A majority-women crew organized by the National Trust for Historic Preservation completed work on restoring the historic clerestory windows of the Odd Fellows building in downtown Astoria, Oregon. This team was the first all-female-led project and first majority-female HOPE (hands-on preservation experience) Crew cohort in the program’s seven-year history and part of the campaign for Where Women Made History. The project was led by Oakland-based glass conservator Ariana Makau, President and Founder of Nzilani Glass Conservation and the first woman to receive a master’s degree in Stained Glass Conservation from the Royal College of Art in London.

As the Odd Fellows project proves, involving more women in the process of preservation–from business owners to glass conservators–is not only good for the past. It’s good for the future.