Preservation in a Changing Climate Conference 2026

Special Thank You to Kakawa, ECCF and the Hawthorne Hotel for sponsoring this year’s conference

Mark your calendar for the sixth annual Preservation in a Changing Climate conference, hosted by Salem’s Preservation in a Changing Climate Partners. This day of thought-provoking talks aims to advance strategies that can help reduce climate change and boost resiliency of historic buildings, landscapes and neighborhoods.

Join us for case studies, conversations and panel presentations, beginning with a keynote by Lori Ferriss, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Built Buildings Lab and an internationally recognized expert on leveraging existing and historic buildings for equitable climate change mitigation and adaptation.

All conference talks will take place in PEM’s Morse Auditorium. Closing reception and remarks will take place at the National Park Service Salem Armory Visitor Center.

  • $50 early bird registration (deadline Friday, August 14) 

  • $65 after Aug 14, 2026

  • $10 student rate special for first 10 students (valid student ID required)

  • $30 student rate

Tickets will be available in July - please check back for more information

conference PROGRAM

Welcome & Overview of the Day

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


KEYNOTE: Lori Ferriss - From Vulnerability to Value: Built Heritage as Climate Action. How reuse and long‑term stewardship of historic buildings can advance decarbonization, resilience, and local climate goals.


CLIMATE UPDATE: Dr. Stephen Young

We Are Entering the Age of Acceleration: Recent research shows that temperatures in New England, and globally, are accelerating, making climate impacts more ominous and immediate action more vital.


SESSION 1:  Keeping History Above Water: Non-Profit and Municipal Partnership in Newport

Newport Restoration Foundation and the City of Newport are teaming up to protect the city’s heritage from climate threats.

Moderator: Susan Baker, Curator of Collections, The House of the Seven Gables

  • Margaret Back, Preservation Projects Manager, Newport Restoration Foundation

  • Christine Truwit, Resilience Assistant, Resilience & Sustainability Dept., City of Newport

SESSION 2: The Heaven and Earth Initiative

Case study of a local historic church’s struggle with high energy bills that has evolved into a community-focused clean energy movement, including geothermal, solar and energy storage in Salem, Massachusetts.

Moderator: Neal Duffy, Director of the Sustainability and Resiliency Department (SRD) City of Salem

  • Reverend Nathan Ives, Saint Peter´s-San Pedro Episcopal Church 

  • Abigail Despres, Project Manager, Working Power


LUNCH AND LEARN

PEM Main Atrium, Art & Nature Center Gallery, and St Peter’s Church

12:30 am-1:45 pm - Table Conversations (Main Atrium)

Table topics: 

  • Landscape Resilience (Barbara Warren, Environmental Consultant) 

  • Historic Buildings and Coastal Relocation (Paul Wright, Dir. of Preservation, The House of the Seven Gables) 

  • National Park Conservation Association - The Legacy Restoration Act in Action (Kristen Sykes, Northeast Regional Dir., National Parks Conservation Association) 

12:30 pm-1:45 pm - Kakawa Chocolate House of Salem station (Main Atrium)

  • Stop by for samples of sustainably sourced chocolate and to learn about Kakawa’s commitment to supporting sustainably grown cacao. 

12:30 pm-1:45pm - Knowing Nature: Stories of the Boreal Forest show (1st floor, off main atrium)

  • Exhibition open for attendees to explore. Exhibition closing Sept. 27th. 

1 pm-1:45pm - St. Peter's-San Pedro Episcopal Church (St. Peter’s St., 1 block from PEM)

  • Church open for attendees to visit


SESSION 3: Salem 400+: Past Lessons of Resilience for the Future  

A conversation about how four centuries of change to Salem’s coastline, climate, architecture, and industry can help us better understand the ways resiliency needs to evolve in the face of a rapidly changing climate. 

Moderator: Barbara Warren, Environmental Consultant

  • Vijay Joyce, Executive Dir. of the Pickering Foundation & Steward of the Pickering House

  • Stephen Young, Salem State Univ., Professor Emeritus, Geography and Sustainability Dept.


SESSION 4: Retrofitting Historic Assets While Preserving Our Heritag 

How to decarbonize historic buildings without compromising their character, using energy retrofit strategies and tools like the Carbon Avoided Retrofit Estimator (CARE) Tool to demonstrate the environmental benefits of preservation and reuse.

Moderator: Sarah Kostecki, Senior Dir. of Data and Business Intelligence, Massachusetts Clean Energy Center

  • Peter McPhee, Senior Dir. for Building Decarbonization, Massachusetts Clean Energy Center

  • Liz Stetson, Senior Dir. of Capital Assets and Planning, Mass Audubon

  • Lori Ferriss, Executive Dir., Built Buildings Lab and Co-Developer of Architecture’s 2030 CARE Tool


CLOSING RECEPTION & REMARKS 

National Park Service Salem 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

  • Kristen Sykes, Northeast Regional Dir., National Parks Conservation Association

  • Kate Machet, Vice President of Systems Initiatives and Government Relations, Essex County Community Foundation