Incorporating Art Into Historic Districts

Beth served the public for 16 years in local historic preservation offices in San Antonio, TX, Covington KY, Austin, TX, and Cincinnati, OH working with various design review boards and administering the local historic preservation regulatory framework. In 2022, Beth transitioned from local municipal preservation work to the local non-profit world and is currently the Executive Director of the Cincinnati Preservation Association, Greater Cincinnati's Historic Preservation advocacy and education organization. Before the nonprofit world, Beth also had extensive work throughout her career in preservation education for higher education, professionals, government officials, and the public. Beth has also rehabbed 4 houses, most recently rehabbing and restoring the Benjamin Dombar House and Studio, and successfully listed it on the National Register of Historic Places. Johnson is a graduate of Ball State University where she received a Bachelor’s degree in Urban Planning with a dual major in history and a minor in historic preservation. She received her Master’s degree in historic preservation planning from Cornell University. Beth continues to advance the preservation and planning field through being a governor appointed member of Ohio's Historic Site Preservation Advisory Board and an Executive Committee member of Ball State University's Planning Advisory Board.
Email: beth.johnson@cincinnatipreservation.org

Emily Palmer Wolff is a local artist, designer, and entrepreneur, with a passion for preservation. She has been involved with the local preservation community for the past 20 years. She has spent 13 of those years serving on the City of Covington's Urban Design Review Board and helped develop the city's current design review guidelines. Emily and her husband, Paul Weckman, have five restaurants in their Covington neighborhood, MainStrasse Village. Where they reside in a historic Catholic rectory with their five children. This entrepreneurial team has saved several historic properties and turned them into thriving local businesses. Wolff has received several awards for her preservation projects, ranging from adaptive reuse to excellence in young preservationism.
Wolff's passions range from the arts, culture, and historic preservation. She currently serves on the board of Cincinnati Preservation, ArtWorks, and MeetNKY.
Email: epalmerwolff@yahoo.com

Colleen is a passionate nonprofit arts leader with more than 20 years of experience leading community-based public arts. She has served as CEO & Artistic Director at ArtWorks, in Cincinnati, Ohio, since 2020. ArtWorks creates community-based public art that provides career opportunities for artists of all ages.

Colleen is deeply committed to advancing arts accessibility, equity, and inclusion. At ArtWorks, she is a driving force on initiatives that generate employment opportunities for more than 300 artists each year, with a focus on empowering young artists aged 14–24 from under-resourced communities. Colleen ensures that emerging talent thrives creatively and also earns sustainable wages.

Colleen launched ArtWorks’ groundbreaking mural program in 2007, one of the first of its kind in the nation that prioritized youth employment and community involvement. Under her leadership, this program propelled Cincinnati to win the prestigious 2010 City Livability Award at the U.S. Conference of Mayors, solidifying its reputation as a cultural destination. While at ArtWorks, she helped found BLINK, the nation’s largest light, art and projecting mapping event which generates $1.26 Million in direct economic impact. Subsequently, Cincinnati earned recognition as one of the top 20 most vibrant art and cultural cities in the SMU DataArts Arts Vibrancy Index both in 2020 and 2022. ArtWorks also helped Cincinnati garner acclaim from USA Today’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice poll – placing the Queen City in the top 10 best cities for street art in 2021, 2022, and 2023.

Colleen has a degree in Public and Social Art from Warren Wilson College and was recognized as one of their 2020 Distinguished Alumni honorees. She is currently completing a certificate in Nonprofit Leadership from Harvard Kennedy School. Colleen received a Legacy Next Generation Leader Award and is a Cincinnati Business Courier C-Suite honoree. She is a graduate of Leadership Cincinnati, Strong Cincinnati, the Nonprofit Leadership Institute of Greater Cincinnati’s EXCEL, and Leadership Council for Nonprofits’ BOLD (Board Orientation + Leadership Development). Colleen currently serves on the boards of Creative Ohio, dedicated to advocacy for arts support of Ohio creatives and the creative economy, and the Leadership Council for Nonprofits, maximizing the impact of nonprofit organizations and developing their leaders to strengthen community. She has also served on the boards of WavePool, Mini Microcinema, and the Artery.

As an artist, Colleen’s practice is interdisciplinary, primarily in the areas of photography and writing. She has studied with internationally renowned photographers Rebecca Norris Webb, Alex Webb, and Sohrab Hura, and has attended international art residencies at Art Ichol in Maihar, India, Mildred’s Lane in Pennsylvania, and the International Center for the Arts in Monte Castello di Vibio, Italy. Colleen lives with her husband, an art teacher, and their two creative children, along with their dog and cat. She enjoys travel, cooking, being outdoors, spending time with friends, and playing her button accordion.
Email: Colleen@artworkscincinnati.org

With a portfolio spanning beyond the last decade, Andrew’s work focuses on lasting positive impact. Centered around igniting cities and entrepreneurs through creative placemaking and experience creation, his work has resulted in material, lasting culture.
Email: Andrew@theagar.com