James W. Igoe, President

James W. Igoe has been with Preservation Massachusetts since 2002 and President since 2004. During his tenure, he has worked with the volunteer Board of Directors and staff to increase the organization’s impact and outreach across the Commonwealth in an effort to rebuild, refocus and re-energize Preservation Massachusetts. He served as Deputy Secretary of the Commonwealth for 15 years. During that time he had oversight of the Massachusetts Historical Commission, which he chaired for 10 years, as well as overseeing the construction of the State Archives on Columbia Point in Boston. In 1995, he became Executive Director of Preservation Worcester and substantially built up a local preservation non-profit. He has always had a lifelong interest and passion for preservation and currently resides is South Dennis. For Mr. Igoe’s full background, download this pdf.

Erin Kelly, Assistant Director

Erin Kelly has been with Preservation Massachusetts since 2004 and serves the organization as Assistant Director. In this capacity, Ms. Kelly is responsible for coordinating and overseeing development and fund-raising and event planning efforts, along with providing support to a variety of programs, including the Circuit Riders and Massachusetts Most Endangered Historic Resources. Ms. Kelly graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Historic Preservation from Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island. Her past experience in preservation includes volunteer work with WHALE in New Bedford, office intern for the Providence Preservation Society Revolving Fund and work with the Wareham Historical Society. In 2008, she completed the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Preservation Leadership Training course in Portland, Maine. A native of Southeastern Massachusetts, Ms. Kelly has a deep-rooted love and interest in preservation, architectural history, cultural history, and the arts.

Elsa Fitzgerald, Special Projects Manager

Elsa Fitzgerald currently serves as the Special Projects Manager for Preservation Massachusetts. Her activities include chairing the Historic District/Historic Commission Committee and has helped develop and present their traveling education series, Preservation 101, 201, and 301. She also coordinates the Regional Advisory Council and Consultant’s Directory, and is a managing member of the Barn Preservation Task Force. Her years of preservation expertise and guidance have aided in the expansion and strengthening of Preservation Massachusetts. Prior to joining Preservation Massachusetts, Ms. Fitzgerald was former Assistant Director of the Massachusetts Historical Commission, where she served for 21 years. Among other responsibilities at MHC, she oversaw funding of $41 million in matching Massachusetts Preservation Projects Fund (MPPF) grants to over 500 projects in 155 communities from 1985 to 2002. Ms. Fitzgerald is a member of the Board for the Schooner Adventure of Gloucester and a commissioner for the Essex National Heritage Area.

Courntey M. Whelan, Program Manager

Courtney M. Whelan is a graduate of the School of Building Arts at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) holding a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Historic Preservation. During college she worked at J. T. Turner Construction Company, an award winning historic preservation construction firm. Upon returning to Boston after graduation, Courtney was employed at Steffian Bradley Architects (SBA) in thedivision of construction administration. Courtney has been a volunteer with Preservation Massachusetts since 2006 and recently came on board as a Program Manager, overseeing the Massachusetts Most Endangered Historic Resources list and other organizational ventures.

Michele Plourde-Barker, Circuit Rider

Michele Plourde-Barker is a freelance historical consultant, archivist and writer. After getting her Master of Science in Historic Preservation from the University of Vermont, she worked for the Community Development and Planning Departments of the City of Chicopee as Community Development Administrator and Planning Director. Since leaving Chicopee, she had done a wide range of freelance projects, including National Register of Historic Places nominations, planning studies, exhibits, and local history publication for non-profit organizations, municipalities, and business clients. She not only studied the past, she lived in it, spending nearly a decade as a historical interpreter at Old Sturbridge Village. In addition to her present duties as Circuit Rider, she also works as Archivist at the Connecticut Valley Historical Museum in Springfield, MA. She is the author of Images of America: Chicopee (Arcadia, 1998), a pictorial history of Chicopee, MA, and A Difficult Boy (Holiday House, 2008), a historical novel set in 19th-century Massachusetts.

Board of Directors

Officers

Jack Hodgkins, Chair (Wells Fargo Bank)

James W. Igoe, President

Pamela Bailey, Clerk (Marc Truant & Associates)

Kara Cicchetti, Treasurer (Architectural Heritage Foundation)

Board Members

Daniel Benoit (Benoit Reardon Architects)

Jean Carroon, FAIA (Goody Clancy & Associates)

Stuart Gregerman (Environmental Restorations, Inc.)

Wendall Kalsow (McGinley Kalsow & Associates)

Douglas Kelleher (Epsilon Associates)

Daniel Kolodner (Nixon Peabody, LLP)

Jason Korb (Capstone Communities, LLC)

John Mackey (Reznick Group)

Todd McCabe (Consigli Construction Company, Inc.)

James McDermott (Holland + Knight, LLP)

Gordon Pulsifer (First Resource Companies)

Michael Rosenberg (Bank of America / Merrill Lynch)

Rita Walsh (Vanasse Hangen & Brustlin, Inc.)

Claudia Sauermann Wu