2010 Seminar Speakers

Regina Brewer, Preservation Planner, City of Decatur
509 N. McDonough Street
P.O.Box 220
Decatur, GA 30031
404-370-4104

Regina holds a Masters in Heritage Preservation from Georgia State University and is the Preservation Planner for the City of Decatur. She staffs the Decatur Historic Preservation Commission and is working on a number of projects for the city including establishing new National Register Districts and running the Decatur Old House Fair.  As a resident of Atlanta, she has also served as the Chair of the Atlanta Urban Design Commission is the President of the Board of Directors for Easements Atlanta, a non-profit preservation organization.  She has been involved in local and statewide preservation efforts since 2000, including the creation of Inman Park Historic District, the Kirkwood National Register District, and restoration of the 1856 Lemuel P. Grant Mansion located in the Grant Park Historic District.  She also serves as Vice-Chair for the Georgia Alliance of Preservation Commissions.

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Bill Clark, AIA, LEED AP, Stephens and Wilkerson, Stang and Newdow
100 Peachtree St. NW, Suite 2500
Atlanta, GA 30303
404-521-6202

Bill received his Masters of Architecture from Georgia Tech in 1979 and is currently a principal with Stevens &Wilkinson Stang & Newdow in Atlanta, Georgia and is a LEED Accredited Professional. He serves as managing principal on a wide variety of projects in the private, commercial and institutional sectors with historic rehabilitation and preservation as one area of focus. Bill has been renovating his personal houses for over thirty years and still learns something after every project!

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Sandy Crowe, Master Craftsman
Crowe Development Corporation
2510 Monroe Hwy.
Watkinsville, GA 30677
706-207-2362

Sandy is a master craftsman with almost 40 years experience in construction and custom home building. His specialty is the restoration of historic windows and doors. He has worked on some of the most significant homes in the Atlanta area including the Edward Peters Mansion (c.1886), the Lemuel P. Grant Mansion (c. 1856), the Adair Mansion, home of Arthur Blank, (c.1910), and the Donaldson House (pre-Civil War). Sandy has also done many window restoration projects for historic homeowners located throughout Decatur and metropolitan Atlanta.

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Edward Daugherty, Edward L. Daugherty Landscape Architects, Inc.
108 West Wesley Rd. NW
Atlanta, GA 30305
404-233-1698

Ed received his Bachelors and Masters degrees in Landscape Architecture from Harvard University. He has maintained his practice in Atlanta since 1953 and has created noted landscapes for the Atlanta Botanical Garden, the Atlanta History Center, Wesley Woods, and the Governer’s Mansion and Coca Cola Headquarters. A lifelong Atlantan, Ed has a native’s son’s appreciation of and concern for a city's significant buildings and open spaces and how they can be preserved or enhanced over time to maintain a livable city.

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Ced Dolder, State Historic Preservation Office,
Department of Natural Resources
254 Washington St. SW
Ground Floor
Atlanta, GA 30334
404-651-55

Ced Dolder received her Masters Degree in Historic Preservation from Georgia State University and worked for 12 years as a preservation consultant with the renowned firm Ray & Associates. She worked on numerous tax rehabilitation projects including the Fulton Bag & Cotton Mill and the Muses Block. She has worked as the administrator for the Historic Tax Rehabilitation Program for the Historic Preservation Division since 2006 and is an expert on the procedures and regulations of all three programs available to property owners of historic properties eligible for or listed on the National Register.

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Laura Drummond, Atlanta Preservation Associates
2699 Cosmos Dr.
Atlanta, GA 30345  
770-934-1776 (H)
404-831-9340 (C)

Laura Drummond is a preservation consultant and principal of Atlanta Preservation Associates, LLC. She specializes in the production of historic structure reports, conditions assessments, GIS mapping, and historic resource surveys. She serves as the preservation specialist for the City of Stone Mountain, and teaches a class on the conservation of historic building materials at Georgia State University. She received her Master of Heritage Preservation degree from Georgia State, and for ten years has been a volunteer docent at the Atlanta History Center.

