Staff and Board

Ed Hodges (President) is Principal and CEO of DiMella Shaffer, Architects in Boston and has lots of personal and professional experience in historic preservation. About being a member of the AARCH board he said, “My interest in Adirondack architecture is rooted first in the fact that I am an architect, second that I am a woodworker, and lastly, that special places often need advocacy.” Ed previously served for six years on the AARCH Board of Directors and we are pleased to welcome him back.

Susan Lynch (Vice President) has more than 15 years of experience in the field of preservation including work in non-profit, private, and public sectors. She was a summer intern at Great Camp Santanoni in 2007, AARCH’s Program Director from 2008 to 2014, and the first Preservation Planner for the City of Worcester. Susan received an MS in Historic Preservation from the University of Vermont and a BA in Architectural Studies from Hobart and William Smith Colleges. Susan lives in Greenwich, New York, where she co-owns a kitchen design and cabinet business with her dad and husband. On the side she sells antiques with her sister and enjoys traveling with her family.

Maria Russell (Secretary) is retired from a career on the public relations faculty of Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications, including four terms as Chair of the school’s Public Relations Department. Previously she enjoyed a fourteen-year career in the private sector, including supervision of the press center for the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree with Honors from College of St. Rose, and a Masters in Journalism at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School. Maria lives in Fayetteville.

Chris Rediehs (Treasurer) is an attorney with a master’s degree in urban planning and a history of involvement with a variety of not-for-profit organizations. In addition to carrying out legal work for charitable organizations, he has served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Solomon Islands, Preservation Planner for Historic Boston Incorporated, Executive Director of the St. Lawrence County Housing Council, and Commissioner of Social Services for St. Lawrence County.

Jan C. K. Anderson is the Founder of RESTORE, a not-for-profit educational corporation dedicated to advancing the technology of building conservation. Ms. Anderson served as a Commissioner of the United States Commission on UNESCO, appointed by President Obama. She is a member of the Executive Committee of US/ICOMOS — the United States National Committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites, and is the immediate past President of the Board of Trustees. She is a Vice President of the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Education. Ms. Anderson is a Fellow of US/ICOMOS, and is also a Fellow of APTI — the Association for Preservation Technology International. Ms. Anderson is a former Vice President of the New York State Preservation League and currently serves on the Trustees Council of the League. She is also a trustee of AARCH Adirondack Architectural Heritage. Ms. Anderson serves as a trustee of the United States International Committee of the Blue Shield, founded by the Hague Convention to address cultural heritage at risk due to armed conflict and global climate change. Ms. Anderson is a graduate of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, where she has served as an adjunct professor. Ms. Anderson lives in northern Westchester, New York and has a family home in the High Peaks region of the Adirondacks. Jan chairs AARCH’s Governance Committee.

Edwin Anker is a licensed architect in the State of New York and is currently a Principal at Phinney Design Group and the Director of the firm’s downtown Troy office. For over 25 years, Ed has been involved in the design and construction of numerous educational facilities, historic renovations, YMCA facilities, community planning projects, first responder facilities, and residential and commercial developments.

Ed currently resides just outside of Troy, NY with his wife, daughter, and their dog Clifford. He spends his free time designing and constructing renovations to their 1940s Cape Cod home and working in the gardens with his family. Ed loves to ski, hike, and play hockey in the wintertime with his family and friends and is also an avid fly fisherman and kayaker. Most of those endeavors occur in his beloved Adirondack Park.

Adam Bailey is a structural engineer and avid lover of buildings new and old, and especially historic. His work has allowed him to understand what makes buildings work, and ideally not fall down. His work with numerous historic building projects has let him appreciate the pricelessness of historic building methods and materials. He also has a Masters of Regional Planning from Cornell and experience with community development throughout the Adirondacks.

Adam also serves on the Elizabethtown Town Council working to ensure E’town and communities like it remain vibrant places for generations to come. In his spare time, he can be found slowly renovating his home in Elizabethtown or out in the woods or garden with his wife and son.

Samantha Bosshart has served as the Executive Director of the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation since 2008. Prior to joining the Foundation, she was the Director of Preservation Services at Historic Albany Foundation. Prior to completing her Master of Arts Historic Preservation Planning coursework at Cornell University, she worked at the Galveston Historical Foundation.

From 2018 – 2026, Samantha served on the Board of Directors of the National Preservation Partners Network (NPPN), a nonprofit dedicated to building and strengthening the capacity of individual partner preservation organizations. She also served as the Chair of NPPN for two years. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Discover Saratoga, the convention and tourism bureau for Saratoga County. Samantha previously served on the AARCH Board of Directors and Executive Committee and is pleased to return.

Tom French’s interest in local history began as a teenager while growing up in the Thousand Islands when he recorded several hours of oral histories, especially of his grandfather. Some of those recordings can be heard at Riverstories.org.

Beginning in the 1990s, he began collecting stereo-views from the Thousand Islands area. His collection, now in the thousands, resulted in his award-winning book, River Views – A History of the 1000 Islands in 3-D. He regularly gives presentations on the history of the Thousand Islands and St. Lawrence County. A long-time docent of the Thousand Island Park Museum, he is now president of the Thousand Island Park Historical Association. He also served as vice president and president of the Potsdam Museum. 

He has been a freelance writer since his youth. After retiring as a Secondary English Teacher in 2019, he became a regular contributor to Adirondack Explorer. Many of his articles focus on the history of the area. Since retiring, Tom has also been an active participant in AARCH tours and the host of our Thousand Island Park tour. He and his wife, Carrie, live in Potsdam and divide their time between the Adirondacks and Thousand Islands. They have two children in their twenties.

