Year in Review
Thank you to everyone who supported my first year of consulting - your support and advocacy helped me exceed my expectations for Year One of a small business! I wanted to take the time to look back at some of my favorite projects/memories of this year and follow up with resources available to learn more.
Screenshot from my PPA video, "Let's Talk About Local History"The People’s Planning Academy: A public engagement project of the City of Indianapolis’ Department of Metropolitan Development and the Indianapolis Neighborhood Resource Center, the People’s Planning Academy aims to demystify city planning processes and help community advocates understand planning to create a more inclusive, equitable, and just future. I helped develop the curriculum content for the Local History, Transportation, and Waterways units. Learn more about the PPA curriculum here. And check out the educational videos on YouTube here - my pre-recorded video is titled “Let’s Talk About Local History.” Stay tuned for the next PPA course, most likely in 2023.
Bookmark Indy: A multi-year literary exploration of Indianapolis through the eyes of famous authors. This summer, I had the opportunity to host two sold-out tours, titled “Magnificent Meridian Street,” which began at the residence of Booth Tarkington, author of The Magnificent Ambersons, locationally and architecturally inspired by Indianapolis. This tour combined my traditional focus of architecture and city planning with the literary context of Tarkington’s life and body of work. Interested in learning more? Follow along at the Bookmark Indy website for the 2022 event schedule and explore the authors and locations on the website at your convenience.
White River Vision Plan: A strategic partnership between numerous city & county governments, the tourism industry, civic groups, and waterway advocates, the White River Vision Plan is embarking on a new phase to establish governance and increase outreach and marketing of the vision plan. I was brought in to conduct research on the history of the river’s reaches and anchors as well as facilitate community conversations at parks in each of the reaches throughout Hamilton and Marion counties. Last week (and again sometime this winter) I shared historic research with MIBOR members to help real estate agents understand the historic context of White River. Stay tuned for a new website coming soon, along with exciting public engagement programs coming in 2022.
Eastside History Walk: This fall, the John Boner Neighborhood Center celebrated its 50th anniversary with a celebration including programs, art, and events. I assisted by researching and curating images for a Neighborhood History Walk history exhibit attached to the center’s street-level windows along 10th Street. Thank you to everyone involved for trusting me to work with your neighborhood and community history and highlight different stories unique to the eastside, as well as significant shared city history. I’m not sure how much longer the window decals will be up, so check them out soon!
5. National Trust for Historic Preservation Award: This fall, I was the sole recipient of the American Express Aspire Award for Emerging Leaders in Preservation at the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s annual conference. Thank you to the amazing women who nominated me for this award. Below is my award acceptance speech:
"Good evening and thank you to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the awards committee, and my dear colleagues who nominated me for the American Express Aspire Award. I am so profoundly touched to be receiving this award during such a difficult time. The conflicts and inequities brought to light in the last few years have shown me, a built environment historian and archivist, how critical archival work is for our collective future.
And we must understand the historic context of our past, in order to envision a more just future. I hope to continue doing that through my work mining and interpreting the archives and to help local advocacy groups in their fight for equity in planning, housing, preservation, transit, and infrastructure. And thank you to all the organizations and institutions who have elevated my archival work by inviting me to participate in community conversations, public programs and tours, municipal public outreach and trainings, and comprehensive planning projects.
My goal has always been to use history to make people curious about lost and erased spaces and places; encourage them to think about stewardship; and celebrate what makes, defines, and re-defines how we experience and navigate place. Thank you to everyone for the support as we continue this collective journey of collaboration, accountability, and curiosity."
