Christina Rae Butler (she/her) is the Provost, Professor of Historic Preservation, and Chair of General Education at American College of the Building Arts; adjunct faculty at College of Charleston; and a lecturer for Clemson's graduate preservation program. She is also the owner of Butler Preservation L.C., a preservation research and consulting firm that specializes in National Register nominations, property histories, design review board assistance and preservation plans. She is the author of Lowcountry at High Tide: A History of Flooding, Land Reclamation, and Drainage in Charleston, South Carolina; Ansonborough: From Birth the Rebirth; Italians in the Lowcountry; and Charleston Horse Power: Equine Culture in the Palmetto City. She holds a certificate in construction, a B.A. from the College of Charleston and an M.A. from the Citadel, and is a licensed specialty contractor in South Carolina.

Nicole McLaughlin (she/her) has nearly 20 years of experience with Plummer Youth Promise. She joined Plummer’s board in 2002 and became Chair in 2006. In 2009, she left the board to become Plummer’s first Director of Development. By 2013, she transitioned to Director of Strategy and Advancement. In that role, she spearheaded a major rebranding, evolving Plummer from its origins as an 18th-century group residence for boys to that of a visionary, multiservice child welfare organization setting a standard of practice for others in the field. She became Executive Director in 2020.

Michael Whitmore (he/him) is a registered architect in several New England states and has practiced as a principal since 1991. The primary emphasis of Roundel 47’s design, construction and planning efforts since inception has been working with nonprofit social service agencies that provide a diverse range of educational, residential and therapeutic settings for children, young adults and adults across New England. Programming and design are informed by recognition of history and context, protection of environmental resources through sustainable design practices and innovation in how the site and buildings support the people who live, learn and heal in them.

Nicholas Betts (he/him) is a registered Landscape Architect and SITES accredited professional with more than a decade of experience in sustainable site design, ecological restoration and coastal resiliency. With a background in engineering and stormwater design, Nicholas has played a key role in identifying opportunities to incorporate nature-based solutions into several key projects. As a longtime resident of the North Shore, he draws inspiration from the various coastal plant communities and encourages the use of native vegetation in many of his projects.

Margaret Back (she/her) is the Preservation Projects Manager at the Newport Restoration Foundation. At NRF, Margaret leads projects connecting climate change and built heritage resiliency. Her current projects include an energy efficiency study for 19th-century Newport buildings, and she is project lead for the Keeping History Above Water conference series. She previously worked as a Preservation Manager for the South Region of Historic New England, where she oversaw preservation projects and facility maintenance for properties in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. She holds a M.S. in Historic Preservation from the University of Pennsylvania.

Melyssa Nickerson (she/her) serves as the Director of Sustainability and Resilience for the Town of Provincetown and was previously the town’s Environmental Planner and Conservation Agent. Melyssa coordinated the development of Provincetown’s town-wide Coastal Resilience Plan with Town Staff and the Coastal Resilience Advisory Board. This plan is expected to give guidance on public and private property adaptation to address increased frequency and severity of coastal storms, and projected sea level rise through 2070. She has worked with her Outer Cape counterparts to develop a regional shoreline management framework and data portal, and continues to support efforts toward regional resilience efforts, in addition to Provincetown’s own resilience and sustainability initiatives. She received a M.S. in Environmental Policy and Natural Resource Management from the University of Denver, and a B.A. in International Relations and Economics from Eckerd College.

Timothy Famulare (he/him) serves as the Town of Provincetown’s Community Development Director, overseeing the town’s planning and regulatory management departments. Prior to that, he served as the town’s Environmental Planner and Conservation Agent. Tim has developed and managed several climate change resilience initiatives. Presently, he is coordinating a comprehensive planning process to develop a town-wide Coastal Resilience Plan. He and his counterparts in Truro, Wellfleet and Eastham have collaborated since 2020 to develop a regional shoreline management framework to address common floodplain and coastal impacts due to sea level rise. Tim holds a J.D. from Boston University School of Law and a B.S. in Marine and Freshwater Biology from the University of New Hampshire.

