America at 250: Forging Connections, Saving Places, Shaping the Future

Paul Steinke serves as executive director of the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia. He started in this role in June 2016 after serving on the organization’s board of directors for many years. Previously, Paul served as general manager of the Reading Terminal Market for 13 years, where he oversaw numerous improvements in the facility and tenant mix. Earlier in his career, Paul served as the founding Executive Director of University City District, a neighborhood improvement organization in West Philadelphia. Before that, Paul was a founding staff member of the Center City District, Philadelphia’s downtown improvement agency, where he served as Finance Director. A lifelong Philadelphian, Paul holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and economics from Pennsylvania State University and an MBA from Drexel University.  Paul serves on the board of directors of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, National Preservation Partners Network, Temple University Libraries, Logan Square Neighborhood Association, and the City & State PA advisory board.  He has also been named to Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker’s H.O.M.E. Advisory Committee and Market East Advisory Group. He lives near Logan Square with his husband and partner of 31 years, David Ade, an architect with a practice based in Philadelphia.

Earlier in his career, Paul served for four years as the founding Executive Director of University City District, a neighborhood improvement organization that has been central to the revitalization of West Philadelphia.  Before that, Paul was a founding staff member of the Center City District, Philadelphia’s downtown improvement agency, where he spent seven years as its Finance Director.

A lifelong Philadelphian, Paul holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and economics from Pennsylvania State University and an MBA from Drexel University.  Paul serves on the board of directors of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, National Preservation Partners Network, Temple University Libraries, and the City & State PA advisory board.  In 2025 he was also named to Mayor Parker’s H.O.M.E. Advisory Board and Market East Advisory Group. He lives near Logan Square with his husband and partner of 30 years, David Ade, an architect with a practice based in Philadelphia.

Hanna Stark is the Director of Policy and Communications at the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia, where she advocates for policies that protect historic spaces while encouraging sustainable development.

Prior to her current role, she served as the Policy Communications Coordinator for the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Government Relations department. Hanna has an M.S. in Historic Preservation from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. in Architecture from Clemson University.

In addition to her work at the Preservation Alliance, Hanna serves on the board of the Preservation Action Foundation.

Bonnie McDonald advances building reuse as a systems-level response to climate change, housing access, public health and spatial injustice. She is working to reframe preservation from a practice centering on regulation and materials to people and social needs. Since 2012, Bonnie has served as President and CEO of Landmarks Illinois advancing the organization’s mission to accelerate preserving and reusing significant places to foster healthy, livable and thriving communities. She’s spearheading the organization’s evolution through its 2025-2030 Transformational Plan, a framework to pilot accessible, equitable and solutions-oriented preservation practice. From 2018-2021, Bonnie served as board chair of the National Preservation Partners Network, the national nonprofit representing preservation organizations, and she is proud to have been awarded the James Marston Fitch Charitable Foundation Mid-Career Fellowship in 2020 resulting in her publication, The Relevancy Guidebook: How We Can Transform the Future of Preservation (Nov. 2023). In 2020, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot appointed Bonnie co-chair of the Chicago Monuments Project to help lead a two-year public process of racial reckoning around problematic monuments and public memory. She currently serves on the Illinois Route 66 Centennial Commission and National Council on Public History Labor Task Force. She holds a master’s degree in Historic Preservation Planning from Cornell University and a bachelor’s degree in art history, summa cum laude, from the University of Minnesota.

As President and CEO for the Los Angeles Conservancy, Adrian Scott Fine oversees the organization’s overall leadership for the organization within the greater Los Angeles region (serving 88 cities and unincorporated L.A. County, encompassing more than 4,000 sq. miles). This includes managing teams that help set priorities and provide strategic direction to educate and build awareness, protect historic places, and develop new proactive initiatives and programs, all while working collaboratively with local governments, nonprofit organizations, and community stakeholders. The Conservancy is the largest local, nonprofit membership-based, heritage conservation organization in the U.S. Previously he was the Senior Director of Advocacy for the Conservancy, overseeing advocacy, revitalization efforts, and responses on key preservation and heritage conservation issues.

Prior to the Conservancy he was with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, based in Washington, D.C., as the Director of the Center for State and Local Policy, and as the Director of the Northeast Field Office in Philadelphia. He provided leadership on key national priorities and public policy campaigns, and oversaw programs, initiatives, and advocacy efforts throughout Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Mr. Fine was also previously with Indiana Landmarks, the largest statewide heritage conservation nonprofit organization in the U.S. 

Mr. Fine is a past President of the Board of Trustees for the California Preservation Foundation; a founding board member of the Southern California chapter of Documentation and Conservation of the Modern Movement (DoCoMoMo SoCal); teaches at the University of Southern California’s Heritage Conservation Summer Program; serves as a trainer for the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions’ CAMP program; and is a frequent speaker for the Getty Conservation Institute’s (GCI) Conserving Modern Architecture Initiative.

