Preservation

Mr. Ayón is the principal of AYON Studio in New York City, which provides comprehensive professional services in the fields of architecture and historic preservation. With more than 25 years of experience in historic buildings, his expertise ranges from building-envelope evaluation and repair to full-scale rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of a variety of properties. He currently serves as Vice President of Save Harlem Now! and Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of the New York State Preservation League, and he is a member of the Advisory Board of the Historic Districts Council and the Board of Directors of the James Marston Fitch Charitable Foundation. Mr. Ayón received a professional degree in Architecture and a M.Sc. in Conservation and Rehabilitation of the Built Heritage from the José Antonio Echeverría Polytechnic Institute in Havana, Cuba, and a Post-Graduate Certificate in Conservation of Historic Buildings and Archaeological Sites from Columbia University.

Ms. Barbacci is a preservation architect with over 30 years of experience in developing and managing preservation projects in Latin America. In 2017, she established Norma Barbacci Preservation Consultants, a consulting firm that specializes in the preservation of international cultural heritage. From 2001 to 2017, she served as Program Director at the World Monuments Fund (WMF) where she managed a portfolio of over 100 projects. Prior to joining WMF, Ms. Barbacci worked as a preservation architect at Beyer Blinder Belle Architects and Planners. She received a B.A. in architecture from Carnegie Mellon University and an M.S. in Historic Preservation from Columbia University.

Dr. Boston is an assistant professor in the Department of Africana Studies at the University of Pittsburgh. Her research, writing, and teaching focus on twentieth-century and contemporary African American urban history, politics, and popular culture, and her current projects explore gentrification’s racial operations in her hometown of Brooklyn. She has received funding and support from the Ford Foundation, the Social Science Research Council, the Institute for Citizens & Scholars, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, among other sources. Dr. Boston is a trustee emerita of Brown University, an alumni trustee of the New York City-based Prep for Prep program, and a member of the board of directors of the Municipal Art Society of New York. Before joining the University of Pittsburgh, she was a Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellow at New York University. She received a Ph.D. and M.A. in Africana Studies from Brown University and an M.A. in Political Science and B.A. in Political Science and African & African American Studies from Duke University.

Mr. Dennis is a principal at Higgins Quasebarth & Partners, a preservation consulting firm specializing in the restoration, rehabilitation, and adaptive use of historic properties. His work builds on his background in materials conservation, urban history, and land-use planning, and specializes in federal tax credit and local landmarks review, including design consultation on new buildings in historic districts and additions to historic buildings. A resident of Williamsburg, he formerly served as chair of the land use committee for Community Board 1 and has also served on the boards of the North Brooklyn Parks Alliance, Friends of Bushwick Park, and North Brooklyn Neighbors. He is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Historic Preservation program at Pratt Institute and previously taught at Columbia University.

Mary is a principal at Mary B. Dierickx Historic Preservation, an award-winning and pioneering historic preservation firm she established in New York City in 1977. She is the author of The Architecture of Literacy: The Carnegie Libraries of New York City and The Architecture of Public Justice: Historic Courthouses of the City of New York as well as numerous articles and lectures on preservation. In addition to serving on the boards of several New York City preservation organizations, she has served as Chair of the James Marston Fitch Charitable Foundation, President of the Fine Arts Federation of New York City, and Treasurer of the United States Committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (US/ICOMOS), where she is an Expert Member of the Scientific Committee on Historic Towns.

Mr. Dolkart is a professor of Historic Preservation at the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation and is a co-founder and co-director of the NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project. He is a preservationist and historian specializing in the architecture and development of New York City, with particular interest in the design and use of the common, yet overlooked, building types that line the city’s streets. He is the author of several award winning books, including Morningside Heights: A History of Its Architecture and Development, which received the Association of American Publishers’ award for best scholarly book in architecture and urban design; Biography of a Tenement House in New York City: an Architectural History of 97 Orchard Street; and The Row House Reborn: Architecture and Neighborhoods in New York City, 1908-1929, which won the Society of Architectural Historians’ prestigious Forrester Downing Award in 2012.

