

Bonnie McDonald

President & CEO | Landmarks Illinois

Over her 11-year tenure as President & CEO, Bonnie has led Landmarks Illinois to become a statewide and national voice for relevant change for the preservation movement. Bonnie's transformative leadership has led Landmarks Illinois to focus on people and their vital connection to place, and to develop collaborative solutions addressing community concerns like climate change, affordable housing and lack of access to capital. Her policy work to incent preservation has led to over $6B in investment in existing buildings and over 30K new jobs created.

The James Marston Fitch Charitable Foundation awarded Bonnie the 2020 MidCareer Fellowship to inform, inspire and support preservation's evolution through the Relevancy Project, a four-year interview and research initiative culminating in the recently published "The Relevancy Guidebook: How We Can Transform the Future of Preservation."

During this time, she has also maintained her commitment to serving as volunteer and mentor in the preservation community. From 2018-2021, Bonnie chaired the board of the National Preservation Partners Network, the national nonprofit representing preservation organizations, and she currently serves as an appointee to the State of Illinois Route 66 Centennial Commission and the National Council on Public History Labor Task Force. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot appointed Bonnie co-chair of the Chicago Monuments Project Advisory Committee in 2020 to help lead a two-year truth and racial reckoning process around the city's problematic artworks.

Bonnie and Landmarks Illinois proudly received the AJA Chicago Distinguished Service Award in December 2022. She holds a Master's Degree in Historic Preservation Planning from Cornell University.

Kathi Mirza

Municipal Waste Reduction Branch Chief | MassDEP

Elizabeth Paliga

Preservation Services Manager | Historic New England

Elizabeth joined Historic New England in 2021 as the Preservation Services Manager for Northern New England. She oversees 51 privately-owned easement properties, working with homeowners to answer questions about routine maintenance as well as review proposals for larger projects. She also engages with the cultural history of the region by researching the lives of the people who lived at these properties. Elizabeth previously worked with local governments in Scotland to protect vulnerable properties from insensitive alteration. She holds a MSc in Architectural Conservation from the University of Edinburgh and two BAs, in Archaeology and Architectural Studies, from Boston University.

Dylan Peacock

Senior Preservation Services Manager | Historic New England

Dylan has been with Historic New England since 2016 and works with homeowners across New England to protect their properties with preservation easements. Dylan also manages a portion of the properties in the easement portfolio, enforcing existing restrictions and providing guidance to homeowners on preservation, maintenance, and repairs. Previously, he worked at the Public Archaeology Laboratory in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, one of the region’s leading cultural resource management firms. He holds both a B.S. and an M.S. in Historic Preservation from Roger Williams University in Bristol, RI.

Lindsay Randall

Regional Humanities Specialist | Metropolitan Area Planning Council

Lindsay joined the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) in 2022 as the Regional Humanities Specialist within the Arts & Culture department. Her work focuses on historic and cultural resources planning, emphasizing inclusive and equitable history, heritage, and culture. Lindsay develops and leads efforts to use storytelling and civic dialogue to inform planning practices, promoting a more inclusive region through arts, culture, and heritage. She also works on culturally sensitive approaches to address regional legacies of injustice and models equitable heritage tourism and commemoration. Additionally, Lindsay co-organizes the Eastern Massachusetts Historical Commission Coalition (EMHCC), fostering collaboration among historical commissions.

With over 14 years of experience in humanities and engagement, Lindsay previously served as the Curator of Education at the Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology. There, she integrated racial equality principles into educational programs using material culture and led a joint educational program with the Pueblo of Jemez. She has collaborated with indigenous groups and worked on projects with the Southern Poverty Law Center, National Park Service, and Royall House and Slave Quarters.

Lindsay holds a B.A. in History from Keene State College and an M.A. in Historical Archaeology from the University of Massachusetts Boston. She serves as a Commissioner for the Ipswich Historical Commission and as a Trustee for the Massachusetts Archaeological Society.

Phil Renzi

The Architectural Team (TAT)

As a key member of TAT’s leadership team, Phil has contributed to the firm’s growth over the past 32 years, responsible for over $850M in built developments. He is passionate about mentoring the next generation of architects and is a champion for superior client service, continuous learning, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Phil is involved in all phases of development, from site analysis and schematic design through construction administration, across various sectors, including multifamily, commercial, mixed-use, senior living, and skilled nursing facilities. His experience spans moderate rehabilitation, new construction, and a concerted focus on the preservation and adaptive reuse of historic structures—reimagining landmark buildings for new uses, carefully conserving and restoring architectural resources, and revitalizing urban cores throughout the Northeast.

Phil has led several of the firm’s notable redevelopments, including Courthouse Lofts in Worcester, MA, which won the Jack Kemp Excellence in Affordable and Workforce Housing Award from Urban Land Institute, a Metamorphosis Award from Retrofit Magazine, and a Paul & Niki Tsongas Award from Preservation Massachusetts. He is currently working on a $55 million historic adaptive reuse of the former Aeolian Piano and Organ Factory in Meriden, CT into 82 units and amenity space including the conversion of the former boiler house building into a clubhouse and fitness center, and a $25 million transformation of the former site of the Braintree Electric Light Department, which includes the addition of a new 600-foot public walkway along the Monatiquot River.

