Welcome New HSI Board Members!

​​We were really, truly blown away by the turn out for our 2019 Annual Meeting on Friday! Thank you to all who joined us at Old Town Hall, and congratulations to the nine deserving Preservation Award winners, who we'll share with you over the next week and a half. 

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First of all, we want to extend a warm welcome to this year's new board members! We are so excited to be the beneficiaries of your talent and passion over the next few years:

Caroline Watson-Felt is a lifelong Salem resident with a passion for history, Caroline’s first job after graduating high school was with the Salem Partnership where she supported the creation and launch of both the Essex National Heritage Commission as well as Salem Main Streets. She moved on to the Mayor’s Office for the City of Salem followed by the Office of Special Events and Conferences at Salem State. Her diverse professional experience includes serving as a local nonprofit board leader, community and employee engagement manager, marketer, event-planner, VIP talent handler, local actor and director. A volunteer for Salem Main Streets, Grace Episcopal Church, Go Out Loud, Salem Theatre Company, and various political campaigns, Caroline, who knits when it’s cold and swims when it’s warm, enjoys live music, theatre, long coastal drives and beach walks with her wife, son and dog. She is excited to bring her skills, passion, and voice to Historic Salem.

Anya Wilczynski is currently a program manager at Essex Heritage, the regional non-profit encompassing Essex County. Previously, she was the operations manager of Historic Salem. Her background is in historic preservation but her true passion is for organizational development and growth. She lives in Salem, in the Point neighborhood. 

Paul Wright works as an Energy Analyst throughout eastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire, helping builders and homeowners design and build sustainable homes and to meet energy code requirements. He has extensive experience in retrofitting existing buildings to be more energy efficient; both as an insulation installer as well as working as an energy auditor in the Mass Save program. He completed the Masters of Design Studies in Historic Preservation program at the Boston Architectural College in 2015. Paul was raised in central and metro west Massachusetts, and moved to Salem in 2013 shortly after college. He was initially drawn to Salem because of its thriving public history scene, working briefly at Pioneer Village and Old Town Hall, and then as a tour guide at the Phillips and Gedney house museums. He currently resides in the Gallows Hill neighborhood. In his free time, he enjoys skateboarding and has been excitedly involved in plans for upgrading the Ryan Brennan Memorial Skatepark in Gallows Hill Park.

Congratulations and welcome, Caroline, Anya, and Paul!