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 held its fifth annual conference focusing on addressing climate impacts to the region’s historic resources on Wednesday, September 17th at the Peabody Essex Museum Morse Auditorium.
This day of thought-provoking talks aimed to advance mitigation and adaptation strategies that address impacts of climate change on historic buildings, landscapes and neighborhoods. The full day of case studies, conversations and panel discussions, began 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.” The day closed with remarks from Salem Maritime National Historical Park Superintendent Jennifer Hardin at the National Park Service Salem Armory Regional Visitor Center.
To view conference recordings, please click on the sessions highlighted below.
conference PROGRAM
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).
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 Whitmore, Architect, Roundel 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
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
