Not Another Integrity Debate: Local Preservation Efforts and Strategies in Action

Adrian Scott Fine serves as the Senior Director of Advocacy for the Los Angeles Conservancy, Adrian Scott Fine oversees the organization’s outreach, advocacy and response on key preservation issues within the greater Los Angeles area. This includes setting priorities, protecting historic places, developing initiatives, working with local governments and community stakeholders, and preparing responses to Environmental Impact Reports (EIRs). The Los Angeles Conservancy is the largest local nonprofit historic preservation organization in the country. Previously he was with the National Trust for Historic Preservation as the Director of the Center for State and Local Policy, based in Washington, DC. From 2000 to 2009, Mr. Fine was the Director of the Northeast Field Office of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, coordinating the programs and advocacy efforts in Philadelphia, serving the states of Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Adrian Scott Fine currently serves as the President of the board of trustees for the California Preservation Foundation, is a founding member of Docomomo US/Southern California, and teaches at the University of Southern California Heritage Conservation Summer Program, the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions, and as part of the Getty Conservation Institute’s (GCI) Conserving Modern Architecture Initiative.

Sarah Steen, MSHP, is the landmarks coordinator for King County, Washington, managing local designation, design review processes and preservation policy implementation with an emphasis on social equity and inclusion. As an architectural historian with a professional interest in vernacular structures and cultural landscapes, she has over 10 years of experience in above-ground fieldwork and preservation planning for the National Park Service and various State Park systems along the west coast. Prior to her work for King County, she served for five years as the preservation coordinator for Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve on Whidbey Island, managing a joint town/county HP regulatory process and developing community-based projects and programs aimed at expanding awareness of the unique issues involved in protecting and interpreting complex cultural landscapes. Sarah holds an undergraduate degree in U.S. History and a Masters in Historic Preservation from the University of Oregon. She currently sits on the boards of Historic Whidbey and 4Culture and serves on the Mountains to Sound National Heritage Area Advisory Committee.

Tiffany Tolbert is Senior Director for Preservation of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund (AACHAF) at the National Trust for Historic Preservation. In her position she leads the high-profile national preservation programs and projects, such as the HBCU Cultural Heritage Stewardship Initiative and Preserving Black Churches and develops preservation strategies for historic sites associated with African American Cultural Heritage such as the Nina Simone Childhood Home, the John and Alice Coltrane Home and sites associated with Emmett Till and Mamie Till Mobley. Tolbert previously served as Director of the Northwest Field Office at Indiana Landmarks from 2006-2017. Tolbert is a native of Montgomery, Alabama and holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Huntingdon College (Montgomery, AL) in Political Science and History and Master of Historic Preservation from Georgia State University (Atlanta, GA). She has previously worked for the Alabama Historical Commission Black Heritage Council and the Georgia Historic Preservation Division as African American Programs Assistant. She has also completed consulting work throughout the Southeast where she completed National Register of Historic Places nominations, state historic marker preparation and conducted research on the role of women in the Civil Rights Movement. Her preservation expertise includes providing technical assistance to local organizations, advocacy, strategic and preservation planning, historic designation and rehabilitation. Her research on Rosenwald Schools, African American communities and the African American experience in Indiana has been included in multiple publications such as Reflections, a publication of the Georgia Historic Preservation Division and Traces, a publication of the Indiana Historical Society. Tolbert's currently serves on the board of Indiana Humanities and as chairperson of the Hobart (IN) Historic Preservation Commission.

Alex Westhoff, AICP, is a San Francisco-based planner with fifteen+ years public sector experience. Professional focuses have included climate resiliency, historic preservation, current and long range planning, and public involvement. Since 2019 he has served as a Senior Preservation Planner for San Francisco's Southeast Quadrant reviewing development proposals for both new and historic properties. His work has included bolstering outreach protocols to San Francisco's eight Cultural Districts. From 2014-2019, Alex helped to spearhead Marin County's award winning sea level rise adaptation program, including co-authoring two Vulnerability Assessments, an Adaptation Plan, co-creating the Game of Floods, and coastal hazard mitigation planning. Holding a joint Master of City Planning/Master of Landscape Architecture from UC Berkeley, his Master’s Thesis proposed the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta as California’s first National Heritage Area leading to enabling congressional legislation. Prior to working for Marin, he spent seven years with the Delta Protection Commission, focused on establishment of the Heritage Area in addition to environmental planning. Racial and social equity has been a key focus and Alex has had experience working on projects with Native American, Asian-American, and LGBTQ associations.

Kathryn Wollan is an architectural historian and independent historic preservation consultant. A Los Angeles native, she spent the first decade of her career as a consultant in Southern California. For nearly fifteen years, she served as subject matter expert in FEMA’s Environmental Planning and Historic Preservation Branch, leading the Section 106 compliance effort for post-Katrina disaster recovery of New Orleans public school facilities. She successfully assisted the Corita Art Center’s effort to landmark the artist’s studio and now sits on the organization’s Advisory Council. She is on sabbatical for the academic year 2022-2023, studying at the L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film Preservation.

Abigail Christman is a Senior City Planner in Landmark Preservation at the City and County of Denver. Abigail has a varied background having previously worked for consulting firms, Colorado Preservation, Inc., and the University of Colorado Denver. Her experience includes Section 106n consultation, reconnaissance and intensive-level surveys, National Register nominations, HABS/HAER/HALS documentation, neighborhood pattern books, preservation tax credit certification, interpretation, public outreach, and serving on the Denver Landmark Commission. Abigail also teaches a graduate course for CU Denver titled Historic Buildings in Context. Abigail holds a B.A. in History from the University of South, a M.A. in Public History/Historic Preservation from Middle Tennessee State University, and a M.A. in Histories and Theories of Architecture from the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, England.