Shaw Sprague joined the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 2012 and is the Vice President of Government Relations, where he oversees the organization’s federal advocacy priorities before Congress and the Administration. Shaw leads a dynamic team of advocacy professionals in support of funding for historic preservation programs, strengthening state and federal incentives that promote building reuse, and preserving the places and stories that provide meaning to our nation. Prior to his time with the National Trust, Shaw advocated for land conservation funding while working for The Trust for Public Land. For several years, Shaw worked on Capitol Hill for Senator Susan Collins as her principal advisor on National Resource, Trade, and Judiciary issues. Shaw is a graduate of Suffolk University Law School in Boston, Massachusetts, where he concentrated on environmental, municipal, and land use law.

Kathryn Ott Lovell is President and CEO of the Philadelphia Visitor Center, which welcomed over 1.4 million visitors last year. Since joining the Visitor Center in July 2023, Lovell has introduced global brands like TKTS and The Sly Stallone Shop to Philadelphia’s visitor centers; welcomed ArtStar, a locally and women-owned and operated retail space featuring crafts and souvenirs from Philly-based artists and makers; and opened the Liberty Garden, a seasonal food and beverage concession in the Park. Lovell has also convened the Historic District Partners, a coalition of more than thirty historical and cultural institutions, to work together to increase visitation and resources to Independence National Historic Park and America’s most historic square mile.

A civic leader and steadfast supporter of Philadelphia, Lovell served as Commissioner of Philadelphia Parks & Recreation from 2016-2023.  As PPR commissioner, Lovell instituted the department’s first strategic plan, which established a renewed vision and set in motion a powerful trajectory toward an equitable and exceptional parks and recreation system that connects people to each other, enriching experiences, and the natural world. She has led innovative initiatives to activate Philly’s parks and engage residents and visitors city-wide including Enhanced PlayStreets, Swim Philly, The Oval+, Parks on Tap and the Philadelphia International Unity Cup soccer tournament. Ott Lovell has also spearheaded ambitious park projects including the transformation of FDR Park and the reimagining of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

Prior to joining Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, Lovell served as executive director of the Fairmount Park Conservancy, where she elevated the organization’s profile and ushered in a dramatic shift in its strategic vision, building a host of new programs, executing high-profile projects, and securing funding from an array of local and national funders. She also served as chief advancement officer for Mural Arts Philadelphia for six years, during a time of significant growth and programmatic shifts for the organization.

Bob Jaeger co-founded Partners for Sacred Places in 1989 and currently serves as its President. Mr. Jaeger has overseen the publication of a recent study on the Economic Halo Effect of older sacred places, the founding of the National Fund for Sacred Places, and the development of programs to help congregations with internal capacity building, capital campaigns, engagement with the community, and the shared use of space.  Mr. Jaeger holds a Master’s degree in Preservation Planning from Cornell University and an MBA from the University of Michigan.

Trained as a cultural and architectural historian, Kevin Block received his undergraduate degree from Princeton University and his doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley. He has taught across the humanities and design fields at Berkeley, Princeton, the University of Pittsburgh, and Thomas Jefferson University. He also has worked with commercial developers, advocacy organizations, neighborhood associations, and individual property owners as a historic preservation consultant. Kevin serves, or has served, on the boards of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians, the Center for the Preservation of Modernism (Thomas Jefferson University), the Young Friends of the Preservation Alliance (the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia), and his local historical architectural review board.

The Rev. Betsy Ivey is the Director of the Philadelphia Fund for Black Sacred Places of Partners for Sacred Spaces. She holds Masters’ degrees from Lancaster and the General Seminaries as well as a Master of Science in Historic Preservation from the University of Pennsylvania. Rev. Ivey is an ordained priest in the Episcopal Church.

Dana Dabek serves as Director of Community Engagement and Transition Services, helping congregations reimagine their spaces and places within their communities. Working from the Philadelphia office, she brings twenty years of experience in grassroots nonprofits, public history, and community organizing to this role. She also serves as an appointed member on her local historical commission. Dana holds a BA in English and Gender Studies from the College of New Jersey, a Masters’ in Liberal Arts from the University of Pennsylvania, and pursued doctoral work in Communications from Temple University. She additionally holds certificates in fundraising and nonprofit leadership from Villanova University and Bryn Mawr College, respectively. She has completed the classroom requirements for a Level One (ACC) coaching credential from the International Coaching Federation.

As Director of Rural Initiatives at Partners for Sacred Places, Emily Sajdak leads programs focused on supporting congregations in rural communities across the United States. In this role, she manages sub-granting programs spanning diverse geographic regions, while developing innovative strategies for new programs and services tailored to rural congregations. Emily regularly represents Partners at external events and engages with diverse stakeholders to advance the mission of supporting sacred places as community assets in rural America. She also serves as Chair of Landmarks Illinois’ Skyline Council and as a Board Member of Glessner House. Emily holds a Master of Theological Studies and a Master of Theology from Calvin Theological Seminary, as well as an MA in Public History: Historic Preservation from Southeast Missouri State University. She has completed the classroom requirements for a Level One (ACC) coaching credential from the International Coaching Federation.

