The American Historic Trades Summit
April 7 – 9, 2025 | Chicago, Illinois
Join us for the second American Historic Trades Summit! This national convening provides participants with the opportunity to share knowledge, pool resources, ensure consistent standards, and learn how to advocate for program support. The Chicago Summit will have informational sessions and networking opportunities that explore the past, present, and future of historic trades training in America.
Agenda
This is a preliminary agenda. As sessions are confirmed, it will be updated with more details on session information and schedules.
Monday, April 7, 2025
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm | WELCOME RECEPTION
Hosted at the Driehaus Museum
Tuesday, April 8, 2025
8:00 am - 9:00 am | CHECK-IN
HIRE360
Primary time to check-in to the event. The information table will be staffed throughout the event to allow for check-ins at other times.
8:00 am - 9:00 am | COFFEE AND NETWORKING
HIRE360
Open hour for people to mingle, drink coffee, and enjoy a light breakfast.
9:00 am - 9:15 am | WELCOME
From Nicholas Redding, President & CEO of Preservation Maryland, and Bonnie McDonald, Executive Director of Landmarks Illinois.
9:15 am - 9:45 am | SESSION 1
What is Workforce Development?
What do we mean when we say “workforce development”? This session will delve into the purpose of workforce development programs and how stakeholders can get involved to train the next generation.
9:45 am - 10:30 am | SESSION 2
Understanding Historic Trades: Bridging the Gap with Clients and Colleagues
Historic trades require specialized knowledge, materials, and techniques that set them apart from modern construction practices. This session will explore the key differences between historic and modern trades, why they matter, and how to effectively educate clients and colleagues about their significance. By improving communication and advocacy, we can ensure the long-term success of Historic Trades and maintain the integrity of our built heritage.
10:30 am - 10:45 am | BREAK
10:45 am - 12:00 pm | SESSION 3
Building Careers: The Role of Capital “A” Apprenticeships in Workforce Development
Join us for an engaging discussion on the power of apprenticeships in shaping the future building trades workforce. Hear about federal initiatives and resources supporting apprenticeship programs, advocacy for policy efforts supporting skilled trade careers, and how preservation trades apprenticeship programs can help us meet modern workforce demands.
12:00 pm - 12:30 pm | LUNCH
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm | KEYNOTE
Sparking Interest in the Trades: The TradesUp Initiative
Keynote Speaker Andrew Rowand will discuss the TradesUp Initiative, which seeks to inspire young people to explore various careers and skills in the trades. TradesUp offers outreach programs and special events designed to empower a new generation to experience the joy of hands-on creation, making, and problem-solving. Learn how you can get involved with the initiative and use their community resource materials to bring TradesUp to your region.
1:30 pm - 1:45 pm | BREAK
1:45 pm - 2:45 pm | SESSION 4
Lessons from the Oldest Workforce Intermediary in the United States
The Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership (WRTP) was created in the 1990s to renew Milwaukee’s traditional industrial base after the recovery of manufacturing, retirement of an aging workforce, and diversification of the regional economy created a growing skills shortage. Since combining with the Building Industry Group Skilled Trades Employment Program (BIG STEP) to form WRTP | BIG STEP, we are a 501(c)3 nonprofit workforce intermediary dedicated to connecting people to family-sustaining jobs. President and CEO Linsday Blume will discuss their role as a workforce intermediary, including their operating models, budgeting and funding, pre-apprenticeship training programs, employer and industry relationships, and partnerships with other organizations to create successful retention systems.
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm | SESSION 5
Case Studies in Program Design
Hear from a panel of different trades training programs about their program design, operations, successes, and challenges.
- Savannah Technical College
- Living Heritage Trades Academy
- Chicago Women in Trades
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm | HAPPY HOUR
Hosted at Revolution Workshop
Evening get-together to view Revolution Workshop’s new training space while we enjoy some light bites and drinks.
Wednesday, April 9, 2025
8:00 am - 9:00 am | COFFEE AND NETWORKING
HIRE360
Open hour for people to mingle, drink coffee, and enjoy a light breakfast.
9:00 am - 9:15 am | MORNING REMARKS
9:15 am - 10:00 am | SESSION 6
Recruiting the Workforce
Marketing and outreach play crucial roles in attracting, engaging, and retaining people to both training programs and careers. In this session, Recruitment and Outreach Manager Jordan Riggs will provide tested strategies on how to increase public awareness and communicate effectively, and the importance of collaboration in these efforts.
10:00 am - 11:00 am | SESSION 7
Perspectives from Apprentices and Students
Workforce development is about people–their interests, training, careers, and well-being. Effective programs keep individuals’ experience and outcomes at the forefront of their work. This panel session will bring together students, apprentices, and trainees from programs across the country to share how they found careers and training, their experiences in programs, and the transition to employment. An interactive discussion with participants will follow.
