Category: Staff News

Cincinnati Preservation Association welcomes three new board members in 2023!

Susan Casey
Favorite Historic Site:  Anything built in the second empire style!

Susan’s wide-ranging career has included historic preservation planning,
broadcast production for NPR’s award-winning Diane Rehm Show, and non-profit
development overseas for the National Trust of Ireland. Susan is a third-generation Cincinnati native who earned a bachelor of liberal arts degree from Xavier University and a master’s in historic preservation from the University of Georgia. She currently works for Ignite Philanthropy, helping to manage capital campaigns for many of our region’s non-profit organizations.

Jennifer Martin, CPA
Favorite Historic Site: Old St. George Church

Jennifer has volunteered for many years within the community as the treasurer of the Over-the-Rhine Community Council, CUF Community Council, and Cincinnati Preservation Association (2013-2019). She was the accounting director at 3CDC, managing the organization’s financial and administrative functions. Prior to joining 3CDC, Jennifer was a partner at the local CPA firm, Mellott & Mellott, P.L.L., spending fifteen years in their tax and audit practice. A certified public accountant, she holds a bachelor’s degree from the Lindner College of Business at the University of Cincinnati.

Rick Wheeler, PE
Favorite Historic Site: The Netherland Plaza, in particular their lobby and restaurant.

Rick is the Cincinnati team leader and senior structural engineer at kppf. He describes himself as being “driven by a passion for connecting with creative, energetic, and talented building professionals and advocates.” This passion has led him to numerous opportunities to touch and help save great pieces of architectural history in Cincinnati and this country. He states that “every historic building has its complexity and story, and getting the opportunity to be a part of bringing that back to life is truly rewarding.” Wheeler also believes that structures are the melding of history, function, and form, and are essential to making a difference in our communities and culture. He holds a bachelor’s degree in civil and environmental engineering, a master’s in civil engineering, and a master’s in business administration, all from the University of Tennessee.

Thank you to all the CPA Board of Trustees. Your dedication and passion for historic preservation in our region makes a difference.

Officers:
Clark Sole, President
Ashleigh Finke, Vice President
Judie List Sweeney, Vice President
Drew Gores, Secretary
Jeffrey Rush, Treasurer
Michael Burson, At Large

Trustees:
William Baumann
Susan Casey
Rob Crapsey
Kendall Fisher
Joe Huber
Dr. Eric Jackson
Mark Mallory
Jennifer Martin
Kevin McCormick
Mark McKillip
Paul Moran
Murray Monroe Jr.
Steve Rosen
Mark Scott
Arthur Sturbaum
Thea Tjepkema
Shawn P. Tubb
Margaret Valentine
Rick Wheeler
Will Yokel

During her tenure at CPA, Deqah started a database of sites of black history, captured important oral histories that haven’t been included in other areas of history, brought new communities to engage in CPA’s work, wrote the Ohio Historic Marker for Sarah Mayrant Walker and Peter Fossett, and authored the soon to be proposed local historic designation for First Baptist Church Walnut Hills Baptist Church. She also wrote contributions to CPA’s Cincinnati Sites and Stories Mapping Site. As a local historian and planner, Deqah is also cohost and producer of Urban Roots podcast produced by the anti-racist community preservation nonprofit she started called, Urbanist Media.

Thank you, Deqah for your accomplishments on this project which was funded by Ohio History Connection, Greater Cincinnati Foundation and Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr. Foundation.

All of us at CPA wish you continued success in your future endeavors and are grateful for all you do for Historic Preservation in Greater Cincinnati.

In 2023, CPA plans to continue expanding our database of sites of black history and rightfully recognize our sites of black history throughout the region.

Learn more about CPA’s Sites of Black History Project here.

Cincinnati Preservation Association is pleased to welcome Lindsey Armor  as the new CPA Engagement and Development Director. Armor joins CPA from the Cincinnati Waldorf School where she worked for as the Development Director.

“I am thrilled to join CPA as Engagement and Development Director, and I greatly look forward to getting to know and learning from all the members, donors, and volunteers who have built an incredibly valuable organization! Cincinnati is lucky to have such a cherished legacy for preservation, and I am eager to contribute and build on the incredible foundation that’s been laid.”

Lindsey has been dedicated to community building and placemaking in Cincinnati since 2003. Her career began in the art community serving both large scale and grassroots organizations where she focused on bringing creatives and audiences together in meaningful and memorable ways. With a BFA in Theatre & Dance from NKU, she is the co-founder of Pones Inc, a non-profit performance art collective dedicated to art for social change. After retiring from performance, Lindsey studied yoga, mediation, and integrative nutrition and soon began organizing accessible opportunities for communities to connect through health and mindfulness. She is also the co-founder of SPARK, which provides technology free experiences for human connection, and most recently, she served as Development Director at Cincinnati Waldorf School.

While new to the preservation community, Lindsey understands historic homes as she currently lives in an 84 year old home in Cincinnati with her husband and daughter.

Executive Director, Beth Johnson, stated “Lindsey has been a one woman show doing event planning, development, and communications at the Waldorf School and CPA is excited to have her level of expertise and talent joining our team.”

