Preservation in a Changing Climate Conference 2025

Special Thank You to the Hawthorne Hotel for sponsoring this year’s conference!

The City of Salem and the Salem Preservation in a Changing Climate Partners will hold its fifth annual conference focusing on addressing climate impacts to the region’s historic resources on September 17th at the Peabody Essex Museum Morse Auditorium.

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 full day of case studies, conversations and panel discussions, beginning with a keynote from Christina Rae Butler, Provost and Professor of Historic Preservation and Architectural History at the American College of the Building Arts and author of “Lowcountry at High Tide: A History of Flooding, Drainage, and Reclamation in Charleston, South Carolina.” We will close with remarks by National Park Service Superintendent Jennifer Hardin at the National Park Service Armory Visitor Center.

$50 early bird registration (until Friday, August 15)
$60 after August 16
$40 students

Registration includes all conference events, light refreshments and a boxed lunch.

REGISTER FOR CONFERENCE HERE

conference PROGRAM

Welcome & Overview of the Day

Opening remarks from Dominick Pangallo (Mayor, City of Salem), Kurt Steinberg (PEM’s COO) and Jane Winchell and Steven Mallory (PEM’s Salem Preservation Partners representatives).

KEYNOTE: Christina Rae Butler “Turning Concepts into Action: Lessons from Sea Level Rise and Response in Charleston, South Carolina”

SESSION 1:  Past, Present and Future: Plummer Home Case Study

Past, present, and future: a nineteenth century campus, twenty-first century program, and a vision for the future

  • Nicole McLaughlin, Executive Director, Plummer Youth Promise, Inc.

  • Michael Whitman, Architect, Rounded 47 LLC

  • Nicholas Betts, Landscape Architect, Meridian Associates, Inc.

SESSION 2: Responding to Rising Sea Level

The coastal cities of Charleston, Newport and Provincetown rise to the challenge, preparing for the future impacts of climate change

Moderator: Christina Pokwatka, Preservation Project Manager, Historic New England

  • Margaret Back, Preservation Projects Manager, Newport Restoration Foundation

  • Melyssa Nickerson, Town of Provincetown’s Director of Sustainability and Resilience

  • Timothy Famulare, Town of Provincetown’s Community Development Director

  • Christina Rae Butler, Provost and Professor of Historic Preservation and Architectural History, American College of the Building Arts

LUNCH, Peabody Essex Museum, Main Atrium
Knowing Nature: Stories of the Boreal Forest will be open for attendees to view.

SESSION 3: Preparing and Responding to Disaster

COSTEPing to the Future: Adapting Massachusetts’ Cultural Heritage Coordinated Response Efforts for a Changing Climate

Moderator:  Priscilla Anderson, Senior Preservation Librarian Preservation Services, Harvard Library

  • Jessica Branco Colati, Preservation Specialist, Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC)

  • Samantha Couture, Nora Saltonstall Conservator & Preservation Librarian, Massachusetts Historical Society (MHS)

  • Mary Kate Kwasnik, Associate Preservation Specialist, Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC)

  • Benjamin Hiltunen, Planning Unit Supervisor, MA Emergency Management Agency


SESSION 4: Historic Materials in a Changing Climate

Learn about climate impacts on historic building materials and the role of traditional trades and materials’ applications in supporting preservation work and climate resiliency.

Moderator:  Paul Wright, Director of Preservation and Maintenance, House of the Seven Gables

  • Christina Rae Butler, Provost and Professor of Historic Preservation and Architectural History, American College of the Building Arts

  • Michael Burrey, Owner at MLB Restorations, Preservation Carpentry Instructor at North Bennet Street School, Boston

  • Susan Pranger, AIA. Author, Adjunct Faculty at Boston Architectural College


Closing Reception & Remarks 

Jennifer Hardin, Superintendent, Salem Maritime National Historic Site