11:00 am - 11:15 am | BREAK
11:15 am - 12:15 pm | SESSION 8
Case Studies: Partners in Training
An array of professional associations, organizations, and non-profits operate in the historic trades. This panel session will showcase a few of these organizations–how they are structured, who they serve, what they do, and how you can work with them.
- National Preservation Partners Network
- Preservation Action
- Window Preservation Alliance
12:15 pm - 12:30 pm | CLOSING REMARKS
Where we go from here.
12:30 - 1:30 pm | LUNCH
2:00 - 4:00 pm | TOUR
Pullman National Historical Park
Sessions
SESSION 1 | What is Workforce Development?
Natalie Henshaw
What do we mean when we say “workforce development”? This session will delve into the purpose of workforce development programs, how stakeholders can get involved, and where to take action.
SESSION 2 | Understanding Historic Trades: Bridging the Gap with Clients and Colleagues
Julie Butler
Historic trades require specialized knowledge, materials, and techniques that set them apart from modern construction practices. This session will explore the key differences between historic and modern trades, why they matter, and how to effectively educate clients and colleagues about their significance. By improving communication and advocacy, we can ensure the long-term success of Historic Trades and maintain the integrity of our built heritage.
SESSION 3 | Building Careers: The Role of Capital "A" Apprenticeships in Workforce Development
Briana Paxton
Robert Bruno
Join us for an engaging discussion on the power of apprenticeships in shaping the future building trades workforce. Hear about federal initiatives and resources supporting apprenticeship programs, advocacy for policy efforts supporting skilled trade careers, and how preservation trades apprenticeship programs can help us meet modern workforce demands.
SESSION 4 | Partnership That Works: Fifty Years of Lessons from a Workforce Intermediary
Lindsay Blumer
As the oldest industry led, worker-centered workforce intermediary in the nation WRTP | BIG STEP’s model has endured a half-century of change and continues to intentionally collaborate with a multitude of partners to ensure everyone has a career pathway to and through apprenticeship. This presentation focuses on the overarching organizational framework, the operational aspects, resource model, employer and partner relationships, retention systems and measurable impact as Wisconsin’s largest workforce intermediary. Attendees can expect to walk away with a greater understanding of how to implement best practices, where challenges may arise and how to work with unlikely partners to achieve long term impact.
KEYNOTE | Sparking Interest in the Trades: The TradesUp Initiative
Andrew Rowand
In this Keynote, Speaker Andrew Rowand will discuss the TradesUp Initiative, which seeks to inspire young people to explore various careers and skills in the trades. TradesUp offers outreach programs and special events designed to empower a new generation to experience the joy of hands-on creation, making, and problem-solving. Learn how you can get involved with the initiative and use their community resource materials to bring TradesUp to your region.
SESSION 5 | Case Studies: Trades Training Programs
Savannah Technical College
Living Heritage Trades Acadmy
Chicago Women in Trades
Hear from a panel of different trades training programs about their program design, operations, successes, and challenges.
SESSION 6 | Recruiting the Workforce
Jordan Riggs
Marketing and outreach play crucial roles in attracting, engaging, and retaining people to both training programs and careers. In this session, Recruitment and Outreach Manager Jordan Riggs will provide tested strategies on how to increase public awareness and communicate effectively, and the importance of collaboration in these efforts.
SESSION 7 | Perspectives from Apprentices and Students
Lauren Oden, Savannah Technical College
Mike Harvey, Living Heritage Trades Academy
Nicholas Cuellar, American College of the Building Arts
Damian Patton, Revolution Workshop
Workforce development is about people–their interests, training, careers, and well-being. Effective programs keep individuals’ experience and outcomes at the forefront of their work. This panel session will bring together students, apprentices, and trainees from programs across the country to share how they found careers and training, their experiences in programs, and the transition to employment. An interactive discussion with participants will follow.
SESSION 8 | Case Studies: Partners in Training
Nick Redding, National Preservation Partners Network
Briana Paxton, Preservation Action
Jackson Hoggard, Window Preservation Alliance
An array of professional associations, organizations, and non-profits operate in the historic trades. This panel session will showcase a few of these organizations–how they are structured, who they serve, what they do, and how you can work with them.
Speakers and Panelists
Keynote: Andrew Rowand
TradesUp Board of Directors, Curator and Site Administrator of Eric Sloane Museum
Andrew Rowand is the curator and site administrator of the Eric Sloane Museum in Kent, CT, and a founding TradesUp Board of Directors member. A dedicated student and avid supporter of all historic trades and crafts, Andrew has been a practicing shoemaker in his free time for over a decade. He and his wife Lara are thrilled to live in Suffield, CT, in a small timber-framed farmhouse with their beloved two pups and cat.