Margaret Gorman is an architect and AARCH member with a deep attachment to the Adirondacks. She grew up in southern Saratoga County and her initial love for the region developed from time spent recreating in the magnificent forests, lakes, and mountains to the north. Currently, Margaret runs a two-person architecture firm in Brooklyn with her partner, Caroline. Their office is located in a classic brownstone where they also live with their hound dog, Gus. Additionally, they have a small seasonal camp in Paul Smiths and relish spending as much time there as possible. Outside of her professional life, Margaret finds fulfillment through mentoring at-risk children, rock and ice climbing, hiking, paddling, skiing, tennis, travel, and any form of outdoor adventure. She enjoys creative problem-solving and collaboration, and is grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the important work that AARCH does.

Wesley Haynes recently retired from a 50-year career as a historic preservation specialist. While earning a Masters in Historic Preservation from the Graduate School of Architecture at Columbia, Wes joined the staff of the Ehrenkrantz Group Architects where he researched and co-authored a historic structures report and 30 year historic rehabilitation master plan for the NYS Capitol in Albany. He subsequently initiated technical preservation services programs at the New York Landmarks Conservancy and Preservation League of New York State, and participated in launching the Conservancy’s Sacred Sites initiative, a program providing grants and technical assistance to owners of historic houses of worship throughout NY state.

Wes was one among many participants in the initial discussions leading to the establishment of AARCH and the creation of DEC historic area unit management plans within the forest preserve. The latter resulted in a transformative new public policy that remedied the conflict between the forever wild clause and preserving endangered great camps. The new policy required “historic areas” to be designated National Historic Landmarks, the highest level of recognition for non-federally owned properties. Wes researched and prepared the context statement establishing the criteria for Adirondack Great Camps for NYSHPO and wrote nominations for Santanoni, Sagamore and Uncas. At Santanoni, he also prepared the initial stabilization plan for the main camp with architect Carl Stearns and structural engineer Tom Ryan, and historic structures reports on the farm and gate lodge complexes. Elsewhere for AARCH and other clients, he prepared the multiple resource National Register nomination for fire towers, a multiple resource inventory of Tahawus, and technical reports leading to the preservation of the Jay bridge, Wiawaka, and the main lodge at the Ausable Club. He also wrote an essay on the architectural history of the Adirondack League Club published for the club’s centennial.

In March 2025, Wes retired as Executive Director of the Merritt Parkway Conservancy, where he remains on the Board. He currently serves on the history committee of the Sagamore Institute and Boards of the Pequot Library in Southport, CT (housed in a building designed by R.H. Robertson) and the Emerson Hall Foundation in Stamford, CT. He splits time between homes in Stamford and Hebron, NY, and his wife’s family’s summer camp in the Adirondacks.

Sam Huntington is a Historic Site Manager with the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation (NYS OPRHP). He works at Crown Point State Historic Site, which contains the ruins of two forts, Fort St. Frederic, built by the French between 1734 and 1737, and His Majesty’s Fort at Crown Point, a British fort that was one of the largest military fortifications in North America in the 18th century.  A native of the Adirondacks, Sam Huntington studied at the University at Albany and the University of Rochester, where he specialized in American cultural history.  He has extensive experience in public history and has worked at a number of historic sites and museums including Fort Ticonderoga, The George Eastman Museum, and Crailo State Historic Site, a NYS OPRHP historic site dedicated to telling the history of the Colonial Dutch.

Jacqueline Madison is the President of the North Country Underground Railroad Historical Association (NCUGRHA) which oversees the North Star Underground Railroad Museum. She is on the Board of the Northern New York Library Network and the Women’s Rights Alliance of New York State. She is the Chair of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Committee, the Colors of Freedom Juneteenth Committee and a member of Rotary. Jackie retired from Pfizer/Wyeth in 2010 and has degrees in Chemistry and Library and Information Management. She is a Vietnam Veteran. Her biggest contribution to the NCUGRHA as the President has been acquiring the building that house the North Star Underground Railroad Museum in June 2019. In recent years, she has received a New York State Outstanding Librarian Award for the North Country, the New York State Assembly Citation, the Women of Distinction Military Service Award from Assemblyman Billy Jones, and the Rotary Paul Harris Fellow Award: Honoring Service and Leadership.

In 2019, she had a once in a lifetime opportunity to visit a site that was an African American community composed of slaves and fugitives escaping slavery in St. Armand, Quebec. In 2021, Jackie with the assistance of interns from SUNY Plattsburgh produced a video on the Quaker Union in Peru, NY that focused on the root cellar in the barn of a former abolitionist, Stephen Keese Smith. She is currently working on collecting stories of People of Color in the Lake Champlain area of New York and has a website about them at jaqcalinfo.com.

Jackie is an avid reader, grows grapes, makes wine, and recently started restoring old trunks. Her husband, Calvin, is retired from the military and they have two daughters, Jaquenette and Calexandria.

Kim Pope holds a Bachelor of Science in geophysics and is a retired professional from Pfizer, as well as a former owner of a multi-doctor veterinary practice. Her passion for preservation began firsthand with her work restoring a grand historic camp in Blue Mountain Lake, New York. Charmed by the peace of lakeside living, she embraced the small Blue Mountain Lake community and its rich regional heritage. Today, she is an advocate for Adirondack history, land conservation, and architectural preservation, always seeking new ways to share the unique legacy of the North Woods with others.