In March 2024, HOPE Crew (Hands-On Preservation Experience) celebrated its 10th anniversary, marking a decade of hands-on preservation projects reaching diverse communities across the country. The program has played a pivotal role in connecting young people to historic preservation work, offering them opportunities to develop valuable skills while preserving significant sites. Over the years, HOPE Crew has evolved to address the needs of preservation, ensuring that historic preservation is accessible and inclusive to everyone.

Monica Rhodes, the program’s first director, recognized the need for a program that could channel the enthusiasm of volunteers into meaningful preservation work. Initially focused on engaging volunteers in preservation trades, it expanded to include not only preservation trades but also education in preservation from an architectural perspective. Rhodes' efforts to diversify the field and create pathways for underrepresented groups were instrumental in shaping the HOPE Crew's mission. This shift in focus has allowed the HOPE Crew to become a comprehensive program that addresses various aspects of preservation, from hands-on trades to architectural digital documentation.

As we reflect on the HOPE Crew's impact, the testimonies of past participants—particularly architecture students—highlight the program's success in providing a well-rounded preservation education. These students have gained invaluable experience, learning about preservation not just from the trades but from the professional side as well. Their stories underscore the program's importance in fostering the next generation of preservationists and equipping them with the skills and knowledge needed to protect a shared heritage. Hear from Monique Robinson, Daren Johnson, and Jordan Lamar.

Monique Robinson is a dual degree graduate in Architecture and Historic Preservation, University of Pennsylvania, and a passionate advocate for empowering Black communities through placemaking. With professional experience in roles at University of Pennsylvania, the Center for the Preservation of Civil Rights Sites, and the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, Robinson has been recognized in The New Yorker and The Baltimore Sun for her work with the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Advisory Council for Historic Preservation’s HOPE Crew.

Robinson's commitment to social justice and preservation was first ignited by her involvement with the HOPE Crew. In 2018, she played a pivotal role in the HOPE Crew’s "Touch History: Preservation in Practice" project, which focused on restoring the courtyard of The Peale Center in Baltimore, Maryland.

"After HOPE Crew, we all still stayed at school together. We all bonded about that preservation experience and that really informed our design philosophy. A lot of times, we would bounce ideas off of each other for our future projects. Professionally, being able to send questions, send my portfolio, send my resume; they always remain my little champions in the corner. They always made themselves available to me no matter how busy, no matter the time at night. That was pretty integral to my success. Almost a full decade later, those relationships mean everything to me."

Daren Johnson is a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania studying Historic Preservation with a concentration in Preservation Design, and serves as an admissions student ambassador for the Weitzman School of Design.

He earned his Bachelor of Architecture from Tuskegee University and took part in the 2021 Digital Documentation Fellowship with HOPE Crew, where he focused on a historic site in Harlem, NYC, while interning at an architecture firm in his hometown of Atlanta, GA.

"After the HOPE Crew, it was solidified that I wanted to do architecture that was focused on rehabilitating buildings because a lot of buildings are torn down and then another new bright shiny building is put up, and I don’t think that’s the solution to every problem. That’s the direction that the HOPE Crew took me to stay in the work of historic preservation and adaptive reuse.

To recreate a building based off of point cloud data was very interesting to me. That was probably the biggest takeaway that I have: I am able to do things like this even though it’s something completely new to me. Some things we just had to figure out. We were able to ask questions but, ultimately, we all did the work ourselves and we were really impressed at what we did.

Being able to experience learning on your own was the biggest thing I took away from the HOPE Crew. If you were interested in something, just try it out, do it, and you never know, it may be something you’re really good at."

Jordan Lamar is a soon-to-be graduate of Tuskegee University, where he is earning a Bachelor of Architecture with a minor in Historic Preservation. Originally from Decatur, Georgia, he serves as a student representative for the Robert R. Taylor School of Architecture and Construction Science.

After graduating, Jordan plans to further his education by pursuing a Master’s degree in Historic Preservation and Real Estate Development. In 2022, Jordan participated in HOPE Crew's first Digital Documentation Fellowship, where he contributed to restoring the Armstrong School in Macon County, AL, bringing it back to operating conditions.