Natalie Henshaw
Director, The Campaign for Historic Trades
Biography
Natalie directs The Campaign for Historic Trades, a national workforce development program. She leads the team’s operations and strategic goals to fulfill its mission to expand and strengthen careers in the historic trades. She served as a Board Member and Secretary for the Preservation Trades Network and is currently a board member of the National Preservation Institute. Natalie earned her AAS from Savannah Technical College’s Historic Preservation and Restoration Program in 2013. During and after this program, she’s worked in hands-on preservation with various non-profits, construction companies, and federal agencies. From 2014 through 2019, Natalie worked on seasonal, cross-country projects with HistoriCorps. In 2016, she founded Henshaw Preservation LLC in Savannah, Georgia, starting as a preservation generalist. The company now specializes in window restoration.
Julie Butler
Preservation Director, The Durable Restoration Company
Biography
Julie Butler has been with The Durable Restoration Company for nine years, serving as Preservation Director, and has worked in the historic preservation industry for nearly two decades. Her expertise spans material conservation, mortar analysis, and the preservation of fine architectural details, particularly in historic structures facing extreme environmental conditions.
Throughout her career, she has contributed to the conservation of significant landmarks, including the Old Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C., historic churches along the East Coast, and the UNESCO World Heritage Site of St. Trophime in Arles, France. Julie holds a Bachelor of Arts in Historic Preservation from the University of Mary Washington and a Master of Arts in Historic Preservation from Savannah College of Art and Design. She also is an alumni of the Preservation Institute: Nantucket. In addition to her work at Durable Restoration, she serves on the Board of Directors for Preservation Maryland, advocating for the protection and stewardship of historic resources.
Briana Paxton
Chairwoman of Preservation Action, Revitaliztion Policy Analyst for Preservation Maryland
Biography
Briana Paxton is a historic preservation professional with unique experience at the intersection of preservation policy, economics, civic data, and advocacy. Her interdisciplinary career includes work experience from public, private, nonprofit and citizen advocate vantage points. Briana serves as the Chairwoman of Preservation Action and Preservation Maryland’s Revitalization Policy Analyst, as well as CEO of Hestia Community Partners LLC. She was awarded the Dick Greene Memorial Historic Preservation Award for Promoting Historic Preservation in Muncie, IN (2019), named one of the #DismantlePreservation: (un)Official 40 Under 40 (2020), and Historic Savannah Foundation’s Volunteer of the Year (2022).
Robert Bruno
Professor Robert Bruno, School of Labor and Employment Relations, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Biography
Robert Bruno is Director of the Labor Education Program and a Professor of Labor and Employment, as well as the director of the Project for Middle Class Renewal in the School of Labor and Employment Relations at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
In addition to publishing numerous scholarly articles on a diverse range of labor relations subjects, Professor Bruno has also co-authored numerous research reports on labor unions, workplace practices and labor and employment policy topics. He is also the author of five books; Steelworker Alley: How Class Works In Youngstown (1999), Reforming the Chicago Teamsters: The Story of Local 705 (2003), Justified by Work: The Meaning of Faith in Chicago’s Working-Class Churches (2008) and A Fight for the Soul of Public Education: The Story of the Chicago Teachers Strike (co-author 2016), which was awarded the United Association for Labor Education Best Book award in 2017 and What Work Is (2024).
Professor Bruno has given expert testimony to the US House Committee on Education and the Workforce, as well as the Illinois House and Senate Committees on Labor and Commerce. He has also been a frequent commentator on labor relations for both regional and national media and has served as a commentator for numerous newspapers. Professor Bruno has taught many different labor relations courses, specializing in collective bargaining, labor history and American politics, as well as given numerous public presentations on labor relations.
Lindsay Blumer
President & CEO for WRTP | BIG STEP
Biography
Lindsay Blumer is a respected nonprofit organization professional with over 20 years of experience in executive leadership, strategic planning, entrepreneurship, social enterprise and innovation. Blumer has worked as a community fellow with United Way of America designing community impact solutions, in state government advising and developing advocacy strategies and policy work in various appointed roles, advancing curricular and program design as Assistant Dean at Ripon College, creating collaborative community-based solutions as the executive director of a domestic violence and sexual assault prevention organization and developing entrepreneurial pathways for students at Marquette University. Her dedication to mission-based and community-focused work continues to drive her personally and professionally as the President & CEO at WRTP | BIG STEP, a workforce intermediary connecting traditionally disenfranchised people to quality career opportunities, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She is also a proud member of the Governor’s Council on Workforce Investment, the Wisconsin Technical College System Board and the Department of Workforce Department’s Bureau of Apprenticeship Standards Advisory Council.
