HiPO: Officers

Lucinda Philumalee
President

B.A. History, University of Southern Mississippi, 2008

I was inspired to pursue a master's degree is historic preservation after experiencing Hurricane Katrina and recognizing the impact that it had upon the historic sites which defined the identity of the Mississippi Gulf Coast.  In the future, I would like to work as an liaison for the Federal Emergency Management Agency in order to facilitate regrowth in areas affected by disaster, while incorporating their cultural and historical qualities.

John Heermans
Vice President

B.S. Ecology and Conservation, Saint Lawrence University, 2002

After studying ecology and conservation in my undergraduate education, I began to think about new developments encroaching deeper into our natural environment. I realized that the most efficient way to preserve our environment is maybe not to just continue building and pass it off under green trends, but rather also to not build at all and instead focus on structures we already have. I am interested in adaptive reuse strategies and preservation of our historical icons as well as careful planning of our communities, which has lead me to pursue a dual degree master's program in Historic Preservation and Community Planning.

Kristie Kendall
Treasurer

B.A. History, James Madison University, 2008

After researching the negative impact of the Urban Renewal program on Harrisonburg, Virginia's African-American community for my undergraduate thesis, I became interested in the field of historic preservation and decided to pursue a master's degree. While I have a wide range of interests, I am particularly interested in the preservation of African-American heritage sites, cultural resource management and using heritage tourism to promote these sites.

Margaret Prest
Secretary

B.A. History and Anthropology, University of Michigan, 2005

I am currently pursuing a dual degree in Historic Preservation and Community Planning. My interest in these two fields stems from my involvement in student housing cooperatives over the past eight years and my belief that every building has something to teach its current occupants about the past. My goals for the future involve continuing to help develop cooperatively organized, low-cost housing and to do that through the adaptive reuse of historic buildings.