Workforce Development in Preservation
To restore and maintain historic sites, trades training is needed to pass down specialized skillsets to a new generation. The preservation field needs robust workforce development programs to ensure our irreplaceable cultural heritage continues to be cared for, for generations to come. In this webinar, panelists representing successful preservation trades training programs share their best practices, program specifics, and talk about the perennial need for these kinds of opportunities. They explore how workforce development intersects with issues of social justice, economic development, and sustainability.
This event was part of the League’s Future of Preservation webinar series. Thank you to our program sponsors, the Peggy N. & Roger G. Gerry Charitable Trust.
More about our panelists
Ann Cuss joined World Monuments Fund as Regional Director of North America in 2021. Her work encompasses all aspects of cultural heritage for a variety of public, private, and government partnerships with a particular focus on public lands. Ann’s professional role is multifaceted and involves a mix of performing on-site condition assessments, hands on-treatments, and training young emerging historic preservation professionals in the care of historic materials. She coordinates multidisciplinary teams of tradespeople, architects, historians, and stakeholders for a holistic preservation approach.
Natalie Henshaw is the Historic Trades Program Manager for Preservation Maryland. She started her career at Savannah Technical College’s Historic Preservation and Restoration Program in 2013. During and after this her time at school, she worked in hands-on preservation with various non-profits, construction companies, and federal agencies. From 2014 through 2019, Natalie worked on seasonal, cross-country projects with HistoriCorps. In 2016, she founded a preservation company in Savannah, Georgia, specializing in window restoration. Natalie has also worked extensively in educational fields. She has taught after-school art classes, English in China, TEFL online tutoring, in-person and online history courses with Savannah Technical College (STC), and historic preservation classes with STC and Lamar Community College (LCC). She managed LCC’s Historic now-folded Historic Building Technology Program. Natalie enjoys traveling and hiking, and typically follows lawful good alignment.
With a background in architecture and a passion for nonprofit management, Milan Jordan’s career is the intersection of mission-driven work for built and cultural environments. Milan is currently the Director of the HOPE Crew at the National Trust for Historic Preservation. HOPE Crew is bringing Hands-On Preservation Experience to the next wave of preservation tradespeople. Prior to joining the National Trust, Milan was Director of Workforce and Emerging Professionals at the American Institute of Architects where she developed programming and resources for early-career professionals as well as women architects. Milan holds a Masters of Architecture from Georgia Institute of Technology and a Bachelors of Arts in American Studies from University of Maryland, College Park.
Laura Leppink is currently the Vice-Chair of Northern Bedrock Historic Preservation Corps, which seeks "to engage the next generation in the preservation trades by partnering with skilled trades professionals and Project Hosts to provide engaging hands-on learning experiences." In her professional position, Laura is a research and access assistant, working collaboratively with Dr. Gail Dubrow and Sarah Pawlicki at the University of Minnesota (UMN). Collectively their work explores how to bring disability justice to the many fields included in heritage conservation. Before completing her Masters in Heritage Studies and Public History degree at the UMN in 2020, Laura worked on historic preservation trade crews at the Western Center for Historic Preservation, Point Reyes National Seashore, and Northern Bedrock Historic Preservation Corps. During this time, she fell in love with the preservation trades and actively advocates for the preservation of our intangible trades skills alongside the conservation of our built environment. Laura continues to teach and complete window and cemetery restoration projects in addition to her academic pursuits.
Daniel McEneny is the Community Engagement Unit Coordinator at the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation’s Division for Historic Preservation (or SHPO). His work includes oversight of the Historic Homeownership Tax Credit, state and federal preservation grant, and Certified Local Government programs. Daniel’s team is additionally responsible for facilitating federal advocacy, development of the NY Statewide Preservation Plan, and promoting and expanding awareness about the SHPO’s many services to the public, preservation colleagues, and NYS investors. He is the lead developer of the SHPO’s traditional trades workforce development program and serves as the agency-wide Deputy Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer. He holds a BA in Art History from the University of Albany and serves his community as the president of Albany’s Washington Park Conservancy.