Our Dedicated Board

Bill Herd, Chair

Bill was an Interpretive Ranger for Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore for over 30 years. Bill has helped Historic Sleeping Bear both during his employment with the park and  as a board member. Bill served as Chair for several years. His vast knowledge of the history of the area offers a great resource for us to draw upon. He is known for conducting Historic Sleeping Bear’s tours of the Park’s historic properties. Bill’s background provides us with insight into Park history and policies. Bill and his wife Penny live in Frankfort.

Mary Crane

With a 75+ year association with Port Oneida, Mary has personally experienced what others consider history. Mary has a B.A. in American History and has served as Chair of the Canton MA, Historical Commission, and years as a docent for Preserve as well as for Historic New England, and Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site in Buffalo, NY. She is also a talented writer and is writing her memoires of her summers growing up in Port Oneida. Mary was instrumental in bringing teens into our docent program and loves greeting visitors as a docent herself. After living many winters in New Hampshire, Mary and her husband Frank have relocated to Grand Rapids, MI during the “off-season” so they can be closer to their Port Oneida home.

Jim Duntley

Jim is enjoying retirement with his wife on their farm in Honor after having worked as a systems developer and programmer for a commodity trading advisor in St. Louis, Missouri. He has many experiences to bring to PHSB including  building maintenance, remodeling and repair, and extensive property management. He has served on, and been the chair of several boards and Finance Committees  exposing him to fundraising & board development. He ran his own business  and has expertise in budgeting, accounting and computer network design and implementation.  ” I greatly appreciate the work that PHSB is doing in preserving the history, sharing it with the community and preserving the physical structures. ” 

Curtis Fahlberg

Curtis and his wife moved permanently to Glen Arbor in 2022 from Chicago. He joined our preservation crew learning the trade of window restoration on the N. Unity log cabin and the Olsen farm. Curtis brings extensive experience in Strategic Planning an Information Technology from his work as a Business Architect. He says, “Port Oneida and Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore are an absolute national treasure for all and for me personally.  I feel at peace while in the Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore and especially Port Oneida.”

Jean Jenkins

Jean and her husband Scott are full-time and part-time residents respectively, in the Port Oneida Rural Historic District. Having grown up on a southern Wisconsin farm, Jean brings an innate appreciation for and interest in rural areas as well as some practical experience when it comes to dealing with agriculture and animal husbandry. She served as a founding board member of the Euphrates Institute; was a Film Production Manager in New York City and had a career as a radio correspondent for Monitor Radio based in Washington DC, Boston and New York. Jean earned her Master Gardener certificate and has used that knowledge to help restore the gardens at the Olsen Farm in Port Oneida. She currently works full time at Cherry Republic as the Mail Order Supervisor.

Caitlin Phillips

Caitlin has degrees in Hospitality Management and an MBA from Michigan State University. As owner of a historic home and a Residential Real Estate Agent in Ann Arbor, she appreciates historic properties. Her family’s private Olmsted Camp in western New York keeps her busy on the side. She has served her local PTO- Parent Teacher Organization for 10 years, belongs to the Red Cross, and has successfully raised funds for ambitious projects. Her interests include Historic Preservation, Landscape Architecture, Urban Planning, Vocal Music, Staging and Interpretation, and Hosting Fundraising Events. “I am honored to provide continued service to the preservation legacy in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.”

Stacie Longwell Sadowski

Stacie served as our Board Chair for three years (formerly Stacie Hill) and has a love for the historic properties in the park. She has especially enjoyed volunteering for our projects on North Manitou Island, where she and her husband Vince met, and have done extensive research and exploration. She is an alumna of Michigan State University and holds a master’s in Nonprofit Management from Northeastern University. In 2022, she moved up north from the Kalamazoo area to serve as Major Gifts Officer, and now is Executive Administrator & Board Liaison for the Leelanau Conservancy. Stacie has her CFRE (Certified Fundraising Executive) certification.  Prior to that, she was employed as the Development Director at the Gilmore Car Museum. Stacie has served on several nonprofit boards with her local historical society, alumni association, nature center, and private school board. Stacie is our Outreach Team Chair and our lead on social media. Having owned a 120 year old farm in Ionia she appreciates the ongoing care necessary for historic structures.

Tom Whitaker

Tom first became involved in PHSB as a volunteer on our North Manitou Island projects 12 years ago. In addition to his hands-on work with other volunteers on the Katie Shepherd, he wrote an historic structures report for the Boardman Cottage (aka Monte Carlo). The report explores the cottage’s apparent connection to Frank Lloyd Wright, in addition to the building’s chronology over the years, which should serve as a reference as the NPS pursues restoration work.  Tom has degrees in construction management and historic preservation and is a member of the Association for Preservation Technology. He has been on the management team of numerous preservation projects in his career including the Main Administration building at the University of Notre Dame; Hill Auditorium, Burton Tower and the Rackham Building at the University of Michigan; and Union Station in Washington, DC.  Tom recently retired from the Kennedy Center, also in DC, where he managed both new construction and renovation projects and, in partnership with the NPS, completed an Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) documentation effort for the building. Previously, he and his wife Susan lived in Ann Arbor where they raised two kids and several dogs and cats.

Non-Board Committee Members

John Goff

John is fascinated by the history of Port Oneida and has done extensive research about the area. He is dedicated to preserving the farms and landscape for future generations.  After 27 years with a career in the creative area of advertising, he retired in 1989 as ‘Manager of Professional Communications for the International Division of the Upjohn Company. With his acquired skills in carpentry, electrical wiring and plumbing, he rehabilitated the 1880’s retirement farm in Frankfort that he and his wife now call home. John served on our board for many years and now serves on the Adaptive-Use Committee.

Casey Reynolds

Casey Reynolds is on the Project Committee, and our Preservation Consultant. For three years he served as our Project Manager, and has volunteered with Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear since 2016. He is involved with  planning, acquisition of materials and equipment, being a park liaison and volunteering on projects ensuring the highest standards for Historic Preservation. An experienced timber framer, cabinet maker and carpenter, he was employed in the maintenance department at Principia College in Illinois. He is a part-time contractor for local projects as well. Casey was a professional tennis coach at the collegiate level, and at Glen Lake High School.

Neil Schoof Neil is a retired architect, after a 37 year career. He and his wife live in Suttons Bay after many years in Chicago. Neil volunteered on the Old Wicker Park Committee, and  a community group in one of Chicago’s Landmark Districts where they lived. His architectural work included buildings in the Landmark District where he was guided by the Secretary of Interior Standards for historic preservation. He currently volunteers as a driver for ShareCare in Leelanau County. Neil served on our Board of Directors for three years and currently serves as Chair of our Adaptive-Use committee, focused on the rehabilitation plans for two historic structures, bringing his expertise in maintaining the historic integrity of the properties.

Our Founding Directors

Kathryn Eckert (Omoto)

Hans Voss

Tom Kachadurian

Lissa Edwards

George McKay

Paula Leinbach

Mark Livengood