Priscilla Anderson (she/her) is the Head of Preventive Programs within Harvard University Library’s Preservation Services. Anderson co-chairs Harvard’s collections emergency team and has responded to water emergencies from drips to deluges. She has been a member of COSTEP MA’s executive board since 2015.

Samantha Couture (she/her) is the Nora Saltonstall Conservator & Preservation Librarian at the Massachusetts Historical Society. She has 30 years of experience in book and paper conservation and preservation. She is a professional member of the American Institute for Conservation and has a Master’s in Library and Information Science. She has conducted many preservation assessments for small institutions.

Jessica Branco Colati (she/her) has been the Preservation Specialist for the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) since May 2024. She is an archivist, librarian and educator with over 20 years’ experience working for and with GLAM-focused organizations, focusing on collection stewardship, preservation and emergency planning and response, and curation policies, practices and workflows for physical and digital collections.

Mary Kate Kwasnik (she/her) is an Associate Preservation Specialist at the Northeast Document Conservation Center in Andover, MA. She is an experienced archivist and librarian with previous work experience at the New York Public Library and the Patten Free Library in Bath, Maine. Mary Kate works out of her office in midcoast Maine and serves on the COSTEP MA Executive Committee, the Board of Directors of Maine Archives and Museums and the Preservation Outreach Committee of the American Library Association.

Benjamin Hiltunen (he/him) is the Planning Unit Supervisor at the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency. In this role, supported by a staff of experienced planners, he works with local, state, federal, NGO and private-sector stakeholders to develop plans to guide the Commonwealth’s response to a wide spectrum of natural and technological emergencies and disasters. Over the course of his career, Ben has also supported numerous activations of the State Emergency Operations Center in response to events such as floods, hurricanes, ice storms and terrorist attacks, as well as large-scale planned events such as the Boston Marathon. Ben has worked closely with COSTEP MA since its inception in 2008 and currently sits on its executive board.

Michael Burrey (he/him), Preservation Carpentry Instructor at North Bennet Street School in Boston, is a timber-frame joinery specialist renowned for his expertise in 17th-century building techniques, including roof thatching, interior wall construction and historic paint finishes. After earning a degree in Early American and Colonial Life, he served as an Interpretive Artisan at Plimoth Plantation, blending research with hands-on interpretation of colonial craftsmanship. In 1999, Michael founded MLB Restorations, focusing on restoring historic buildings and designing sustainable structures rooted in traditional craftsmanship. Michael was selected in 2014 to restore the Tower of London and, more recently, contributed to the restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral after its 2019 fire. Collaborating with Handshouse Studio and French carpentry firm Asselin, he helped reconstruct the Cathedral’s iconic timber spire, which debuted during its December 2024 reopening.

Susan Pranger (she/her) is a licensed architect with almost 50 years of experience, including 30 years as a Senior Associate at Goody Clancy Architects, and 12 years as chair of the Boston Landmarks Commission. She has taught Historic Preservation and Sustainable Design in the Master of Design Studies programs at the Boston Architectural College since 2012. Her book Old Materials, New Climate explores the impact of climate on traditional building materials.

Neal Duffy (he/him) is the director of the Sustainability and Resiliency Department (SRD) for the City of Salem. SRD oversees the implementation of Resilient Together, Salem’s shared climate action and resiliency plan with the City of Beverly. This work includes creating, managing and supporting sustainability, clean energy, and resiliency projects, programs and policies within the government and community. Prior to working in Salem, Neal was the Northeast regional coordinator for the Green Communities Division at the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, where he worked with 84 municipalities, including Salem, on clean energy and energy efficiency projects.

Christina Pokwatka (she/her) is a member of the Property Care team for Historic New England. In her role as Preservation Project Manager, she oversees a wide range of projects at 20 historic sites located throughout the North Shore region of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and southern Maine. She is passionate about making the sites resilient to climate change while simultaneously being mindful of their importance as cultural resources and the need to preserve them as best as possible.