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Melissa Forgey, DeKalb History Center
101 East Court Sq.
Decatur GA 30030
404-373-1088

Melissa Forgey became the Executive Director of the DeKalb History Center in 2007. Prior to that, she was the Executive Director at Thomasville Landmarks in South Georgia for ten years. In the early 1990s, she was employed as assistant curator at the Jekyll Island Museum. Ms. Forgey received a Masters in Heritage Preservation from Georgia State University and a Bachelor of Arts in History from Emory University. She returned to DeKalb County to be near family and friends, and has bought a historic house in Decatur which she is renovating. Her two young sons are also here: Emerson and Aidan; both attend Oakhurst Elementary. Ms. Forgey is delighted to be fully back into the field of public history.

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Peter Michelson, CEO, Renewal Design-Build
124 S. Columbia Dr.
Decatur, GA 30030
404-378-6962

Peter is the co-owner of Renewal Design-Build, a full-service firm specializing in the renovation of older homes. Since its inception in 2001, award-winning Renewal has been recognized as one of the nation’s top 50 remodelers and has been ranked as a Top Ten Residential Remodeler by the Atlanta Business Chronicle in 2008 & 2009. The company has been featured on HGTV and the Discovery Network and has been covered in numerous publications, including the AJC and Georgia Trend Magazine. Renewal is highly committed to green principles and is proud to be an Earthcraft Renovator of the Year. Peter Michelson resides in Decatur with his wife and two young children.

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Steven Moffson, State Historic Preservation Office,
Department of Natural Resources
254 Washington St. SW, Ground Floor
Atlanta, GA 30334
404-651-5906

Steven serves as the architectural historian at the Historic Preservation Division, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, where he has worked since 1996.  He provides expertise in architectural history for all programs of the division.  Steven also teaches architectural history at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta.  From 2001 to 2007, he taught architectural history in the Heritage Preservation Program at Georgia State University.  He has also worked at the National Park Service and the Delaware State Historic Preservation Office.

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David Ramsey, NCIDQ Certified,
Lord Aeck Sargent Architecture
1201 Peachtree Street NE
Suite 300
Atlanta, GA 30361-3500
(877) 929-1400

David is an interior designer in the Historic Preservation Studio at Lord, Aeck & Sargent and a graduate of The Georgia Institute of Technology. David completed a Master’s Degree in Architecture, which he has parlayed into over 20 years experience in interior design for residential, commercial and institutional buildings. He wrote his graduate thesis on the work of Lila Ross Wilburn, noted Atlanta architect of the early 20th Century. His philosophy on the revitalization of historic interiors is informed by his varied experience in the design of corporate commercial interiors, period restoration of historic house museums along with the practical hands-on renovation of his own ranch house in DeKalb County.

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Andrew Rutledge, principal, Rutledge Alcock Architects
619 East College Ave., D1
Decatur, GA 30030
404-214-5797

Mr. Rutledge's experience includes ten years of design in multi-family housing, adaptive re-use projects, and retail/commercial development at TVS & Associates, Brock Green Architects and Rowhouse Architects.  Notable projects include StudioPlex, Arizona Lofts, and the Washington D.C. Convention Center.  He holds a B.S. in Architecture from Auburn University.  He lives with his wife and daughter in the Old Decatur Historic District and serves on the Decatur Historic Preservation Commission.

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Beth Shorthouse, Lord Aeck Sargent Architecture
1201 Peachtree Street NE
Suite 300
Atlanta, GA 30361-3500
(877) 929-1400

Beth joined Lord, Aeck & Sargent in 2003 as the coordinator of Business Development for the Historic Preservation Studio. Her work in preservation began in 1999 at the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, where she combined her background in urban studies with the role that historic resources play in the successful redevelopment of older neighborhoods. At Lord, Aeck & Sargent, she fosters and maintains client relationships, coordinates proposals and helps set project development goals for the Preservation Studio. She has participated in national-level preservation discussions and training through the National Trust for Historic Preservation. She has served on the Board of Directors for the Atlanta Preservation Center and the Georgia African-American Historic Preservation Network, a program of the Georgia State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). She lives in a Craftsman bungalow in East Atlanta with her husband, son and chocolate Labrador.

