Alumni

Neale Nickels, Director of Capital Projects for Historic Oakland Foundation

What made you pursue a Historic Preservation Graduate Program? "I always enjoyed architecture, carpentry, and history and never really considered combining my interests until I landed a job working on the restoration of James Madison's Montpelier in my hometown of Orange, Virginia. It was there that I saw learned how architectural investigation and skilled tradesmanship could blend together to create something that was simultaneously academic and artisanal, and overall very fulfilling to be a part of. After that, I began to think about changing careers and eventually found the MSHP program, which satisfied my desire to learn about materials conservation and architectural history."

How has your Historic Preservation academic background led you to the current role you are in now? "I currently serve as Director of Capital Projects for Historic Oakland Foundation, caretakers of Atlanta's oldest municipal cemetery and public greenspace, Historic Oakland Cemetery. The majority of what I do is project management, and working in a sensitive environment with significant historic resources requires a great deal of understanding of the needs of those resources. I have to make sure that we are consistent with our primary mission, which is to preserve and share the great resources in the cemetery while balancing the need for modern infrastructure and amenities. Additionally, we work closely with our neighbors - residents and businesses - to ensure that the integrity of our community outside of our walls is in harmony with the sacred ground within. I would not be adequately prepared to represent the historic fabric of Oakland without graduate education."

What was the most rewarding part about studying Historic Preservation in Charleston, SC? "One of the best things about the graduate program was that we were given real-world projects and had to learn how to work as a team to serve our clients' needs. Of course, Charleston and the surrounding area is a veritable playground for preservationists. Many residents and owners of historic buildings opened their homes and businesses to our classes to serve as a living laboratory, which is a priceless amenity to the program. I felt truly prepared for my career after taking advantage of all that was offered to me during my time as a graduate student."

Nathan Betcher, Preservationist for Ft. Sumter National Monument, National Park Service

What made you pursue a Historic Preservation Graduate Program? "Growing up I had always been interested in history.  Whether it was a house full of history books, or family visits to historic sites and museums, history had always been something very interesting to me.  After I graduated from the University of Kentucky with a BA in History, I started looking at graduate school to continue my education. While looking for programs, I stumbled across the field of Historic Preservation and decided that it allowed me to continue studying history, but in a more hands-on way.  I made a few campus visits across the country, and completely fell in love with Charleston and the opportunities the program offered me."

How has your Historic Preservation academic background led you to the current role you are in now? "It has had everything to do with my current job. I work for the National Park Service as the Preservationist for Ft. Sumter National Monument, Charles Pinckney National Historic Site, and Reconstruction Era National Monument (in Beaufort, SC). Attending the program not only gave me some degree of familiarity with the sites already, but also the cultural landscapes associated with them.  My role not only involves knowing the physical history of the sites (ranging from 1820/30s house at Charles Pinckney to the 1962 Charleston Light), but also diverse topics such as the African American experience during Reconstruction, the military history of the area, and even agriculture. Knowing how buildings and structures are constructed and what leads to them failing helps with identifying ways to keep them preserved for the future. Some of the other skills I learned in the program such as documenting, surveying, and hands-on skills (I spent the summer helping re-point the walls of Ft. Sumter) come into frequent use. Of course, the professional network that I was able to develop during my classes at MSHP through adjunct professors, alums, and professionals has been invaluable in helping to get different viewpoints or expertise on questions I have now."

What was the most rewarding part about studying Historic Preservation in Charleston, SC?  "Location plays a huge part. Being in a city like Charleston is a perfect place to learn as a preservationist since there are really so many different options for sites and landscapes to draw lessons from.  Obviously, the skills I learned are invaluable in helping me further my career, so that is also attractive. However, I think the most rewarding thing for me is being part of the extended MSHP family.  It is always exciting not only to see faculty and other graduates in events around town but also to meet current students going through the same things I went through not so long ago.

Meredith Wilson, Architectural Conservator with John Milner Associates Preservation

What made you pursue a Historic Preservation Graduate Program? "I grew up in Meridian, MS, which was a railroad boom town that hit a bit of a rough patch when automobiles took off.  Since then, the historic downtown has fallen into disuse, with a succession of suburban shopping malls opening and closing and gradually moving farther and farther away from the city center.  I had always loved history, and looking at my hometown, I wondered what could be done to preserve and revitalize historic downtowns in a way that would benefit all members of the community.  I sort of stumbled upon the Clemson Historic Preservation Graduate Program in my second-to-last year in college.  A historic preservation degree combined history, which I love, with more practical skills, like urban planning and conservation, which I believed would be more beneficial to the broader community than a purely academic history degree would be.  It seemed like a perfect fit!  My time at the Clemson program showed me that there were academics and professionals from multiple disciplines – architecture, urban planning, historic preservation, and others – grappling with the issues I saw in my hometown.  It was a great thing to find a field I enjoyed that also offered solutions to very real problems."