When not working, Lindsey enjoys camping, dancing, and cooking with her family. 

Cincinnati Preservation Association is pleased to announce Beth Johnson will be CPA’s new executive director. Johnson will replace Paul Muller who is stepping down in May after 12 years to return to his architectural practice.

Johnson comes to CPA from her position as the urban conservator for the City of Cincinnati, a position she held for more than six years. She has also worked in preservation and planning for the City of Covington, KY as well the cities of San Antonio and Austin, TX.

For Johnson historic preservation is not just a career, but her passion in and out of the office. Having rehabbed her own houses, Johnson is a hands-on preservationist who has experience in municipal preservation and planning, preservation education, and even some executive producer video experience with Nick Clooney as the talent.
“With a passion to shine the light on the history and stories of everyone that makes up the beautiful quilt that is Cincinnati, I am excited to join Cincinnati Preservation Association to ensure that our historic buildings are part of the fabric of that quilt,” says Johnson. “I am excited, honored, and energized to continue the amazing work CPA has done in advocacy and education for the historic resources and fabric
of the Cincinnati region.” 

The transition in leadership occurs at a time when CPA is expanding its work in a number of ways. New initiatives include the creation of an Endangered Building Revolving Fund and the launch of a project to preserve sites of Black history in Cincinnati. 

“It was great to hear that Beth Johnson will be the Executive Director of CPA,” notes Muller.  “Her skill in the professional aspects of preservation is matched by her passion and by her delight in working with communities.  I am looking forward to seeing the great things CPA will accomplish through her leadership.”

“We are delighted to have selected Beth Johnson to lead CPA into the future from a slate of outstanding applicants, each of whom would have served CPA well,” says CPA Board Member and Search Committee Chair Arthur Sturbaum.  “We look forward to Beth’s leadership to expand the reach of CPA to new heights.”

Johnson is a graduate of Ball State University where she received a degree in urban planning and history with a minor in historic preservation. She received her master’s degree in historic preservation planning from Cornell.
When Johnson isn’t working on a preservation project, you can find her hiking with her dog, raising monarch butterflies, drinking lots of coffee from Cincinnati roasters, or traveling near and far to spend time with her friends and family.

After more than 12 years, Cincinnati Preservation Association Executive Director Paul Muller is stepping down. Muller is leaving CPA in May to return to his architectural practice. A national search is underway to find his replacement. The application period is currently closed but you may click here to learn more about the search.

Muller became executive director in March 2010 and before that was a CPA trustee. In previous terms he also served as the president of the board of trustees.  Muller brought great passion to Cincinnati Preservation, advocating for dozens of buildings during his tenure.

“Historic buildings are everywhere – they’re in everyone’s neighborhoods,” he once noted. “We want to make sure that people experience the community benefits that these magnificent buildings can contribute.”

Under Muller’s guidance the CPA board focused on a vision that historic structures have significant unrealized cultural and economic value, and there is a powerful emerging market demand for unique, interesting cities. With that belief in mind, strategies were developed to fund an expanding portfolio of initiatives, to increase partnerships and collaborations with other organizations, and to engage the public in preservation.

The success of these initiatives led to the CPA board being recognized by the National Historic Trust for Organizational Excellence, several awards from the Ohio History Connection and locally by the Cincinnati Business Courier for board excellence.

Among Muller’s other accomplishments:

• Restoration of the 1938 Rauh House in partnership with Emily Pulitzer with awards from Docomomo-US and the Ohio History Connection.
• Renewal of Lytle Park Historic District as well as renewal and expansion of Dayton Street Historic District.
• The restoration of Hauck House in the West End with multi-year support for the John Hauck Foundation at 5^th3^rd
• Acquisition and renovation of Pinecroft, the Estate of Powel Crosley Jr., and opening it as an event venue in partnership with Funky’s Catering.
• Establishing a Revolving Fund with grants from 1772 Foundation which was used to purchase and save the 1833 Dennison Homestead in Batavia and the Eckstein School in Glendale.
• Hosting the National Preservation Partners Network Annual Meeting in Cincinnati.
• Advocating for the 1948 Terrace Plaza Hotel including an “11 Most Endangered Place” listing by the National Historic Trust and an award for advocacy from Docomomo-US.
• The initiation of “Sites of Black History in Cincinnati” project with support from the Haile Foundation and the Greater Cincinnati Foundation.
• Collaborating with Margaret Valentine in growing the annual Fall Forum into a leading lecture series on emerging civic topics.
• Growing CPA assets to $7.8 million, operating in the black for almost every year since 2012, and increasing the CPA endowment from half-a-million to $1.4 million.

And while doing all of this….and more… Muller also worked to strengthen many partnerships with Cincinnati organizations and institutions.

He promoted a vision of preservation as a holistic activity that can impact and contribute value to many aspects of contemporary life…while fostering a culture of inclusiveness and professionalism that has strengthened CPA and expanded the community it serves.

We wish Paul well in his return to architecture and know he will not be a stranger to Cincinnati Preservation as we move forward with new leadership.