Search

      Buy tickets

      In-person event

      Preservation in a Changing Climate Conference

      Wednesday, September 18, 2024 from 8:15 am—5 pm

      Preservation in a Changing Climate Conference

      Know before you go

      In-person event
      Location: Conference sessions will take place at PEM. Closing reception and remarks will take place at the National Park Service Armory Visitor Center across the street from PEM.

      $50 per person

      Registration includes all conference events, optional historic house tours on September 17, light refreshments and a boxed lunch. All lunches include water, chips and a choice of Spinach Cranberry Salad (vegan, with cheese on the side), Falafel Wrap (vegan) or Harvest Chicken Salad Wrap.

      All museum galleries will be closed for the duration of the conference.

      September 17 | Optional Pre-Conference Historic House Tours
      Open to registered participants; weather permitting.

      Questions? Contact lela_clawson-miller@pem.org

      Join us for the fourth annual Preservation in a Changing Climate conference, hosted by Salem Preservation Partners. This day of thought-provoking talks aims to advance mitigation and adaptation strategies that address impacts of climate change on historic buildings, landscapes and neighborhoods.

      Join us for case studies, conversations and panel presentations, beginning with a keynote from Massachusetts State Climate Chief Melissa Hoffer and closing with remarks by National Park Service Superintendent Jennifer Hardin at the National Park Service Armory Visitor Center.

      Press Release


      8:15–9 am | Check-in and Light Refreshments

      PEM Main Atrium

      9–9:20 am | Welcome & Overview of the Day
      Join us in Morse Auditorium for opening remarks from Dominick Pangallo (Mayor, City of Salem), Lynda Roscoe Hartigan (PEM’s Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Executive Director and CEO) and Jane Winchell and Steven Mallory (PEM’s Salem Preservation Partners representatives). All conference talks will take place in Morse Auditorium.

      9:20–10:05 am | Keynote: Melissa Hoffer, Massachusetts Climate Chief

      10:05–10:45 | SESSION 1: PLANNING FOR CHANGE: COASTAL RESILIENCE AND ADAPTATION
      Moderator: Barbara Warren, Executive Director, Salem Sound Coastwatch

      Julia Knisel, Coastal Shoreline and Floodplain Manager, Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management
      Neal Duffy, Director of Sustainability and Resiliency, City of Salem

      10:45–11:05 am | Break

      11:05 am–Noon | SESSION 2: CLIMATE ADAPTATION AND MANAGED RETREAT PLAN CASE STUDY: THE HOUSE OF THE SEVEN GABLES
      Moderator: Julia Knisel

      Susan Baker, Collections Manager, The House of the Seven Gables
      Paul Wright, Director of Preservation and Maintenance, The House of the Seven Gables

      Noon–1 pm | Lunch
      Peabody Essex Museum, Main Atrium

      1–2:15 pm | SESSION 3: SITE AND BUILDING STRATEGIES FOR ADDRESSING WATER INUNDATION
      Moderator: Christina Pokwatka, Preservation Project Manager, Historic New England

      Historic Preservation and Groundwater Mitigation: Finding the Balance | Rodney Rowland, Director of Facilities and Environmental Sustainability, Strawbery Banke Museum

      Staying Above Water | Julie Larry, Senior Architectural Historian, Black Diamond Consultants

      Stormwater Management in the Face of Climate Change | Ben Haavik, Team Leader, Property Care, Historic New England

      2:15–2:35 pm | Break

      2:35–3:50 pm | SESSION 4: CLIMATE MITIGATION SOLUTIONS – DECARBONIZING HISTORIC BUILDINGS THROUGH ELECTRIFICATION
      Moderator: Neal Duffy

      Geothermal 101 and How Networking Communities Can Enable a Just Energy Transition | Angie Alberto Escobar, Director, Community Gas-to-Geo, HEET

      Lowell Networked Geothermal Pilot Project: Process, Planning, and Practicality | Ruairi O’Mahony, Executive Director, Rist Institute for Sustainability and Energy, University of Massachusetts, Lowell, and Katherine Moses, Sustainability Director, City of Lowell

      The Cabot House, Beverly: Lessons from an Air-Source Heat Pump Installation in a Historic Building | Sue Goganian, Director, Historic Beverly

      4–5 pm | Closing Reception & Remarks
      National Park Service Armory Visitor Center (2 New Liberty Street, across the street from PEM and the Museum Place Garage)

      Jennifer Hardin, Superintendent, Salem Maritime National Historic Site

      September 17 | Optional Pre-Conference Historic House Tours
      Join us for two historic house tours, open to all registered participants! Learn how PEM and the House of the Seven Gables are adapting to and preparing for climate change.

