A bit about …
my background
I'm a Canadian and an Australian, living near Wakefield, Québec, Canada. A seasoned conservation architect and cultural heritage planner, I’ve been part of diverse field-based projects that have required technical depth, practicality and flexible, cross-cultural fluency.
It is a goal of my architectural conservation work to minimize intervention in historic fabric. My planning work is strategic and developed to enable action-oriented results.
My project geography is truly global, working in complex heritage environments as varied as Nabataean archaeological reserves, earthen architectural districts, Roman mosaic complexes, Renaissance monuments, historic walled cities and cultural landscapes. In the past two decades, the breadth of my work in the Middle East is substantial. In this context, I’ve consistently integrated conservation with tourism development.
I have experience working with, and for, all tiers of government, non-profit and philanthropic organizations, UN agencies and site management authorities. I have held senior positions at the Getty Conservation Institute in Los Angeles, and directed operations for the ARCH Foundation in Austria and Croatia. These institutional experiences complement my field expertise.
sample projects
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
For almost 20 years, I was the strategic conservation advisor and lead planning consultant to Chemonics International. This role included masterplanning work at Petra Archaeological Park, physical visitor improvements and conservation at the Amman Citadel, and diverse heritage initiatives in Jerash, Aqaba, As-Salt, and Wadi Rum. Later, working with Turquoise Mountain Trust at Umm Qays, I led the development of the conservation planning framework within the tourism management plan.
The Republic of Cyprus
I am a part of the Getty Conservation Institute’s (GCI) Paphos management planning team. Developing strategies for visitor improvement initiatives, I’ve contributed to site designs that include pathways, interpretation, amenities and site accessibility. With the GCI, I developed an experiential program for an international meeting of experts, as well as a shelter design competition, to protect and present the outstanding Roman mosaic pavements at Paphos. I have drafted shelter planning and design guideline texts for an associated Getty publication.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
As a part of the Gillespies consortium, I was heritage and cultural tourism lead for the AlUla Regional Master Plan undertaken for the Royal Commission for AlUla, in northern Saudi Arabia. Near Riyadh, I led the consultant team of International Development Ireland for the Conservation Management Plan for At-Turaif District in Ad-Dir’iyah – the birthplace of the Saudi state. Both of these projects were focal points in two Saudi giga-projects.
The Fuller Projection Map, used with kind permission, BFI™ ©1938, 1992. www.bfi.org
diverse clients
Working with site staff, specialist teams, management and stakeholder communities, my clients are many, and for example, include:
The Getty Conservation Institute and The Getty Foundation
The World Bank Group
International Development Ireland
The Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction with the Asian Development Bank
The National Trust for Canada, The National Trust of Australia
ICOMOS International Secretariat, World Heritage Site Advisor
Parks Canada, Government of Canada
United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
The Greater Amman Municipality, Jordan
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Turquoise Mountain Trust
Consulting partner with other planning, landscape and/or architecture firms