With bulldozers destroying mid-century Modernist houses like Breuer’s Geller in New York, these livable works of art continue to be threatened by rising land prices and disinterested heirs. Preservation is more important than ever, but you can’t save something if you don’t know where it is and why it is important. George Smart, CEO and founder of USModernist, created the largest open digital archive of residential mid-century Modernist houses that documents over 15,000 Modernist houses. USModernist’s intrepid team of nonprofit staff and volunteers document nearly every Wright, Lloyd Wright, Neutra, Schindler, Lautner, Breuer, Gropius, Ellwood, Koenig, Ain, and Soriano houses – plus the work of 80 more architects – and the USModernist Library has scanned over 4 million pages of architecture magazines. As host of the long-running podcast USModernist Radio, named by DWELL as the #2 architecture and design podcast, George has informed, entertained, and inspired audiences with over 250 shows to engage preservationists. George and USModernist have won 17 honors for leadership in preservation, including a 2014 Docomomo US award, a 2022 national Honorary AIA and 2016 national AIA Institute Honors for Collaborative and Professional Achievement.

Daniel Vieyra, Ph.D., AIA, is Professor Emeritus in the School of Architecture at Kent State University. He is author of Fill ‘er Up; An Architectural History of America’s Gas Stations. Having taught Architecture for over thirty years in Ohio, Daniel relocated to the Philadelphia area where he and his wife Katherine are currently involved in grand-parenting and preserving and somewhat irreverently updating a mid-century modern ranch/farmhouse outside Media, PA. Long interested in the everyday built environment and everyday Modernism, he organized the Society for Commercial Archeology 20th Anniversary Annual Conference, “Fins, Family, Fun and the Fabulous ‘50s”  held in Wildwood, N.J.  With Steven Izenour, he conducted the “Learning from Wildwood” studios and workshops sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania, Yale, and Kent State University. Daniel is past president of the Western Reserve Society of Architectural Historians and the American Institute of Architects Akron Chapter.  He currently serves on the Board of the Society of Architectural Historians Philadelphia, where he coordinates the peripatetic The Elusive Philadelphia School; The Many Guises of Philadelphia Modernism series; he is also a Board member of Docomomo US/Philadelphia.

Ian Smith is the founding principal of IS‐DG, an award‐winning full‐service design architecture firm in Philadelphia, PA. IS‐DG is a member firm of the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Institute of Architects as well as a certified DBE in Pennsylvania. Ian’s combined accomplishments from the Rhode Island School of Design and at Yale University have trained him to pursue a perspective in design, architecture, and urbanism to expand best practices. His cumulative experiences and have afforded him opportunities in the design of health care, commercial, residential, and institutional buildings. One of the core values of the Firm, Ian firmly believes that “Much of who we are as people comes from the stories we have been told as well as the ones that we are a part of. We work to identify the intertwined emotional narratives upon which we depend. This allows us to have a sensitivity to the many challenges that may influence the outcome of the project. Not only did we find that this came easily when pursuing memorial, dedication, and legacy projects, but also became relevant to single family homes and utility additions.” Ian continues to serve the civic discourse through teaching occasionally at local universities in addition to his current appointments on the PhilaNOMA, Philadelphia Preservation Alliance, and Inglis House boards.

Stephanie M. Hoagland is a Principal and Architectural Conservator with Jablonski Building Conservation Inc. where she’s been employed since 2003. Ms. Hoagland has worked on a variety of conservation projects throughout the United States and Canada including finishes investigations, conditions assessments, and hands-on conservation treatments. Some of her favorite projects have involved the preservation of vernacular art and architecture. She has a Master of Science in Historic Preservation from Columbia University with a concentration on materials conservation. She is a Fellow and past Chair of the Architectural Specialty Group for the American Institute for Conservation and is a Recognized Professional with the Association for Preservation Technology. Stephanie was first introduced to the architecture of the Wildwoods when she interned for the Doo Wop Preservation League in the Summer of 2001. She then completed her graduate school thesis on the Conservation of 1950s and 60s Concrete Motels in the Wildwoods. After graduation she worked at ARCH2 in Metuchen, New Jersey where she assisted in the completion the nomination forms for the Wildwood Shore Resort Historic District and the Motels of the Wildwoods Multiple Property Listing.