The Young Advisors is a board of developing professionals whose role is to expand and amplify the Alliance’s mission. Active at every level of the Alliance, they work as conservators, construction managers, preservation planners, estimators, attorneys, small business owners, educators, and architects.
Join Our Board of Young Advisors
Participate in one of their upcoming events to get to know them better. Be sure to follow them on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Email youngadvisors@
Young Advisors Members
Devon King
President
He/Him
Devon is a preservation planner at VHB, Inc. providing regulatory review and historical documentation support to help guide the sustainable development of communities across the region. He received his master’s in history from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2022 as well as a Historic Preservation Certificate from Boston Architectural College. He is a lifelong resident of Massachusetts, avid hiker, and an advocate for LGBTQ+ history and the preservation of modernist architecture.
Pandora Hess
Vice President
She/Her
Pandora’s academic background is in art and architectural history. She trained at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London before receiving an Arts and Humanities Research Council scholarship for graduate study at Oxford University. She began her career in museums and preservation, working as a Curator at Historic Annapolis for five years. Alongside managing and interpreting a historic collection, she launched a high-level donor group focused on art and architectural experiences; this led to her next role as an Associate Director at the Harvard Art Museums, where she developed programming for leadership-level donors in Boston, New York, and London. Pandora now works in Donor Relations at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and lends her philanthropy background to the BPA’s Development Committee. She lives in a historic building in the Fenway and gardens in Boston’s famous Victory Gardens.
James Mealey
Secretary
He/Him
James is a Landscape Architect at the National Park Service, where he specializes in design, planning, and management of cultural landscapes as part of the Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation. In that role, he supports parks throughout the NPS Northeast Region with preservation planning, project implementation, and cultural landscape research and documentation. James earned his Master of Landscape Architecture degree at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he also completed a Graduate Certificate in Cultural Landscape Management. For as long as he can remember, James has been particularly interested in the landscape history of Boston, his hometown. He joined the Boston Preservation Alliance Young Advisors Board in 2022 to support the Alliance’s advocacy for the historic places that strengthen Bostonians’ relationships with their shared heritage. James lives in Roslindale with his boyfriend and their cat. Off the clock, he can typically be found wandering around the Arnold Arboretum, catching a new (or old) movie at Coolidge Corner Theatre, or playing one of the three songs he knows on the piano.
Kimberly Rose
Marketing/Social Media Chair
She/Her
Kimberly serves as Preservation Manager at The Craig Group Partners, LLC, working on preservation planning, climate resilience, and disaster preparedness projects. In her role, she assists with plan development, analyzing geographic information system (GIS) data, building ESRI StoryMaps, and the development and execution of public engagement opportunities such as surveys, meetings, workshops, conferences, and symposiums. Previously, Kimberly served as Co-Director of the University of Florida Preservation Institute Nantucket, where she assisted with projects focused on resilience and sustainability in historic Nantucket, MA. Kim also served as Founder and Coordinator of ACKlimate Nantucket from 2019 to 2021, encouraging Nantucket’s holistic communication and adaptation to a changing climate and rising seas through local and global engagement. Kimberly graduated summa cum laude from the University of Florida’s Master of Historic Preservation in 2020. Before that, she completed her Bachelor of Science in History at Martin Methodist College (now University of Tennessee Southern)
Hannah Ahlblad
She/Her
Hannah AIA is a project architect at Annum Architects in Boston. She joined the firm in 2021 and has contributed to the design process of several museum and civic projects that draw on her experience with curatorial teams, and versatility working in different cultural contexts. As part of the BPA Young Advisors, she enjoys learning more about Boston’s history and future, and advocating for community engagement and inclusivity.
In 2019 and 2020, she taught foundational studios at the University of San Francisco, and was a regular guest on design juries at Stanford, Otis College of Art and Design, and the University of New Mexico. Hannah holds a Master of Architecture from the University of Texas at Austin, where she received awards for her field research on cognitive mapping today’s public perception of the 1920s-1930s muralism movement in Mexico City. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Art History and Economics from Wellesley College.
Gabrielle Chapman
She/Her
Gabrielle earned her BA in History at Northeastern University after completing two full-time internships at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., and the Massachusetts State House in the tours and education department. In 2018, Gabrielle earned her MA in Public History at Northeastern University in Boston, while working full-time at Historic Boston Inc., a local non-profit that rehabilitates historic buildings for new uses. Gabrielle currently works as an executive assistant at Longfellow Real Estate Partners.
Erin Doherty
She/Her
Erin Doherty is a Preservation Planner at Epsilon Associates, Inc., an environmental consulting firm located in Maynard, MA. Erin works in the historic preservation group, which focuses on securing project approvals and clearances from local, state, and federal agencies including State Historic Preservation Offices, the National Park Service, and local historic district commissions. Prior to joining Epsilon, Erin spent much of her career in the public sector. Formerly, Erin worked as a Preservation Planner at the Massachusetts Historical Commission where she was responsible for the review and approval of state and federal historic tax credit applications. Previously she worked at the Boston Landmarks Commission where she oversaw the administration of three local historic districts. Erin received a B.A. in Russian and French from Wellesley College and an M.A. in Preservation Studies from Boston University. Erin is a Fulbright Fellow and spent a year in St. Petersburg, Russia researching historic sites following her graduation from Wellesley College.