As Director of Revitalization Initiatives for Preservation Maryland, Laura Houston oversees the organization’s historic property redevelopment program, through which Preservation Maryland partners with government agencies, municipalities, nonprofit organizations, and developers to facilitate and manage preservation planning and redevelopment. The organization’s portfolio includes 13 active projects ranging from restoration of an 18th c. mill to adaptive reuse of an 1850s jail to interpretation and conservation of a late 19th c. African American schoolhouse. Laura’s professional background is in project management. Her academic background focused on culture as a tool for representation, influence, education, and diplomacy. She earned her M.A. in Cultural Politics and Policy from New York University and B.A. in International Studies from Texas State University.

Christiana Limniatis is Program and Outreach Manger for Preservation Maryland, working to grow and expand dynamic and wide-ranging preservation services across the state. Originally from New York State, Christiana was previously the Director of Preservation Services at Preservation Buffalo Niagara and has also worked as a preservation consultant in Louisiana and Tennessee. In 2011 she completed her coursework towards a MA in Historic Preservation Planning from Cornell University and has a BA in History/Political Science from The College of Saint Rose.

Christopher R. Rogers, Ph.D serves his community as an educator and cultural worker from Chester, PA with more than a decade of experience in supporting justice-oriented arts, culture, and community in the Greater Philadelphia area. He currently coordinates Friends of The Tanner House, incubating a revitalized Henry Ossawa Tanner House at the intersection of Black heritage preservation and community cultural organizing.

Eleanor Sharpe is the Principal and Founder of Sharpe Solutions: Cities, Places, and People, a visionary planning and advisory firm that delivers strategic expertise at the intersection of land use, policy, and community development, helping cities and institutions advance inclusive growth, responsive governance, and neighborhood revitalization. Eleanor brings bold ideas, deep experience, and a collaborative spirit to help communities, governments, and institutions shape the urban futures they deserve.

With over a decade of senior leadership in Philadelphia city government, Eleanor currently serves as Chief of Planning in the Office of the President, Philadelphia City Council. She previously held top posts as Executive Director of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission and Interim Deputy Mayor for Planning and Development, where she spearheaded major planning and zoning initiatives, guided cross-sector collaborations, and advanced transformative policy and development frameworks across the city.

In these roles, she led integrated planning efforts across key departments and agencies—including Housing & Community Development, Development Services, and Planning & Zoning, providing oversight for the Philadelphia City Planning Commission, the Historical Commission, the Art Commission, and the Zoning Board of Adjustment.

A trained architect and urban planner, Eleanor holds degrees from Howard University (B.Arch.) and the University of Pennsylvania (MCP). She’s also spent over 20 years in the classroom as an adjunct professor of planning and architecture at Temple, Drexel, and Penn, mentoring the next generation of city-shapers.

Martha Cross has a background in community development, real estate, planning, and management within mission-driven organizations, along with a strong commitment to teaching, mentoring, and serving her broader community. As a Principal and co-owner of MAKE Advisory Services, LLC, Martha leads real estate consulting engagements focused on capacity building, strategic planning, affordable housing, community development, and preservation. Her work supports clients such as SEPTA, the Philadelphia Parking Authority, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in making more strategic decisions about their real estate, including portfolio strategy, space optimization, and organizational change management.

Previously, Martha served as Acting Deputy Director of the City of Philadelphia’s Department of Planning and Development, working closely with the City Planning Commission, Historical Commission, Art Commission, and Zoning Board of Adjustment. Her earlier experience includes leading development activities for a nonprofit real estate organization in Baltimore and New Jersey, as well as practicing as an urban design and planning consultant in eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Martha holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Carnegie Mellon University, a Master of City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania, and an MBA from the Villanova School of Business.

Outside of her professional work, Martha teaches an Urban Design studio in the Architecture Department at Drexel University and serves as Chair of the Steering Committee for the InKind Baking Project, a volunteer-based initiative that fosters connection and community through acts of baking and sharing.

Vincent L. Michael, PhD has over 40 years experience in heritage conservation and education.  He worked on the creation of the first national heritage area, was Chicago Programs Director for Landmarks Illinois and directed the Master of Science in Historic Preservation program at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 1996 to 2010.   He has worked on heritage projects throughout the Americas as well as Asia and Europe.  He serves on the Boards of the National Trust Community Investment Corporation and the National Preservation Partners Network. He was Executive Director of the Conservation Society of San Antonio from 2016 to 2025 before joining Villa Finale.

Hanna Stark is the Director of Policy and Communications at the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia, where she advocates for policies that protect historic spaces while encouraging sustainable development.

Prior to her current role, she served as the Policy Communications Coordinator for the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Government Relations department. Hanna has an M.S. in Historic Preservation from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. in Architecture from Clemson University.

In addition to her work at the Preservation Alliance, Hanna serves on the board of the Preservation Action Foundation.

Heritage Consulting Inc., founded in 2004, is a Philadelphia-based consulting firm that works with non-profit organizations and government agencies nationwide and is dedicated to empowering communities and organizations to preserve and celebrate their unique cultural heritage and create thriving and sustainable communities. Donna Ann Harris is the firm principal.