Mission Statement

Preserve Minneapolis promotes and celebrates the city’s historic architectural and cultural resources through advocacy, education, and public engagement.

Read about our history

Board of Directors

David Hlavac, President
dhlavac@preserveminneapolis.org

David is a strategic communications professional with more than 20 years of experience in cause marketing, public relations, content strategy and media engagement. A Minneapolis native with vivid memories of downtown in the 1970s and 1980s, David believes strongly that historic preservation is more than just a feel-good pursuit: it’s the very thing that keeps cities alive, vibrant and unique. David earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in American History – with an emphasis on Minnesota History – from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, where he enjoyed exploring every corner of Rarig Center, Ralph Rapson’s brutalist landmark on the University’s West Bank Campus.

Rebekah Coffman, Vice President

Rebekah Coffman is an art and architectural historian based in Minneapolis. She received a Bachelor of Arts from Hamline University in Art History, Religion, and Spanish and a Master of Arts from New York University’s London-based program in Historical and Sustainable Architecture. She has experience in academic, museum, and nonprofit settings and is passionate about storytelling and stakeholder engagement. Her interests center on intersections between visual culture and the built environment, sites with complex shared histories, sacred spaces and religious buildings, and rural revitalization projects.

Jen Piller Quade, Secretary

Jen is a native Minneapolitan, Old Home Certified Realtor® at Keller Williams Realty Integrity Lakes, and architectural enthusiast. She graduated with a B.A. in History from Hamline University where her community involvement began. She was a field canvass manager for NARAL Pro-choice MN for over eight years pounding the pavement across the Twin Cities. Today, as a Realtor® she combines her passions for history, the human connection, architecture, and activism. She is also, a proud aunt seven times and dedicated cat mom.

John Crippen, Treasurer
John, who has a master’s degree in History Museum Studies from Cooperstown, NY, was with the Minnesota Historical Society for nearly 30 years. At MNHS, he held several positions including Director of Mill City Museum, and most recently Director of Historic Sites and Museums. In that latter role, he oversaw Minnesota’s network of State Historic Sites, including Mill City Museum, Historic Fort Snelling, Split Rock Lighthouse, and 28 other properties. He also served as coordinator/secretary of the St. Anthony Falls Heritage Board and was Vice-Chair of the Minneapolis Preservation Commission. He currently serves as Chair of the Minneapolis Riverfront Partnership, is a member of the board of the Mill City Farmers Market Charitable Fund, is President of the Minnesota State Grange, and volunteers for the Hennepin History Museum.

Anders Christensen
Anders Christensen is the managing partner of TigerOx Painting, a licensed Minnesota general contractor specializing in the finishing trades in old houses in Minneapolis & St. Paul—exterior painting, plaster repair, wood refinishing, interior painting & enameling, window reconditioning, paper hanging & misc. repair. Anders came to Minneapolis 45 years ago for graduate work in English Renaissance literature at the University of Minnesota. He is the founder and president of the Healy Project, a non-profit dedicated to the architectural legacy of T P Healy and the master builders of Minneapolis through research, education, and advocacy. Anders & his wife Christine live in a brightly colored 1912 Kingfield bungalow. They have eight grown children who help keep them from ever getting too settled.

Quentin Collette

Quentin Collette, PhD graduated from the University of Brussels (Belgium) with a PhD in Architectural Engineering (2014) and Master in Business Management (2011). His project experience includes international and National Historic Landmark sites. Since 2018, he is a Project Director at New History and develops strategies to valorize and reuse heritage buildings and sites. His research interests focus on historic masonry, reinforced-concrete, and metal structures. He is an active member of American and European preservation and construction history networks.

Krishna Dorney

Krishna Dorney studied History and Building Preservation at the University of Minnesota and works as a remodeling Contractor, specializing in custom carpentry and home renovation. He is particularly interested in Prairie School, Arts and Crafts and Art Deco.

Richard Kronick
Richard Kronick is a freelance writer, writing trainer, architectural historian, and musician. He is co-author, with Rick Harrison, of Prefurbia: Redesigning the Suburbs from Disdainable to Sustainable. More than 100 of Richard’s articles about architecture and engineering have appeared in national and regional journals and magazines. He is a past-president of the Minnesota Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) and founded the chapter's newsletter, With Respect to Architecture. He teaches, lectures, and leads tours on architectural history for the University of Minnesota’s College of Continuing Education, The National Trust for Historic Preservation, and other organizations. He has presented papers at conferences of SAH, The Walter Burley Griffin Society, and the Midwest Art History Society. He is an expert on the architecture of Purcell & Elmslie. Since 1986, Richard has presented more than 1,000 business writing seminars in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Northern Ireland, The Netherlands, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, and Hong Kong. In addition, Richard is a professional jazz musician; he plays string bass and electric bass, sings, writes, and arranges. He leads The Kronick Quintet and plays in other groups.

Peter Sussman
psussman@preserveminneapolis.org

Bob Thaman

Bob has had a life-long interest in historic preservation and has been involved with projects in a variety of roles in Minnesota and Ohio. He recently retired from owning a successful advertising business after 32 years of specializing in all media for retail marketing. He now brings his expertise to Preserve Minneapolis to help increase awareness of local preservation projects, this organization and membership.

Linda Platt

Linda Platt grew up in West Hartford, CT and graduated from Skidmore College. She taught Elementary School in Boston, Larchmont, NY, Louisville, Indianapolis, and Minneapolis. She and her husband and two sons (now adults themselves), settled in Minneapolis in 1976 where Linda continued her teaching in the Minneapolis School System. She was active in creating partnership teaching and team teaching programs. She eventually put her energy into the Real Estate field where she became a top Realtor at Edina Realty, where she worked for 34 years. She always enjoyed dealing with older homes with unique architecture, especially given her New England background. In her retirement, Linda was on the Board of the Minnesota Jewish Theatre (now Six Points Theater) for 7 years and was Chairperson for two years. Linda remains very active, leading 20-25 mile bike rides for the Plymouth Pedalers, and she continues to downhill ski (locally and out West) and leads hikes for different clubs.

Tax ID Number: 26-2984287