Anthony Rossi,

Rossi Development, LLC

Anthony has been practicing law, predominantly in real estate and land use, for over 25 years. He also runs and operates Rossi Development, LLC, which manages, constructs, and develops real estate projects throughout Massachusetts, with projects ranging from as small as 20-unit buildings and as large as 150+ unit buildings. Rossi Development, LLC, develops, purchases, and repurposes historic buildings for residential use with ground level retail. Most of the buildings are in poor condition and require extensive renovation and repair, most of which is conducted by the in-house team.

Jake Sanders

Project Executive | AHF

Jake joined AHF in 2021 as the Project Executive on the redevelopment of the Worcester Memorial Auditorium. He spearheads all facets of the project including identifying both financial and operational resources in an effort to find a viable reuse plan for the facility. Born and raised in Worcester, Jake most recently served as the Chief of Staff to Worcester City Manager Edward M. Augustus, Jr. In that capacity, he played an integral role in the relocation of the Worcester Red Sox and the construction of Polar Park as a member of the negotiating and construction teams. He also worked with state and federal officials, corporate partners and community leaders to secure funding and strategic opportunities for the City.

Prior to his time with the City, Jake served as the Director of External Relations at Becker College and as a Legislative Aide in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. He is a 2014 recipient of the Worcester Business Journal “40 Under 40” Award and has served on the Board of the Worcester Public Library, the Worcester Educational Collaborative, and the Worcester Community Action Council. He is a graduate of Ithaca College and received his master’s degree in Public Administration from Clark University.

Sarah Scott

Senior Land Use and Historic Preservation Planner | Metropolitan Area Planning Council

Sarah is a Senior Land Use and Historic Preservation Planner with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), Greater Boston’s regional planning agency. She works with cities and towns to develop plans and policies that advance community and regional goals, including comprehensive plans, historic preservation plans, and zoning codes. Sarah is a graduate of Vassar College and holds both an MCP and a MSHP from the University of Pennsylvania.

Troy Siebels

President & CEO | The Hanover Theatre

Troy serves as President & CEO of The Hanover Theatre, a 2,300-seat performing arts center in downtown Worcester, opened in 2008 following a $32 million dollar historic restoration. The theatre presents more than 150 performances to audiences of more than 180,000 annually, and is a key catalyst to the revitalization of downtown Worcester. In 2017, the theatre opened its Conservatory for the Performing Arts and now conducts year-round classes for 600 students weekly in acting, musical theatre and theatre technology. In 2020 the theatre began managing the new BrickBox theatre at the Jean McDonough Arts Center at 20 Franklin Street in Worcester, on behalf of the Worcester Cultural Coalition; the theatre now presents a series of plays annually in that 280-seat space. Prior to his experience at The Hanover Theatre, Troy served as Producing Director at Stoneham Theatre for its first three seasons; at American Stage Festival in Milford and Nashua, New Hampshire; and for three years in New York as General Manager of Focus Lighting, a leading architectural design firm with high-profile projects in most major cities in the U.S., Europe, Asia, South America and the Middle East. Troy serves on the Boards of Directors of the Worcester Cultural Coalition, Discover Central Massachusetts, the Downtown Worcester Business Improvement District and MassCreative.

Earl Taylor

President | Dorchester Historical Society

Earl Taylor has been the President of the Dorchester Historical Society since 2002. He earned his Masters degree in Library Science from Simmons College and served as a rare book cataloger at the Boston Public Library and later worked at the American Antiquarian Society, John Carter Brown Library, then Director of Library Systems at Boston College. Since 1987 his day job has been in residential mortgage lending.

Earl has been a Dorchester resident since 1979. He is a collector of all items relating to the history of Dorchester, including post cards, maps, pewter, pottery, books and photographs. In addition to articles in the field of bibliography, he has published a book of Dorchester postcards of the early 20th century. Mr. Taylor created and maintains a website www.DorchesterAtheneum.org devoted to the history of Dorchester, and he sends an e-mail every week to hundreds of recipients containing the Dorchester Illustration with a description of the illustration and of its historical context. He is one of the founders of the Tide Mill Institute.

VJ Tocci

Director of Development & Procurement | TOCCI

Utilizing his deep-rooted relationships and knowledge of the greater Boston building community, VJ Tocci assists in TOCCI’s strategy and development of diverse business ventures, real estate, and corporate growth. With over 30 years of construction and restoration experience, his passion and deep knowledge make him a key resource for TOCCI's historic conversion projects. VJ specializes in the renovation of under-utilized older buildings that revitalize not only the property, but also their communities. His background spans commercial, municipal, educational, and residential structures.

