Advocacy and Grassroots Preservation: Fighting the Good Fight

A part-time job typing National Register Nominations in 1982 turned into a long career for Mindy. She has been the Executive Director of Preservation Pennsylvania since 2006, after spending 24 years at Historic York, Inc. (20 years as Executive Director). A Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from York College coupled with a Master’s degree in Historic Preservation from Goucher College has opened up many opportunities for work and volunteering.

Mindy serves on the boards of several history and preservation organizations: the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions (NAPC), the Pennsylvania Chapter of the Lincoln Highway Association, the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad Preservation Authority, and Main Street Hanover.

In her spare time, you’ll find Mindy exploring the Lincoln Highway and other old roads looking for great roadside architecture and searching for the perfect souvenir snow globe. You might also find her wearing seven layers of period clothing to participate in Civil War dancing or living history events with her husband, Rodney.

Sarah Hansen joined Greater Portland Landmarks as the Executive Director in June 2019. Prior to joining Landmarks Sarah served as Director of Preservation Services at Maine Preservation for two years. Sarah discovered her love of community revitalization as a history major at Connecticut College and received a M.A. in Preservation Studies from Boston University. After working with Boston Main Streets, she worked for the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s regional office in Denver covering South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana. She also worked for Colorado Preservation, Inc. and with Architectural Heritage Foundation in Boston, a nonprofit historic tax credit developer. After five years in Seattle as Coordinator of the Washington State Main Street Program, she worked for the Arkansas Community Foundation as Statewide Outreach Director. Sarah currently serves with a number of local, state and national organizations including Maine’s Main Street Advisory Council, the Steering Committees for both the Maine Alliance for Smart Growth and the Cultural Alliance of Maine, the Village Review Overlay Committee for the City of Westbrook, and the board of the National Preservation Partners Network. Sarah is a proud fifth-generation Maine native and is enjoying immersing her southern husband Cary Tyson in the wicked awesome culture of the state.

A talented organizer and researcher, Briana Grosicki, is a consultant with Ethos Preservation, based in Savannah, GA. She was most recently an Associate Principal at PlaceEconomics, providing economic impact studies, incentives development, and preservation toolkit services to municipal and nonprofit clients in 15+ states. Grosicki serves on the national Board of Directors for the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions and as chairwoman of Preservation Action, America’s grassroots lobby for historic preservation.