Historic places related to LGBTQ history have often been overlooked. The stories we share and the places we save should properly reflect this rich history. In this webinar we will hear from preservationists who are working to fill in these gaps.
Panelists include:
Amanda Davis | Project Manager, NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project
Jeffrey A. "Free" Harris | Historic Preservation Consultant
Jeffry J. Iovannone, PhD | Gay Places with Dr. Jeff, Preservation Buffalo Niagara
Moderated by: Larry Francer | Associate Director, Landmark Society of Western New York
Thanks to our program sponsor: Peggy N. & Roger G. Gerry Charitable Trust
Amanda Davis is the project manager of the award-winning New York City LGBT Historic Sites Project, where she has overseen documentation initiatives since the Project's founding in 2015. On behalf of the Project, she has spoken to various audiences at the city, state, and national levels, and also authored the National Register of Historic Places nomination for the Caffe Cino. In 2018, she was named to the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s inaugural “40 Under 40: People Saving Places” list, in recognition of her efforts to help tell America’s full history. Amanda previously worked at the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, Architectural Resources Group (in Los Angeles), and the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission. She holds a BA in Architectural History from the University of Virginia and an MS in Historic Preservation from Columbia University.
Jeffrey A. “Free” Harris is an independent historian and preservation consultant who works with historic preservation organizations, historic sites, nonprofit organizations and academic institutions on preservation issues related to diversity and historic site interpretations. Free’s past clients include the National Park Service, Hanbury Preservation Consulting, the Raleigh Historic Development Commission, and Americans Who Tell the Truth.
Free was the first Director for Diversity at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and he completed his coursework and comprehensive examinations toward a PH.D in History at The American University. Free recently was appointed to Virginia’s Board of Historic Resources to a four-year term by the Virginia governor. He also currently serves as the Board Chair of the Rainbow Heritage Network, a national organization that seeks to preserve historic sites related to the history of the LGBT community. He wrote the chapter “’Where We Could Be Ourselves’: African American LGBTQ Historic Places and Why They Matter” for the National Park Service’s LGBTQ Heritage Theme Study.
Free also has served on the Board of Trustees for the DC Preservation League, worked with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources to identify statewide LGBTQ historic places for potential designation, and served as an Adviser to the DC Chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects.
Dr. Jeff Iovannone is an historian, writer, educator who holds a Ph.D. in American Studies from the University at Buffalo. He is a Lecturer in History and the Coordinator of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program at SUNY Fredonia. Broadly specializing in gender and LGBTQ studies, Iovannone’s specific areas of focus include multiethnic American history, LGBTQ history of the United States, LGBTQ community history, United States social movements, oral history, and public history. He is currently at work on a book about Buffalo’s gay liberation movement entitled Rust to Dreams: Gay Liberation in Buffalo, New York, 1969-1984 and writes a blog series for Preservation Buffalo Niagara called "Gay Places" that documents LGBTQ historic resources in Western New York.
Larry Francer joined the Landmark Society of Western New York as the Associate Director of Preservation in September of 2012 with 20 years of preservation experience, much in small towns and villages. Francer was promoted to Associate Director of The Landmark Society in 2019 as his responsibilities had grown from a strictly preservation focus to a full organizational level. He launched The Landmark Society’s LGBTQ Landmarks Initiative in 2016 to educate the Rochester community about the history of the local LGBTQ Movement and enhance the sense of pride about the place that Rochester occupies in the fight for human rights and dignity throughout our nation’s history. Along with Evelyn Bailey of the Out Alliance and community partners, the group has produced five LGBTQ Historic Walking Tours (one virtual tour) available at www.landmarksociety.org/wnylgbtqsites. Grass roots preservationist, courthouse activist, business owner, religious leader, Zumba enthusiast, filmmaker, and actor – Larry Francer is a true Renaissance man. Before moving to Rochester, Larry and his husband, Jerome Herron, lived in Farmland, Indiana for over two decades where they worked tirelessly to help turn that tiny town into a true destination. Francer was Co-Executive Producer of the documentary Courthouse Girls of Farmland, which, among other honors, won 1st place Audience Award at the Breckinridge Festival of Film.