Outreach to Property Owners and Community Members

Ken Kocher is a native Illinoisan who now calls Madison, Georgia his home. Mr. Kocher received a bachelor’s degree in History from the University of Illinois and completed the master’s program in Historic Preservation at the University of Georgia. After graduate school he began his preservation career as the Design Coordinator for Main Street Louisiana and then served as Certified Local Government Coordinator for the State of Mississippi. Thereafter, Ken returned to Georgia where he helped found Piedmont Preservation, a historic preservation consulting firm. Ken’s work with Piedmont focused on local historic preservation commissions including surveys, district designations, design guidelines, and design review assistance. While still consulting on a limited basis, Mr. Kocher is now in the employ of Madison, Georgia where, as the Design & Information Officer, his duties include overseeing Madison’s Historic Preservation program.
Email: KKocher@madisonga.com

Kate Singleton is the Chief Preservation Planner for the City of Dallas. She has over 40 years’ experience in historic preservation, downtown revitalization and economic and community development. Kate is the former Executive Director for Preservation Austin. She has served as Executive Director of the West Fort Bend Management District, Planning Manager for Downtown Dallas, Inc. and State Coordinator of the Arizona Main Street program as well as Main Street Manager in Waxahachie and Grapevine. She has extensive experience in cultural resources management. Kate has offered professional consulting services in the areas of historic preservation, downtown revitalization, economic development, financial incentives, strategic planning, community development, municipal planning, zoning, urban design, and project implementation. She has written preservation plans, design standards for commercial and residential historic districts, downtown redevelopment plans and preservation ordinances. Kate has also developed financial incentives for cities including the highly successful City of Dallas Historic Tax Incentive Program. She also wrote amendments to the Dallas building code some of which were codified into the International Existing Building Code. Kate has also completed over $150 million in Federal Historic Tax Credit projects. Kate has conducted training for numerous historic preservation commissions and downtown associations around the state of Texas and has presented at several state preservation and downtown conferences in Texas, Arizona and Arkansas as well as the National Trust for Historic Preservation Conference and National Main Street Conference on subjects including advocacy, financial incentives, preservation design standards, downtown authenticity. Kate has her Master’s in Public Administration from the University of North Texas. She has served on the Dallas Landmark Commission, on the Tourism Commission for the City of Austin, Austin Creative Alliance Board, the boards of Texas Downtown Association, Preservation Texas and Preservation Action.
Email: kateasingleton@hotmail.com

Chris Skelly served as the Director of Local Government Programs at the Massachusetts Historical Commission from 1997 to 2021, providing preservation planning guidance to over 400 local boards and commissions across the state. Today, as the founder of Skelly Preservation Services, he provides consultant services to local, regional and state governments on historic preservation planning. His particular interests are preservation commission training, strategic commission guidance, and the preparation of study reports, design guidelines and preservation plans. His degrees include a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from the State University of New York- College of Environmental Science and Forestry and a Master in Regional Planning from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. While at the Massachusetts Historical Commission, Mr. Skelly was also an instructor at the University of Massachusetts/Amherst, teaching Cultural Resource Management. He thoroughly enjoys sharing his several decades of experience with students and local commissions.
Email: skelly-mhc@comcast.net

Aimee Sunny is the Director of Education for the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the architectural and cultural heritage of the Town of Palm Beach. Aimee oversees the Foundation’s many educational programs, including the Little Red Schoolhouse Living History Program, the Heritage Education program, and the Foundation’s Scholarship and Internship programs, and also leads advocacy initiatives, grant writing, and preservation projects. Prior to joining the Foundation, Aimee was the Senior Preservation Coordinator for the City of Lake Worth, Florida, where she administered all aspects of the City’s Historic Preservation Program. While with the City, Aimee worked on updating the City’s historic resource surveys and design guidelines through grant funding, and implemented a historic preservation awards program, a historic marker program, and a historic district signage plan. She also reviewed building permits and Certificates of Appropriateness in the City’s six historic districts and led community outreach and education efforts. She previously worked for the architecture firm of Fairfax, Sammons & Partners designing classical and traditional residences, the Center for Historic Preservation at Ball State University, the City of Chicago’s Historic Preservation Division, and Indiana Landmarks. Aimee completed her Master of Science in Historic Preservation at Ball State University, and her Bachelor of Architecture at the University of Notre Dame. Aimee is an avid traveler, having studied abroad in Italy and Australia, and has traveled extensively both in the US and abroad. Aimee serves on the Palm Beach County Historic Resources Review Board, is a certified planner with the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), is a member of the American Planning Association (APA), and is a National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) licensure candidate.
Email: aimeesunny@gmail.com