Ms. Eberhart currently serves as the President of the Friends of the Upper East Side and is on the boards of the Merchant’s House Museum and the Historic House Trust. She first entered the world of preservation through a neighborhood project—the capital campaign and restoration of the landmark Church of the Holy Trinity on East 88th Street. She later served as Manager of Public Affairs at the New York Landmarks Conservancy and as the first Executive Director of the Historic Districts Council. She also taught an undergraduate course on Historic Preservation at New York University. Mrs. Eberhart received an M.S. in Historic Preservation and an M.A. in History of Art from Columbia University.

Dr. Geismar is an archaeological consultant in the New York metropolitan area and is deeply passionate about New York City’s extraordinary but vulnerable archaeological record. She is a founder and board member of the Professional Archaeologists of New York City (PANYC) and has served several non-consecutive terms as its president. A recipient of several preservation awards and a member of the Register of Professional Architects (RPA), she was designated a New York City Centennial Historian and recently received the New York Archaeological Council’s (NYAC) Founder’s Award. She received a B.A. in English from Barnard College and a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Columbia University.

Ms. Judy is an award-winning Architectural Conservator and Preservation Consultant with over two decades of national and international experience. Her New York City-based practice provides advisory and technical services on architectural conservation for current and future landmarks. Ms. Judy has served as a conservation consultant for several UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the United States, Europe, and India. She also has a specialization in the conservation of modern architecture and has worked on several significant National Historic Landmark properties. Ms. Judy is an American Institute for Conservation (AIC) Professional Associate and received an M.S. in Historic Preservation from Columbia University.

As a preservation architect, Ms. Kaese enjoys working with other professionals to identify and solve technical issues with a scientific and investigative approach. Her strong interest in material properties and extensive experience with archive materials and construction methodologies helps her to address and anticipate a wide variety of building failures. Ms. Kaese has previously worked as a construction manager, architect, and owner’s representative, and she now runs her own architectural practice, Kaese Architecture PLLC. She enjoys teaching students and clients, and has lectured about many aspects of her work.

Ms. Levy has served as the Executive Director for Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts since 2015. She serves on the Board of Advisors of the Historic Districts Council and was recognized as a Woman of Distinction by New York State Senator Liz Krueger in 2018, and she has previously worked with Landmark West! and the Park Slope Civic Council. She holds dual M.S. degrees in Historic Preservation and Urban Planning from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, and a B.A. in Anthropology from Bryn Mawr College.

Mr. Neville is a Brooklyn-based independent heritage consultant whose research-driven interdisciplinary practice draws on over thirty-five years of experience in historic preservation, architectural restoration, field archaeology, public art, and other forms of site- specific and community-based investigative and interpretation. He has worked with the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, the Place Matters community heritage project, Higgins Quasebarth & Partners, the REPOhistory art collective, and Traditional Line, among others. He has also taught for over ten years in the historic preservation graduate programs of Columbia University and the Pratt Institute. He received an M.S. in Historic Preservation from Columbia University and a B.A. in English from Amherst College.

Mr. Olcott is a Fellow at the American Institute of Architects. The recipient of the American Academy in Rome’s Founders Rome Prize Fellowship, he was also recently inducted into the National Academy of Design. Mr. Olcott was a Commissioner of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission for over a decade, reflecting his life-long interest in the creation of contemporary architecture that enriches the historic fabric of cities. He is now the Co-Chair of the Board of Directors of the Municipal Art Society and serves as the Chair of the Preservation Committee.

Ben became the President of the Richard Hampton Jenrette Foundation (previously Classical American Homes) in 2023. The Foundation’s mission is to advance education, innovation, and stewardship in the fields of historic preservation, decorative arts, and historic landscapes. Previously, Ben served for seven years as the Executive Director of the American Institute of Architects New York Chapter (AIANY) and the Center for Architecture. He has held prior leadership roles at several prestigious academic institutions, serving as Assistant Dean for Communications at Harvard University Graduate School of Design and Director of Special Events and External Affairs at Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation.