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Robert Soens, CEO,
Pinnacle Custom Builders and Pinnacle Green Services
123 Jefferson Pl.
Decatur, GA 30030
404-373-7027

Robert Soens has more than 20 years of contracting and building experience, and is a nationally recognized speaker and author. After running a successful commercial construction company, Robert created Pinnacle Custom Builders in 1996. Pinnacle specializes in ‘green’ construction practices, builds and renovates homes in both the EarthCraft and LEED for Homes programs, offering extensive experience with building techniques and materials that are durable, energy efficient, and environmentally responsible. Pinnacle has won numerous awards including Earthcraft Renovator of the Year and has recently been certified carbon nuetral in it’s business operations.

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Joe Thomas, certified home performance consultant,
Renewal System Solutions
124 S. Columbia Dr.
Decatur, GA 30030
404-378-6962

Joe is an “Old House” owner and chronic renovator who feels responsible for practicing what he preaches at every opportunity. He has been certified as a Building Analyst by the Building Performance Institute. He has also completed courses in EarthCraft renovations and is trained in solar system design and installation. As a Home Performance Consultant for Renewal System Solutions, Joe specializes in the energy efficiency of homes, particularly in older homes. As part of the Home Performance w/ENERGY STAR program, he performs whole house assessments - detecting home energy loss and safety hazards – and then improves these homes to meet today’s high standards of energy efficiency, comfort, and health.

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Kenneth H. Thomas, Jr., professional historian and genealogist
619 Pine Tree Dr.
Decatur, GA 30030
404-377-4943 (H)
404-218-2494 (C)

Ken retired in 2006 after 33 years with the Historic Preservation Division of the Georgia Dept. of Natural Resources. During his tenure there he became an expert on researching historic houses and wrote two pamphlets that remain on the HPD website, Documenting a Structure in Georgia, and Documenting a Structure in Atlanta.  He has written the genealogy column in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution since 1977. A graduate of Emory University and a Decatur resident, he serves on the board of the DeKalb History Center.

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Amanda Thompson, planning director, City of Decatur
509 N. McDonough Street
P.O.Box 220
Decatur, GA 30031
404-370-4104

Amanda oversees the planning, building, and inspection functions for the city as well as staffing several resident boards and commissions. In her five years with the city she has led the performance measurement program, implemented a mixed use zoning district, created an Environmental Sustainability Board and implemented two local historic districts. Amanda has a BA in International Relations from Agnes Scott College and a Masters in Public Administration from Georgia State University. She is actively involved in the International City/County Management Association as a member of Leadership ICMA class of 2010. When she is not in Decatur, she can be seen on stage with Zoetic Dance Ensemble, a professional contemporary dance company based in Atlanta.

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Susan Turner, AIA, LEED, AP, Lord Aeck Sargent Architecture
1201 Peachtree Street NE
Suite 300
Atlanta, GA 30361-3500
(877) 929-1400

Susan is a principal in the Historic Preservation Studio at Lord, Aeck & Sargent. Susan began her career working on the staff of the Historic Tampa/ Hillsborough County Preservation Board, where she performed site assessments of neighborhoods for the preparation of National Register District nominations. She has degrees in both Architecture and Historic Preservation. Some of her most notable work in the metro area includes the restoration of several National Historic Landmark buildings, including the Georgia State Capitol, the Swan House at the Atlanta History Center and Ebenezer Baptist Church in the Old Fourth Ward. Susan has more than 25 years of historic preservation experience. She has served on the Board of Directors for the Association for Preservation Technology International (APT) and the National Register Review Board for the State of Georgia. Susan lives in Midtown, Atlanta and enjoys walking to work every day.

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Robert Wanderman, AIA, Lord Aeck Sargent Architecture
1201 Peachtree Street NE
Suite 300
Atlanta, GA 30361-3500
(877) 929-1400

Rob is a senior architect and project manager at Lord, Aeck & Sargent who has experience with both residential and public building restoration and rehabilitation. His experience includes single and multi-family housing, historic house museums, college and university facilities, as well as, state and federal government buildings. Most recently, Rob has worked on the rehabilitation of the 1909 Zuber-Jerrell House in East Atlanta, the historic main house at Hardman Farm in northeast Georgia and the Parker Nobles House, just outside of Macon, Georgia. He lives in the historic Piedmont Heights neighborhood in Atlanta.