Partners in Preservation: Preservation Organizations and Commissions

A part-time job typing National Register Nominations in 1982 turned into a long career for Mindy. She has been the Executive Director of Preservation Pennsylvania since 2006, after spending 24 years at Historic York, Inc. (20 years as Executive Director). A Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from York College coupled with a Master’s degree in Historic Preservation from Goucher College has opened up many opportunities for work and volunteering.

Mindy serves on the boards of several history and preservation organizations: the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions (NAPC), the Pennsylvania Chapter of the Lincoln Highway Association, the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad Preservation Authority, and Main Street Hanover.

In her spare time, you’ll find Mindy exploring the Lincoln Highway and other old roads looking for great roadside architecture and searching for the perfect souvenir snow globe. You might also find her wearing seven layers of period clothing to participate in Civil War dancing or living history events with her husband, Rodney.

Adrian Scott Fine serves as the President and CEO for the Los Angeles Conservancy, Adrian Scott Fine oversees the organization’s outreach, advocacy and response on key preservation issues within the greater Los Angeles area. This includes setting priorities, protecting historic places, developing initiatives, working with local governments and community stakeholders, and preparing responses to Environmental Impact Reports (EIRs). The Los Angeles Conservancy is the largest local nonprofit historic preservation organization in the country. Previously he was with the National Trust for Historic Preservation as the Director of the Center for State and Local Policy, based in Washington, DC. From 2000 to 2009, Mr. Fine was the Director of the Northeast Field Office of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, coordinating the programs and advocacy efforts in Philadelphia, serving the states of Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Adrian Scott Fine currently serves as the President of the board of trustees for the California Preservation Foundation, is a founding member of Docomomo US/Southern California, and teaches at the University of Southern California Heritage Conservation Summer Program, the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions, and as part of the Getty Conservation Institute’s (GCI) Conserving Modern Architecture Initiative.

Beth served the public for 16 years in local historic preservation offices in San Antonio, TX, Covington KY, Austin, TX, and Cincinnati, OH working with various design review boards and administering the local historic preservation regulatory framework. In 2022, Beth transitioned from local municipal preservation work to the local non-profit world and is currently the Executive Director of the Cincinnati Preservation Association, Greater Cincinnati's Historic Preservation advocacy and education organization. Before the nonprofit world, Beth also had extensive work throughout her career in preservation education for higher education, professionals, government officials, and the public. Beth has also rehabbed 4 houses, most recently rehabbing and restoring the Benjamin Dombar House and Studio, and successfully listed it on the National Register of Historic Places. Johnson is a graduate of Ball State University where she received a Bachelor’s degree in Urban Planning with a dual major in history and a minor in historic preservation. She received her Master’s degree in historic preservation planning from Cornell University. Beth continues to advance the preservation and planning field through being a governor-appointed member of Ohio's Historic Site Preservation Advisory Board and an Executive Committee member of Ball State University's Planning Advisory Board.

Kim Trent is the executive director of the National Preservation Partners Network. She has spent three decades creating solutions for utilizing historic resources to meet community needs. Through her work with Knox Heritage; her mentoring of preservationists and preservation organizations across the country; assisting developers with accessing financial incentives for historic properties; and serving on the Board of Trustees of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Kim has gained the reputation for being a problem solver, relationship builder and savvy advocate for historic preservation.

She served for 15 years as the executive director of Knox Heritage, the non-profit historic preservation organization for the 16-county region encompassing Knoxville, Tennessee. She brings a diverse background to her current role, including experience in journalism, community organizing, community development banking, public relations and non-profit management. She has worked in historic preservation professionally and as a community volunteer and advocate at the local, state and national level and is a proponent of preservation-based community and economic development. She is a native of Mobile, Alabama, and a graduate of the University of Alabama.