The Future is Female in New National Trust HOPE Crew Project
A majority-women crew organized by the National Trust for Historic Preservation began work on restoring the historic clerestory windows of the Odd Fellows building in downtown Astoria, OR. This team will be the first all-female-led project and first majority-female HOPE (hands-on preservation experience) Crew cohort in the program’s seven-year history. The project will be 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 a leader in the national preservation movement, the National Trust recognizes that women are essential to all facets of preservation – from the places being saved to the people saving them. Which is why the lack of women in construction trades is particularly problematic. Even before the pandemic, women made up only 3.4 percent of construction trades workers according to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research.