Kate Ford, LEED AP
She/Her
During Kate Ford’s first year of architecture school, her class took a field trip to Boston to explore all of the amazing architecture this city has to offer. The most impactful building she saw that day was the MIT Chapel in Cambridge. She loved the way Eero Saarinen designed a seemingly modest building from the exterior, but as you explore the interior, you find celebrated moments of natural light from the undulating brick walls reflecting light from the moat below and a skylight pouring in light from above. This building still remains one of her favorite buildings in this city and beyond! Her professional career thus far has primarily been focused on a large renovation of a 100-year-old building in Downtown Boston. This project preserved the historical podium while replicating the upper façade in modern materials to bring it back to life. She has had the pleasure and good fortune to work on such a challenging, rewarding and transformative project over the past few years, and looks forward to expanding upon the lessons learned as a part of the BPA Young Advisors.
Cathryn Haight
She/Her
Cathryn is a writer and editor. She’s been on staff at The Knot, SAVEUR, Dotdash Meredith, Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street, and the Improper Bostonian. Her words have also appeared across Apartment Therapy, Culture Trip, Tasting Table, WBUR, Boston.com, and more. She is also a contributing author of “Boston Like a Local,” a travel guidebook published by DK Eyewitness (an imprint of Penguin Random House). Cathryn joined the Young Advisors Board to advocate for the historic sites and structures around Boston (and the rich stories they hold). She earned a degree in creative writing and Russian language from Trinity College as well as a certificate in publishing from Columbia University. She is also a member of the Junior League of Boston and lives in Back Bay.
Megan Hoover
She/Her
Megan is an architect at Saam Architecture. She has significant experience in educational institutions, multi-family housing, civic buildings, and corporate office spaces. Oftentimes working with existing, historic buildings, Megan has experience throughout all project phases with historic structures all over New England. Megan earned her Bachelor of Science in Architecture from Roger Williams University and continued her education at Parsons School of Design at the New School in New York City, where she received her Master of Architecture.
Nick Korn
He/Him
Nick is a life-long student and self-identified nerd. A dedicated professional in the bar and restaurant scene in Boston for nearly two decades, Nick is a fierce advocate for his community, and has dedicated his career to changing paradigms in the hospitality industry. Nick currently owns and manages OFFSITE, a boutique agency focused on building the most accurate, relevant, accessible educational resources and professional development programs with the hospitality community at their core. Nick self-identifies as a bartender and you can still find him making drinks around town.
Charly Kring
She/Her
Charly is an Architect with Goody Clancy where she works on the renovation and preservation of higher education buildings. Charly finds inspiration in the overlap of preservation and sustainability. She champions the responsible reuse of built resources as Co-Chair of Zero Net Carbon Collaboration (ZNCC), a strategic alliance dedicated to accelerating the carbon reduction of existing and heritage buildings. Charly earned her Bachelor of Architecture degree from Cornell University. Her thesis documented the legacy of residential segregation in Providence, Rhode Island. She mentors high school students through the Boston Private Industry Council and pedals around the city on her red Bridgestone bike.
Laura Lacombe
She/Her
Laura is an architectural conservator with a background in archaeology. She received her Master of Science in Historic Preservation from the University of Pennsylvania, where she focused on conservation science, and has developed conservation plans for Holly Tower at Hovenweep National Monument in Utah, and Nyamata and Ntarama Genocide Memorials in Rwanda. She spent 5 years working for Harvard’s Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, where she worked on conservation and 3D modeling projects at the Maya site of Copan in Honduras. She currently works as an Architectural Conservator at Building Conservation Associates, Inc, where she advises on the conservation of historic building materials throughout New England.
Amanda Malone
She/Her
Amanda is an architect at Annum Architects, where she contributes to the design process for several cultural, academic, and civic projects, while her recent experience includes planning and design for international projects with the State Department’s portfolio of culturally significant properties. Amanda holds a Master of Architecture from Washington University in St. Louis. Here she began developing the attitude that continued investment in our built heritage is a collective effort to solve current and future challenges. Since moving to Boston and joining the Young Advisors, she has deepened her understanding of how our built heritage continues to enhance the fabric of our communities.
Kelsey McLean
She/Her
Julian Phillips
He/Him
Julian Phillips is a designer at Bruner/Cott Architects (BCA). With historic preservation at the forefront of Phillips’ work, he is a key member on several of BCA’s ongoing preservation projects including Arlington Street Church, the Blackstone Steam Plant at Harvard University, and the Moderna Forbes Hill Mansion. He is active in a variety of local and national industry organizations such as the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) and its Boston Chapter, BosNOMA, where he served as executive secretary and program coordinator for Project Pipeline. Phillips is currently on the Boston Society of Architecture Membership Committee, is a young advisor board member for the Boston Preservation Alliance, a board member for the Fenway Community Center, and an adjunct professor at MassArt.
Nate Ross
He/him
A Virginia native with a professional background in music and technology, Nate’s interest in historic preservation began while attending the University of Virginia during an extensive renovation of the Rotunda: the centerpiece of the Academical Village and the University that was designed by Thomas Jefferson. He found the rich history of the school grounds, and the city of Charlottesville, fascinating, which led to a desire to learn more about other historic spaces. After moving to Boston in 2018, he went on several historical tours to learn the story of one of America’s oldest and most historically significant cities. Through these tours, he met several members of the YAs and joined in January 2020 to learn more about and raise awareness for historic preservation projects around the city. In his spare time, Nate enjoys hiking, traveling, learning languages, making music, and going to concerts.