      Both tours will be held weather permitting. In the event of weather-related cancellation, conference registrants will be notified by email.

      2–3 pm | Ropes Mansion (318 Essex St) with Steven Mallory, PEM’s Manager of Historic Structures and Landscapes | No onsite parking available

      3:30–4:30 pm | The House of the Seven Gables (115 Derby St) with Susan Baker, Collections Manager, and Paul Wright, Director of Preservation and Maintenance | On-site parking available

      logo logo logo logo logo
      logo logo logo logo logo
      About the Collaborators
      Melissa Hoffer
      Melissa Hoffer

      Melissa Hoffer (she/her/hers) is Massachusetts' first-ever climate chief. She joined President Joe Biden’s administration as a day-one political appointee, serving as the Acting General Counsel and Principal Deputy General Counsel of the Environmental Protection Agency.

      Julia Knisel
      Julia Knisel

      Julia Knisel (she/her/hers) leads the StormSmart Coasts Program for the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management to help communities address coastal erosion and flooding while enhancing natural resources. She supports state hazard mitigation and climate adaptation and serves on the Massachusetts Emergency Support Function Team and ResilientMass Action Team. Knisel collaborates with regional and national partners through the coastal hazards and resilience committees of the Northeast Regional Ocean Council and Coastal States Organization. Previously, she volunteered on Salem’s Conservation Commission and served as its chair.

      Barbara Warren
      Barbara Warren

      Barbara Warren (she/her/hers) has led Salem Sound Coastwatch for 21 years as the executive director and serves as the MassBays National Estuary Regional Coordinator for the Lower North Shore. She has worked extensively with local municipalities on land and water issues. Her specialties are climate resiliency and nature-based solutions for climate adaptation. Warren holds a B.A. from Wellesley College, an M.Ed, from Lesley University and an M.S. in Environmental Science from Antioch College New England.

      Neal Duffy
      Neal Duffy

      Neal Duffy (he/him/his) is the director of the Sustainability and Resiliency Department (SRD) for the City of Salem. SRD oversees the implementation of Resilient Together, Salem’s shared climate action and resiliency plan with the City of Beverly. This work includes creating, managing and supporting sustainability, clean energy and resiliency projects, programs and policies within the government and community. Prior to working in Salem, Duffy was the Northeast regional coordinator for the Green Communities Division at the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, where he worked with 84 municipalities, including Salem, on clean energy and energy efficiency projects.

      Susan Baker
      Susan Baker

      Susan Baker (she/her/hers) is the collections manager for the 354-year-old House of the Seven Gables. She has led the Gables’ efforts to get involved in climate change actions and collaborated with Salem Sound Coastwatch to develop a successful Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management grant request for $509,919 to address the impact of climate change on the Gables National Landmark Historic District. The grant, jointly administered by the Gables and Salem Sound Coastwatch, is the first in the state given to a nonprofit museum for focusing on adaptations to the built environment.

      Paul Wright
      Paul Wright

      Paul Wright (he/him/his) joined the House of the Seven Gables as director of preservation and maintenance in 2022. Since then, he has led the organization in studying the effects of climate change on the Gables historic site through a grant from Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management. Leading this project has been the highlight of his career so far, combining historic preservation and sustainable design. Prior to joining the Gables, Paul completed his graduate degree at the Boston Architectural College, focusing on historic preservation and sustainable design. He has worked and volunteered at numerous historic sites in Salem, including Old Town Hall, Pioneer Village, The Phillips House and Gedney House, and has served as the Bowditch House Building Committee Chair for Historic Salem, Inc. since 2019.

      Christina Pokwatka
      Christina Pokwatka

      Christina Pokwatka (she/her/hers) is a member of the Property Care team for Historic New England. In her role as Preservation Manager, she oversees a wide range of projects at 20 historic sites located throughout the North Shore, as well as other sites in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and southern Maine. She is passionate about making the sites resilient to climate change while staying mindful of their importance as cultural resources and the need to preserve them as best as possible.