Dave Traggorth

Principal | Causeway Development

Dave is Principal of Causeway Development LLC, a real estate development and advisory firm, with particular emphasis on overseeing acquisition opportunities, permitting, and construction. Dave consults with numerous non-profits on complex real estate challenges and has directly overseen a wide variety of complex mixed-income, mixed-use development projects that leverage a wide variety of public and private financing.

Marieke Van Damme

Marieke has worked in nonprofits for over 20 years, starting as an Americorps VISTA volunteer in Alaska. She worked in collections management for the National Park Service in Sitka, Alaska, and in Salem, Massachusetts; managed an 18th-century historic site in Peabody, Massachusetts; and served as deputy director at the Bostonian Society/Old State House (now Revolutionary Spaces) in downtown Boston. She is currently executive director of History Cambridge. In 2014, Marieke launched Joyful Museums, a project studying workplace culture in museums, and in 2017, co-founded GEMM (Gender Equity in Museum Movement). She has a B.A. in history from Le Moyne College, an M.S. in Museum Studies from the Harvard University Extension School, and an M.A. in Arts Administration from Boston University. Her “spark site” was Erie Canal Village, a reconstructed 19th-century settlement in Central New York where she explored historic buildings as a child. She’s curious about your spark site! Send her a note at mvandamme@historycambridge.org.

William Wallace

Executive Director | Worcester Historical Museum

Bill Wallace, long-time Executive Director of Worcester Historical Museum, can often be found in an historic New England cemetery. He was co-founder of the Friends of Hope Cemetery, the city-owned cemetery established in the 1850s, and is a student of the work of local 19th gravestone carver and sculptor, B.H. Kinney.

Barbara Warren

Executive Director | Salem Sound Coastwatch

Barbara is the Executive Director of the environmental non-profit, Salem Sound Coastwatch and the Lower North Shore Regional Coordinator for the Massachusetts Bays National Estuary Program. She has a Master of Science in Environmental Studies from Antioch New England and a master’s degree in Education from Lesley University. She has completed trainings in communicating climate risk and engaging stakeholders in solutions. As a certified Massachusetts Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Provider, Barbara focuses much of her work on climate awareness and coastal resilience projects, including Salem’s Collins Cove living shoreline adaptation project and The House of Seven Gables Climate Assessment and Adaptation Plan. She works with Salem, Manchester, Marblehead, Beverly and Peabody on climate adaptation actions. Barbara was recognized for her work when she was awarded Salem State University’s Friend of the Earth Award and Friend of Geography Award and an Environmental Merit Award by EPA New England.

Scott Winkler, AIA, LEED AP

Principal | Wessling Architects

Scott obtained his bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Houston, where he began his career before moving to Fredericksburg, Texas, to work with a firm recognized for their historic preservation expertise. He relocated to the New England area in 2001 to continue to pursue his passion for the preservation and adaptive reuse of existing and historic structures.

With over 25 years of experience in architectural practice, his work has centered around complex renovations and the adaptive reuse of existing and historic structures including many National Register listed properties. Much of his work has involved meeting local, state, and federal preservation guidelines by following the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Historic Preservation as well as local preservation ordinances.

Scott’s work on historic buildings includes several historic theaters and performing arts centers. That experience led him to spend 4½ years as the head of an in-house architectural team working on the design of a new 5-hall performing arts center. This unique project incorporated acoustic lessons learned from historical performance spaces from around the world with cutting-edge research in venue design and maximizing audience and performer experiences. He continues to work on projects that include the design of renovations and restoration of existing performing arts spaces around New England.

Scott is a registered architect in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Washington DC and Florida.

Mathieu Zahler

Principal | MPZ Development LLC

Mathieu has more than 19 years of experience in both the design and construction industry and the field of real estate development. MPZ Development LLC works with public agencies, local organizations, and other entities to create smaller-scale mixed-income, multi-family, and mixed-use residential developments across Massachusetts.

Prior to establishing MPZ Development in 2017, Mathieu was a Senior Project Manager at Trinity Financial, Inc., in Boston, where he oversaw some $423 million in development and the creation of nearly 860 housing units over nine years. He also gained experience through positions at The Boston Garden Development Corporation (Boston) and at JJ Gumberg, Inc. (Pittsburgh), where he was involved in the development and operation of over 17 million square feet of retail and commercial space, conducting portfolio analysis of operational and capital needs. Mathieu is a licensed real estate broker in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the owner of MPZ Brokerage LLC.

Before he specialized in real estate development, Mathieu was the Director of Policy and Development for A Better City (ABC) , where he oversaw the organization’s policy activity and legislative agenda. In that role, he managed the abutters groups and private partnering process for the City of Boston’s Crossroads Initiative, the Silver Line Phase III Business and Institutional Committee, South Boston Stakeholders, and ABC’s foundation and government relations. Mathieu’s earlier work in the design and construction field was at Kallmann, McKinnell and Wood Architects, as a draftsman and then as a marketing coordinator; at HNTB Inc., in a marketing coordination capacity; and as Marketing Director for Copley Wolff Design Group.

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