How has your Historic Preservation academic background led you to the current role you are in now? "I currently work as an architectural conservator with John Milner Associates Preservation, preservation and conservation consulting firm in the Washington, DC area. I know that it was very important that the firm hire someone with hands-on laboratory and materials conservation experience to fill my position. At the Clemson program, I took both the general and advanced conservation laboratory classes, and I know that my laboratory experience was the principal reason I was offered my current position. As an architectural conservator, I perform paint analysis, mortar analysis, and other forms of material testing, including XRF analysis of historic metals.  All of these skills were taught at the Historic Preservation Graduate Program. I also got a solid background in preservation theory and the Secretary of the Interior’s standards, both of which come up on a daily basis as our team determines the most sensitive means of rehabilitating historic structures. The program’s commitment to familiarizing students with modern construction techniques and the preservation of 20^th-century architecture has also been particularly useful, as much of my work involves buildings constructed after 1900."

What was the most rewarding part about studying Historic Preservation in Charleston, SC? "Charleston is such a living laboratory for historic preservation. With properties like Aiken Rhett, Drayton Hall, and Nathaniel Russel, you really get to see the full range of treatments for historic sites. Then with HCF, the Preservation Society, and the ARB, I had great examples for how to take preservation out of the museums and into communities. Charleston has been a part of the preservation movement from the very beginning, and I have yet to encounter any up-and-coming sectors of preservation that someone in Charleston doesn’t have a hand in. I constantly find that I’m using some Charleston site or neighborhood as an example when grappling with challenges on my projects in the DC area - whether that’s adapting paint consolidation techniques tested at Drayton Hall to original finishes in a Colonial Revival residence, or using Aiken Rhett as an example when exploring alternatives to interpreting a 19^th-century museum house in Maryland." 

 Meagan Baco (2009) is currently the Director of Communications at Preservation Maryland. There she plans and designs their digital, print and web communications and is most excited about their new Six-to-Fix program. Recently she was Acting President of Preservation Action in Washington, DC, and is an active advocate for federal, state and local policy wherever she goes. Meagan is a founding member of Friends of the Greenbelt Theatre, Buffalo’s Young Preservationists, and Painting for Preservation. Immediately after getting her MSHP degree, Meagan worked as a professional preservationist with Clinton Brown Company Architecture.  With fellow ’09 graduate, Laura Burghardt, she co-founded Histpres, a job board for emerging preservationists, and has spoken about the young preservation movement at the National Preservation Conference amongst many regional conferences. 

 Trish Lowe Smith (2010) is the Curator of Historic Architectural Resources at Drayton Hall where she began work in 2010 as a Wood Family Fellow.  In 2013, Smith was awarded a residential fellowship at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s Digital History Center to study the application of 3D visualization technology for the documentation and interpretation of cultural heritage sites. During her tenure at Drayton Hall she has built a preservation archive, carried out several architectural conservation projects, launched a digital restoration of Drayton Hall, and managed the structural rehabilitation of the site’s iconic portico.

 Brittany Lavelle Tulla (2012) is the owner and lead historic researcher of BVL Historic Preservation Research, headquartered in Charleston, where she is currently working on a wide range of projects including the nomination of Charleston as a World Heritage Site and National Register nominations for property owners. Brittany is teaching as an adjunct in the College of Charleston's undergraduate historic preservation and community planning program.  She serves on committees for local preservation groups and recently started the Young Preservationists of Charleston, a diverse group of young residents who advocate for the history of Charleston and a healthy future.

Emily Ford (2013) owns and operates Oak and Laurel Cemetery Preservation LLC, a  New Orleans-based cemetery preservation company dedicated to the stewardship of the historic tombs, copings, monuments, and landscapes of historic cemeteries. Emily contributes to the missions of multiple Louisiana preservation groups as an independent consultant.  Her first publication The Jews of New Orleans and the Mississippi Delta: A History of Life and Community along the Bayou, co-authored with Dr. Barry Stiefel, continues to be a resource for researchers on Southern Jewish history.  Her thesis research on cemetery craftsmen in New Orleans has expanded to all New Orleans cemeteries and time periods, and will soon be formatted for publication.