      Rodney Rowland
      Rodney Rowland

      Rodney Rowland (he/him/his) first joined Strawbery Banke, the living history museum in downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire, as a volunteer in 1976, and formally joined the staff in 1990. His involvement has focused on the preservation and long-term sustainability of this important historic site. He is currently responsible for the 37 buildings on the nine-acre site, overseeing the Facilities, Restoration and Landscape Departments. Rowland represents the museum on the Local Advisory Committee for the Historic Resource Study for the City of Portsmouth.

      Julie Larry
      Julie Larry

      Julie Larry (she/her/hers) has worked for more than 30 years on the preservation and rehabilitation of historic buildings and preservation planning projects throughout New England and the Mid-Atlantic. Formerly a principal at ttl-architects in Portland, Maine, Larry served for six years as the Director of Advocacy at Greater Portland Landmarks. At Black Diamond Consultants, she works with municipal and private clients to document and conserve the architectural, cultural and economic history of the region. She currently serves on the Biddeford, Maine, Historic Preservation Commission and Greater Portland Landmarks’ Advocacy Committee. She holds M. Arch. and B. Arch. degrees from Tulane School of Architecture.

      Ben Haavik
      Ben Haavik

      Ben Haavik (he/him/his) is responsible for the maintenance and preservation of 41 historic properties across New England. In his time at Historic New England, he has introduced a system for strategic prioritization of preservation work, developed a weatherization and energy efficiency framework for the organization and spearheaded system-wide initiatives to better understand the environmental, security and life safety systems at the sites. Currently, Haavik is leading efforts to bring a higher level of physical accessibility to the sites and set the organization on a path towards carbon neutrality. Before joining Historic New England in 2004, Haavik was Deputy Director of the Historic House Trust of New York City, where he cared for 24 historic sites throughout the five boroughs.

      Angie Alberto Escobar
      Angie Alberto Escobar

      Angie Alberto Escobar (she/her/hers) Director of Community Gas to Geo, HEET (Home Energy Efficiency Team), is originally from Los Angeles, California, where she studied Mathematics and Engineering at Glendale College. She also holds a B.S. in Sustainable Energy Management with a minor in Economics from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in association with Syracuse University. She leads technical assistance for HEET for Massachusetts communities pursuing geothermal networks. All her work is done centering on people and equity first. HEET is a Boston-based nonprofit committed to enabling a just and equitable thermal transition.

      Ruairi O’Mahony
      Ruairi O’Mahony

      Ruairi O’Mahony (he/him/his) is the Executive Director of the Rist Institute for Sustainability and Energy at University of Massachusetts, Lowell. A native of Cork City, Ireland, O’Mahony has been working in the planning and sustainability field for more than 15 years. He currently leads a team of professional and student employees working to advance sustainability at the university through a network of strategic partnerships at the local, state, national and international level.

      Katherine Moses
      Katherine Moses

      Katherine Moses (she/her/hers) graduated from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell in 2012 with a M.S.E. in Energy Engineering with a solar concentration. Moses has worked in educational settings, as well as federal, state and local government positions, over the past 25 years. As the City of Lowell's first Sustainability Director, her work focuses on implementation and tracking of "All-of-the-Above" solutions for climate change. These solutions include funding and implementing energy efficiency, renewable energy, strategic electrification, climate resilience and environmental justice initiatives in order to ensure a just and equitable energy transition in Lowell.

      Sue Goganian
      Sue Goganian

      Sue Goganian (she/her/hers) is the director of Historic Beverly. This historical society cares for two 17th-century houses and the 1781 John Cabot House, which serves as the organization’s headquarters and repository for an extensive collection of objects and documents related to the history of Beverly. Historic Beverly recently completed a groundbreaking project to install a heat pump and HVAC system in the Cabot House.

      Steven Mallory
      Steven Mallory

      Steven Mallory (he/him/his) is PEM’s first Manager of Historic Structures and Landscapes, preserving the museum’s 22 noted historic structures — four of which are National Historic Landmarks and six of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In his capacity as Lead Architectural Conservator and Principal Investigator at Groundroot Preservation Group, LLC, Mallory works directly with PEM’s architecture collection, providing detailed analysis of the museum’s historic properties and developing preservation and long term planning recommendations.

      Other events that may interest you

      In-person event

      Phillips Library Open House: Recent Acquisitions

      Friday, September 20 + Saturday, September 21 | 10 am–4 pm

      Event

      PEM Gala 2024

      Saturday, November 9 | 6–8:30 pm (Dinner) + 8:30 pm–midnight (After-Party)