Jessica is Founder and Principal of Preservation Forward a historic preservation consultancy specializing in economic development, adaptive reuse, and the rehabilitation of historic buildings with a focus on traditional building trades and historic materials. Preservation Forward is about understanding the built environment as it relates to a place and the people who love their place.
Previously, Jessica worked as a Community Outreach and Historic Building Specialist for the Michigan State Historic Preservation Office where she specialized in the environmental sustainability and rehabilitation of historic buildings. Jessica worked across the state of Michigan on all issues related to historic preservation.
She holds a LEED professional accreditation from the USGBC. She has a Master of Science degree in historic preservation with a focus on architectural conservation from Eastern Michigan University, a Bachelor of Arts in business administration from Ohio University, and an Associate of Applied Science degree in hands-on building preservation and construction technology from Belmont College.
Jessica has worked as a historic building pathologist and an architectural historian on a variety of cultural resource management and building construction projects. Jessica has worked with hundreds of local government leaders, state agencies, developers, contractors, and involved stakeholders in order to strengthen the role of historic preservation in communities across Michigan and beyond.
Jessica also brings forth a diverse background of preservation public policy knowledge & leadership skills. She has worked on many local & state campaigns throughout her home state of West Virginia. Jessica is a former board member of Preservation Action where she represented the Mountain State for preservation advocacy and efforts.
She is a faculty member within the School of Planning, Design, and Construction at Michigan State University. She proudly teaches the one and only historic preservation course at MSU! She is Vice Chair of the East Lansing Historic District Commission. In her free time, Jessica lobbies on Capitol Hill to convince federal legislators of the importance for appropriate legislation to preserve our nation’s historic built environment.