Ms. Rappaport is an urbanist, architectural historian, writer, and educator. She is the director of Vertical Urban Factory, a think tank and consultancy, the coordinator of the history and theory program at the School of Public Architecture at Kean University, and the Publications Director at the Yale School of Architecture. Ms. Rappaport has previously taught at the Politecnico di Torino and various New York City area universities. She is the author of Support and Resist: Structural Engineers and Design Innovation (2008) and Vertical Urban Factory (2015) and the co-author of Design for Urban Manufacturing (2020) with Robert Lane. She published Industrial Palimpsest: Newark, N.J. (2022) with her students and is also a prolific essayist. Ms. Rappaport is a founding member of Docomomo US and Docomomo New York/Tri-State, where she previously served as president and is now vice president. She is a member of the program committee of the Design Trust for Public Space in New York and is on the Western Queens Community Land Trust steering committee. Ms. Rappaport was the director of the Sunnyside Foundation in the late 1980s working on the National Register application and numerous community preservation projects.

Ms. Saltzman is a founding principal of Li/Saltzman Architects, an award-winning preservation architecture firm committed to environmentally and socially responsible design. With a cultural and civic focus, Ms. Saltzman’s projects have included the adaptive use of historic buildings, the restoration of late-18th to mid-20th century structures, and new buildings within historic districts. Beginning her career working on archaeological sites for the Corpus of Mosaics in Tunisia, Ms. Saltzman’s projects now focus on New York, including the Lower East Side Tenement Museum and the restoration of High Bridge, the city’s oldest bridge. She is a member of the Architectural League, Association for Preservation Technology, ICOMOS, DOCOMOMO, and NCARB.

Before joining the World Monuments Fund as Program Director in 2010, Mr. Sanchis served as Executive Director of the Municipal Art Society. He has also served as Vice President for Stewardship of Historic Sites for the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Executive Director of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. He is the author of American Architecture: Westchester County, New York, which is illustrated largely with his own photographs. Mr. Sanchis currently serves on the boards of the Catskill Center for Conservation and Development and The City Club of New York City, and is Chair of the Preservation League of New York State. He received a B.A. in architecture from the Pratt Institute and an M.S. in historic preservation from Columbia University.

Mr. Shenfield became interested in preservation when he saw urban renewal destroy the business district of his native New Haven during his childhood. Alongside a career in advertising, he volunteered with organizations including the Landmark Commission and Lyndhurst historic site. Aper graduating from the National Trust’s Preservation Leadership Training, Mr. Shenfield led an effort in Cape May, NJ, where he now serves on the Historic Design Standards Committee, to save an 1878 Carriage House from demolition. Marc traveled to Cuba with the Preservation League of New York State and has restored two 19th century houses, both of which are on the National Register of Historic Places. He is a board member of the SS United States Conservancy, which works to assure the preservation and redevelopment of the legendary ocean liner.

Mr. Tolbert is the Executive Director of the Historic Districts Council, the citywide advocate for New York’s historically, culturally, and architecturally significant neighborhoods. He is a New York City-based preservationist and non-profit management leader, and previously served as HDC’s Deputy Director from 2005-2014. Mr. Tolbert has also held positions at the Center for Urban Pedagogy, Brooklyn Museum, and the Phillips Collection. He has also received grants and awards for the Queens Modern project, examining vernacular modernism in the borough of Queens, and currently serves on several boards, including Docomomo New York/Tri-State and the Victorian Society in America. Mr. Tolbert received a B.A. in Historic Preservation from the University of Mary Washington.

Ms. Tunick is a New York City-based artist whose paintings, sculptures and drawings have been exhibited in many museums and galleries. She has also been commissioned to complete multiple ceramic mosaics on the Brighton Line of the New York City Subway. Mrs. Tunick is the author of several books, including Terra-Cotta Skyline (1997), Paris and the Legacy of French Architectural Ceramics (1997), and Terra Cotta: Don’t Take it for Granite (1995). She has contributed essays for several books, and her articles have appeared in Studio Potter, American Ceramics, Ceramics Monthly, Historic Preservation, the APT Bulletin, Paris Notes and The New York Times. She is President of Friends of Terra Cotta, a national preservation organization. Ms. Tunick received an M.F.A. and a B.A. from Bennington College.

Mr. Wolfe is an award-winning architect, landscape designer, and journalist with specific expertise in renovating and restoring 20th century homes in the New York City region. He is trained as an architect and as a landscape architect and has been practicing both disciplines since 1988. He currently teaches in the Historic Preservation Masters Program at the Pratt Institute. Kevin received a Master of Architecture degree from Columbia University, a Master of Arts from Clark University, a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from The City College of New York, and a Bachelor of Arts from Holy Cross College.