June 1, 2018 | Dina Posner

Originally from the Washington, D.C. area, I moved to New York in 2017 to start the two-year Master of Science in Historic Preservation at Pratt Institute. Prior to applying for graduate school, I graduated in 2015 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in interior design. It was while working after graduation in an architecture firm in Washington, D.C. that I found myself eager to engage more fully with historic architecture.

My time thus far with the New York Preservation Archive Project has been invaluable as both a connection to my studies at Pratt and as a networking opportunity. While planning and attending events like the Bard Birthday Breakfast Benefit and the “People Preserving Place” Film Festival, I have met people I learned about in my classes at Pratt, especially in and around the fight for a New York City Landmarks Law. NYPAP events have also brought me into some beautiful interior spaces, such as the United Palace Theater, the Yale Club ballroom, and The Episcopal Church of the Heavenly Rest.

My time with NYPAP has also been a valuable networking experience as I work towards finding my niche in the preservation field. Because New York City’s preservation field is a small, tight-knit community, I have found that everyone has a connection to everyone. I know this will prove helpful as I move to write my thesis in the spring of 2019.

I would like to thank Elizabeth and Robert Jeffe, Anthony Wood, Matthew Coody, and Brad Vogel for allowing me to be a part of NYPAP and for engaging me with so many interesting tasks, including event planning, preservation database organization, and attending a diverse array of preservation-related events citywide.