JHC President Suzanne Clary was a featured speaker on a panel about Climate Smart Land Management at the 2024 National Historic Trust for Preservation’s 75th Anniversary Past Forward Conference in New Orleans. Over 1100 people – architects, preservationists, city planners, students, advocates, nonprofit directors, corporate sponsors, and government officials from around the country – attended the 3 day conference.
One of the highlights was the announcement of the NTHP / ACHP Award for Federal Partnerships in Historic Preservation: Emmett Till & Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument Designations (Chicago, IL and Sumner, MS and Glendora, MS). The Till National Monument was designated on July 25, 2023 to preserve these sites in perpetuity. It is a significant educational resource “that engages visitors with a pivotal chapter of American history.”
Clary gave a presentation that demonstrated how JHC consistently implements best management practices in sustainability, archaeology and environmental review to preserve and interpret the 23-acre Jay Estate as well as protect the surrounding Boston Post Road Historic District, one of only 10 National Historic Landmarks Districts (NHLD)s in New York State and the only NHLD in all of Westchester County.
She later spoke with Brent Leggs, Director of the African American Action Fund specifically about challenges and opportunities in Westchester County. Leggs is a past JHC speaker. He helped preserve Madam C.J. Walker’s mansion Villa Lewaro in Irvington. “Understanding history through books or documentaries is one thing, but experiencing it in the very spaces where history was made is a profound, transformative experience.” Brent Leggs, Director of the African American Action Fund.
For more than 3 decades, JHC has followed the standards set by the US Department of the Interior to protect the irreplaceable cultural and natural resources at our site.