Jayne Vellinga
Executive Director, Chicago Women in Trades
Biography
Kathy Rodriguez
Deputy Historic Preservation Officer
Living Heritage Trades Academy, Office of Historic Preservation, City of San Antonio
Biography
Kathy Rodriguez is the driving force behind the Living Heritage Trades Academy (LHTA), where hands-on training and workforce development intersect with cultural preservation. As the leader of LHTA, Kathy is dedicated to preserving traditional craftsmanship, revitalizing historic building stock, and creating economic opportunities through living heritage in San Antonio.
With a strong background in public administration and strategic partnerships, Kathy has been instrumental in aligning diverse stakeholders to advance heritage conservation through innovative initiatives. Her work ensures that time-honored skills are passed on to a new generation, strengthening both communities and the built environment.
Kathy holds a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from UT San Antonio and a Master of Public Administration from Sul Ross State University (May 2025). Her visionary leadership continues to shape the future of historic trades education, bridging the gap between preservation and skilled craftsmanship.
Connie Pinkerton
Department Head, Savannah Technical College’s Historic Preservation and Restoration Program
Biography
Connie Pinkerton is the Department Head for Savannah Technical College’s Historic Preservation and Restoration Program, one of only a few community college programs in the country. Connie started her career with an undergraduate degree in Anthropology from University at Albany, State University of New York, then working in archaeology through the mid-Atlantic, Southeastern United States, and Puerto Rico. She earned her Master’s Degree from the Savannah College of Art and Design’s Historic Preservation Program, writing her thesis on Savannah’s iconic Grey Bricks. Connie was a faculty member and Department Head for SCAD’s Historic Preservation Program for nearly twenty years before transitioning to her current role at Savannah Technical College in 2022.
Jordan Riggs
Recruitment and Outreach Manager, The Campaign for Historic Trades
Biography
Michael Harvey
Living Heritage Trades Academy Alumnus | Owner/Operator of HRVY WoodWorks
Biography
Nicholas Cuellar
2nd year Plaster and Decorative Finishes Student, American College of Building Arts
Biography
Lauren Oden
Biography
Damian Patton
Revolution Workshop Graduate | Traditional Trades Advancement Program Intern
Biography
Damian Patton is a graduate of the Revolution Workshop program. Now 28 years old, he was born and raised on the south side of Chicago. Damian has been passionate about building and construction since childhood. He’s proud to be a graduate of Revolution Workshop Cohort 22 and to be working in the historic trades with the National Park Service.
Jackson Hoggard
Chief Executive Officer at Double Hung Historic Window Restoration | Board Member, Window Preservation Alliance
Biography
From watching his parents and neighbors restore their own windows as a child, to helping out around the family business as a teenager—when it was still in their garage, Jackson Hoggard grew up immersed in the practice and business of window restoration. As a young adult, he saw the success of the business, Double Hung, and the efforts of his father David. He realized his passion for evangelizing window repair. Driven by his desire to save windows from the landfill, Jackson got a degree in construction management from Cape Fear Community College and then traveled the southeast working for two of the nation’s best builders. He helped deliver over $600mm to the built environment over the span of eight years. He also gained valuable industry insight, expertise, and relationships that help him spread the truth and science of window repair nationwide. He is an active board member of the Window Preservation Alliance.
Sponsors and Partners
The Campaign for Historic Trades and Preservation Maryland thanks its generous sponsors. This event is made possible due to their support. Email Patrick Mooney at pmooney@presmd.org to become a sponsor.
Locations
Summit
The Summit will be held at HIRE360, a Chicago-based workforce development program, at their new training facility.
HIRE360
2540 S State St, Chicago, IL 60616, USA
https://hire360chicago.com/
Hotel
Rooms are blocked at the Congress Plaza Hotel for $139/night + taxes. Attendees are responsible for arranging and paying for their own accommodations. All reservations require a one-night deposit. Your credit card will be charged upon making your reservation. Cancellation policy is 30 days prior to arrival.
Congress Plaza Hotel
520 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60605
312-427-3800
https://www.congressplazahotel.com/
Welcome Reception
Monday, April 7
Driehaus Museum
50 East Erie Street, Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 482-8933
https://driehausmuseum.org/
Happy Hour
Tuesday, April 8
Revolution Workshop
3410 W Lake St, Chicago, IL 60624
(708) 529-6288
https://www.revolutionworkshop.org/#/
Guests can also book a room by calling 312-427-3800 x 5025 and identifying themselves as part of “The Campaign for Historic Trades” group.
HIRE360
HIRE360
2540 S State St, Chicago, IL 60616, USA
https://hire360chicago.com/
Congress Plaza Hotel
Congress Plaza Hotel
520 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60605
312-427-3800
https://www.congressplazahotel.com/
Driehaus Museum
Welcome Reception
Monday, April 7
Revolution Workshop
There are many ways for individuals, businesses, organizations, and philanthropic groups to support The Campaign. Find out how.