Adirondack Architectural Heritage (AARCH) has announced that Valerie Pawlewicz has joined the AARCH staff as their new Educational Programs Director. An announcement form the historic preservation organization said she plans to focus on continuing and expanding AARCH’s educational programming including the popular series of summer tours throughout the Adirondack region.

Valerie Pawlewicz comes to AARCH with a background in educational travel planning, event coordination, oral history, and garden design. Valerie has worked for the Smithsonian Institution, the Baltimore Museum of Art, St. John’s College and on contract for the Maryland Historic Trust.

Although Valerie spent the last twenty years in Annapolis, Maryland, she grew up in Plattsburgh, AARCH’s announcement said. She worked for several summers at Great Camp Sagamore, and spent summers vacationing in the Adirondacks.

AARCH has also announced that Mary Cirbus, former program director, has transitioned into a newly-created position at AARCH, the Preservation Services Director. In this role, she is expected to help expand AARCH’s technical assistance program, write National Register nominations for individuals and municipalities, lead various advocacy efforts to protect and preserve threatened historic properties in the region, and generally work to give historic preservation issues a greater voice in the region.

Before coming to AARCH, Mary worked for the New York Landmarks Preservation Commission and for the Massachusetts Historical Commission.  She is originally from Staten Island but has deep family roots in Moriah.

Adirondack Architectural Heritage is the nonprofit, historic preservation organization for the Adirondack Park with an educational mission to promote better public understanding, appreciation, and stewardship of the region’s architecture and communities. For more information visit their website.