Sheryl Hack is the new executive director of Preserve Rhode Island, the statewide historic preservation organization that aims to save historic properties through preservation services and community advocacy. She joined Preserve RI after working in the historic preservation field in New England for more than 35 years.
Hack, who holds a master’s degree in nonprofit management from New England College and a master’s in early American culture from the Winterthur Program, served on the Governor’s Historic Resources Council in New Hampshire. She also worked as an architectural historian for a cultural resources management company, oversaw the preservation and management of 11 historic sites across Connecticut, served as an architectural assessor for Heritage Preservation, and spearheaded the architectural conservation of 24 original Shaker buildings as part of the Canterbury Shaker Village.
PBN: What was it about Preserve Rhode Island and the role that made you decide it was time to move to a new state?
HACK: I’ve had the privilege of building a career in historic preservation across New England. Since I first arrived in New Hampshire to begin my position as curator of buildings at Canterbury Shaker Village – one of many roles I held there over my 12-year tenure – I’ve been taken with the beauty and charm of New England’s small towns, vibrant cities and intact cultural landscapes. I’ve spent considerable personal and professional time in Rhode Island over the past 35 years and was excited by the opportunity to continue to do the work I love in this beautiful and unique state.
PBN: How did you first become interested in historic preservation?
HACK: As part of my undergraduate work, I studied in Colonial Williamsburg and at the College of William and Mary, where I was introduced to vernacular architecture studies, historic preservation and museum practice. At that point, I didn’t know what I wanted to do for my career; I just knew that I wanted to get paid to do what I love.
The following summer, I got an internship at the Oakland Museum of California History under the direction of one of the then-leading lights of the history museum field who schooled me in history museum practice and told me that I should attend the Winterthur Program in Early American Culture in Delaware to obtain my master’s degree. I went to Winterthur and studied vernacular architecture. The rest is history.
PBN: You have an extensive history working with historic properties in your previous roles. What is your preservation philosophy?
HACK: I see historic preservation as a critical tool to help us understand our collective past and intentionally shape our future. Historic buildings and natural and cultural landscapes play many important roles. They create a powerful sense of place, evoke individual and collective memories, and provide community identity, all of which are necessary to nourish the human spirit.
We need to be both strategic and pragmatic in how we approach preservation in order to ensure that we don’t lose the properties that have the most historical, cultural and community value. We need to be open to new approaches that take into account climate change, materials scarcity, environmental impacts and human health.
We want to be good community partners and not let perfection be the enemy of the public good. Finding common ground and common-sense solutions to issues like lead paint laws, identifying new uses for historic structures and protecting buildings in coastal communities requires creativity and compromise. It’s critical to remember that partnering with and benefiting our communities is the goal.
PBN: Rhode Island, like the rest of the country, is facing economic uncertainty and a housing crisis. What role do you think historic preservation plays in addressing these societal issues?
HACK: I see historic preservation playing numerous roles in sustaining and improving the quality of life in Rhode Island by providing much-needed affordable housing and building our local economies by supporting tourism, creating vibrant commercial districts and residential neighborhoods, and providing living-wage jobs.
PBN: Preserve RI just wrapped up major stone wall repair projects across Aquidneck Island and just completed an extensive rehabilitation of the Walker House in East Providence. What is on the horizon for Preserve RI in terms of its work on historic properties across the state?
HACK: Preserve RI has developed a variety of programs and practices to encourage the preservation and utilization of our historic assets for the benefit of all Rhode Islanders. I look forward to building on that success, working with historic property owners, organizations and communities to support their needs. In the coming weeks, we’ll announce $125,000 in grants to nonprofit organizations to support critical preservation work at historic properties throughout the state.
We recently completed our annual check-up of properties in our easement program. The easement program provides a means for individuals and organizations to transfer historic properties, secure in the knowledge that the historic integrity of the property they love will be protected in perpetuity. We’ll be announcing two new properties that will be added to our easement portfolio in the coming months.
We also realize that many local communities would benefit from having (and enforcing) demolition delay bylaws and have embarked on educating and training local organizations and administrators on how best to approach this process.
As stewards of our own historic properties, we’ll be developing a strategy to take on the multimillion-dollar effort to repair the brownstone at Lippitt House Museum and invest in urgent foundation and masonry work at Chase Farmhouse in Lincoln, as part of our curatorship agreement with the town. We continue to advocate for common-sense reforms for the State Historic Tax Credit – one of the most effective drivers of economic growth and housing creation the state has at its disposal. We hope to see reforms made in the current legislative session.
Lastly, we will continue celebrating the best in historic preservation with the Rhody Awards in October. This popular program celebrates the individual heroes who save historic properties and educates the public on the many benefits that historic preservation brings to our quality of life. Nominations are currently being accepted. If you know of a deserving person or project, please nominate them at www.preserveri.org.
Marc Larocque is a PBN contributing writer. Contact him at Larocque@PBN.com. You may also follow him on X @Marc_La_Rock.
