Buffalo Neighborhood Alliance

Schedule at a Glance - Descriptions Below
8:00 – 9:00 AM Registration, Morning Refreshments,Networking and Information Tables
9:00 - 9:15 AM Welcome - Wendy Nicholas, Director of the National Trust For Historic Preservation's NE Office
9:15 -10:15 AM “Cultural Preservation” Catherine Buell, Chair of the DC Historic Preservation Board
10:30 -12:00 PM Neighborhood Forum Sessions--Choose one of 4 sessions
12:00 – 1:45 PM Networking LunchInformation Tables, local craftsman, and Vendor Area
2:00 – 3:30 PM Neighborhood Forum Sessions -- Choose one of 4 sessions
3:30 – 4:30 PM Networking and Information Tables, Refreshments

Detailed Schedule

8:00 – 9:00 AM Registration, Morning Refreshments,Networking and Information Tables
9:00 - 9:15 AM Welcome - Wendy Nicholas, Director of the National Trust For Historic Preservation's NE Office

Main Session 9:15 –10-15 Cultural Preservation – Catherine Buell Chair of the Washington DC Historic Preservation Review Board Cultural preservation can be viewed as a preservation approach that includes not only the buildings, but landscaping, archaeology, and other aspects of neighborhoods that are important to its residents. And preservation must take this cultural preservation ethos into low-income neighborhoods and look for the natural allies that reside there.

Morning Sessions (choose one) 10:30 – 12:00 PM
Learning from the Hill District - Kim Ellis, Ph.D. ED, Historic Hill Institute The cultural center of African-American life in Pittsburgh, PA, the Hill District is an American city working its way back against the odds.
Weatherizing your Historic Home - Barbara Campagna, Jim Turner How to do it efficiently while preserving its historic value
Researching the History of your House - Cynthia M. Van Ness If walls could talk, the stories your house would tell… Want to get a glimpse into the secret past of your abode? This session is for you
Revitalizing Commercial Districts - Michael Bonafede & Maureen Palumbo Learn how to transform the way we think about the revitalization and management of our downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts.

12:00 – 1:45 PM Networking Lunch Information Tables, local craftsman, and Vendor Area

Afternoon Sessions (choose one) 2:00 – 3:30 PM
Best Practices in Neighborhood Revitalization - Harvey Garrett Learn how to address crime beautification vacant housing including; how to create a block club in your neighborhood.
Inspecting your Home – John Bero, Founder Bero Associates Learn how to set priorities and tackle issues facing your older home.
Maximizing the Character of your Historic Neighborhood - Melissa Jest Neighborhood coordinator for the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia
Upper Floor Revitalization in Commercial Districts - Gary C. Beasley Find new and alternate uses to upper floors of store fronts located in older neighborhoods.

Catherine Buell was named Chair of the Washington DC Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) in June 2010. She’s been a member of HPRB since 2008, is a proud resident of Historic Anacostia, where she was instrumental in the successful implementation of the Historic Home Owners Grant program, administered by DC Historic Preservation Office. Catherine is an attorney at Patton Boggs LLC where she assists clients with real estate matters. In addition to her HPRB responsibilities, Ms. Buell is on the board of trustees for the National Urban League as well the board of directors for both the Southwest Renaissance Development Corporation and the Levine School of Music. Given her commitment to community service, it’s no wonder that the Washington Bar Association named her its Young Attorney of the Year in 2008.

Kim Ellis, Ph.D. is the Executive Director of the Historic Hill Institute, in contract with the Pennsylvania History and Landmarks Foundation, and with funding support from The Heinz Endowments. She is a consultant with the Downtown Pittsburgh Market Square Underground Railroad Project, and is the Project Manager of the “Greening History” Campaign, greening around historic properties, promoting weatherization for older homes and buildings and securing green jobs for all. She was the co-organizer of the Preserve Pittsburgh Summit, with the Young Preservationists Association, August Wilson Childhood Home Tour and Group Facilitation.

Barbara A. Campagna, FAIA, LEED AP has worked as an architect, planner and historian – reinventing and restoring historic and existing buildings. She is the recipient of the 2002 National AIA Young Architect of the Year Award and a 2009 Fellowship in the AIA as “the leading national architect and policymaker for the integration of preservation values into green building practices.” She was co-founder and architectural leader of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Sustainability Program. Barbara grew up in Buffalo, and was the first Executive Director of the Landmark Society of the Niagara Frontier in Buffalo, ran her own architecture firm for many years in NYC, served as the Regional Historic Preservation Officer for the Northwest Region of the General Services Administration and was the Chief Architect for 29 historic sites operated by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Jim Turner believes that "preservation is important because there is too much emphasis on throwing away valuable building parts instead of fixing what you have".

Gary C. Beasley has been involved in rehabilitation and community revitalization activities throughout his working career, first as a contractor and for the past three decades with Neighbors Of Watertown, Inc. (NOW), where he is Executive Director. Under Mr. Beasley’s leadership, NOW, re-develops historic buildings and develops affordable housing. Matching housing and community development programs with Low Income Housing Tax Credits and Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits sold to investors, major historic properties in Watertown have been transformed from rundown vacant or underutilized properties to productive, historically rehabilitated buildings. Several of these projects have been honored with Excellence in Historic Preservation awards by the Preservation League of New York State. Gary serves on the board of the Local Development Corporation of Watertown, former President of the Neighborhood Preservation Coalition of NYS and has served as Chairman of the Town of Brownville Planning Board.

John Bero, a registered architect, founded Bero Architecture in the 1970s, and has worked on the restoration and rehabilitation of hundreds of Rochester landmarks, museums, churches, and houses, including the restoration of the George Eastman House and the derelict Hoyt Potter House (now headquarters for Rochester’s Landmark Society). He has provided building surveys and condition reports on the Susan B. Anthony House, the Stone-Tolan House Museum, the Genesee Lighthouse and many more and is a noted lecture on the care of older buildings. He is a recipient of the Landmark Society’s Presidents Award.

Cynthia M. Van Ness has an MLS from the University at Buffalo and a BA in art history from SUNY/Empire State College. She has been working in libraries since getting a page job at the Rochester Public Library all too long ago. Her first job after library school was at the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library, where she worked for 13 years. Half of those years were in the Grosvenor Room, the local history & genealogy collection, where she developed research and reference expertise in the people, places, things, and history of Buffalo. She was appointed Director of Library & Archives at BECHS in October, 2007. On her own time, she is the webmaster behind BuffaloResearch.com, a guide to researching ancestors, buildings, and companies in Buffalo.

Harvey Garrett is an early founder and Executive Director of the West Side Community Collaborative (WSCC) an organization that has been instrumental in Buffalo's West Side turn around over the past 10 years. In addition to his work with the WSCC, Mr. Garrett is past CEO of Buffalo ReUse, past Executive Director of Western New York AmeriCorps' Community Renewal Corps. Currently, Harvey provided leadership in working with the National Trust for Historic Preservation to develop today’s conference. Harvey is a founder of the Urban Roots Garden Center; He is co-founder of the Buffalo Immigrant and Refugee Empowerment Coalition and founder of the West Side Housing Partnership.

Michael Bonafede, the owner of two historic buildings in Downtown Albion, led the grassroots effort to establish the Albion Main Street Alliance (AMSA) and get the program designated by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 2008. He built coalitions between local officials, building owners, business owners and residents, and coordinated a pledge campaign to cover operating costs for AMSA's first three years. Michael served as AMSA's first president and interim program manager, and currently serves in the position of Past President on the Board of Directors.