WORKSHOPS
UPCOMING WORKSHOPS
Webinar - Epic Stained Glass of Metropolitan Detroit
Thursday, July 30
1 p.m. - 2 p.m.
AIA: 1 LU
AICP: CM 1 #9329793
Speaker:
Dale A. Carlson
Archivist, Historian, Photographer
Michigan Stained Glass Census
Dale A. Carlson was born and raised along the northeastern shores of Lake Michigan and has called metropolitan Detroit home since 2004. He holds a bachelor’s degree in art history from Wayne State University and is the author of Corrado Parducci: A Field Guide to Detroit’s Architectural Sculptor, Kahn’s Detroit: A Field Guide to Albert Kahn Designs of the Metro Area and Stained Glass New Orleans: A Field Guide. He lectures regularly on the history of Detroit and Michigan and works as an archivist and photographer for the Michigan Stained Glass Census. He credits his late wife, Carolin Venegas Jones, for inspiring his ventures into publishing and photography.
Join author, photographer and architectural historian Dale A. Carlson at 1:00 pm on the afternoon of Thursday, July 30th, as he discusses the enviable stained glass legacy of metropolitan Detroit, Michigan. Learn about the architects and early histories of numerous significant installations sites in both the city and the suburbs, many over a century old. Important makers covered in this presentation include Willet Studios of Philadelphia, Franz Mayer & Co. of Munich, Ateliers Loire of Chartres, France and, of course, Tiffany Studios of New York City. Carlson’s presentation will be augmented by numerous optimized newspaper and journal clippings and professional photographs that more fully elucidate the histories discussed. It will run approximately 45 minutes and be followed by a short Q&A.
After attending this session, participants will be able to…
1) Identify a handful of metro Detroit structures that house significant stained glass installations; mostly churches.
2) Identify a handful of historically significant stained glass makers represented in the Detroit metro area.
3) Understand and identify by sight the difference between the two most common forms of stained glass window fabrication: traditional lead-lined and dalle de verre aka “faceted”.
4) Explain that secular stained glass windows are significantly more rare than religious, and therefore generally of greater interest to art historians.
5) Explain that Louis Comfort Tiffany’s stained glass making legacy is so highly regarded by history and the public that it has relegated many of his contemporaries to relative obscurity, however unfairly.
6) Locate the website for the Michigan Stained Glass Census and explain that the public can contribute to the Michigan Stained Glass Census archive.
Webinar - Historic Tax Credits
Thursday, August 27
1 p.m. - 2 p.m.
AIA: 1 LU
AICP: CM 1 #9332368
Speaker:
Emily Cauzillo
First Vice President and Director of Mercantile Community Partner (“MCP”)
Mercantile Bank
Emily Cauzillo currently serves as the First Vice President and Director of Mercantile Community Partner (“MCP”), a subsidiary of Mercantile Bank Corporation. MCP provides equity investments in community development projects utilizing Low-Income Housing and Historic Tax Credits.
Emily has over 10 years of experience of monetizing tax credit incentives and nearly 15 years of commercial banking experience. During her tenure, she originated and managed over $600 million in tax credit investment, supporting the creation of 2,500 affordable housing units and the adaptive reuse of 50+ historic buildings. With a deep-seated passion for adaptive reuse and affordable housing, she works closely with development partners to find the best solutions possible for their project.
In addition, Emily currently serves as the Treasurer for the Michigan Historic Preservation Network and a committee member of Michigan Housing Council. Most recently, Emily was recognized by the American Bankers Association as a 2025 Emerging Leader.
What are tax credits? Who can claim a tax credit? How are tax credits turned into dollars?
This webinar will focus on “what’s next” after a building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places or certified as contributing to the significance of a “registered historic district”.
Historic tax credit (HTC) programs are indirect federal and state subsidies used to finance the rehabilitation of historic buildings. HTCs are designed to incentivize private investment by offering income tax reductions, which in turn closes financial gaps, encourages developers to turn vacant properties into income-producing spaces (like apartments or retail), and revitalizes local communities.
After attending this session, participants will be able to…
1) Understand how historic tax credits can be used to finance a project
2) Summarize the process and timeline to syndicate historic tax credits
3) Describe the differences between federal and state historic tax credits
4) Identify potential tax credit users, investors, or buyers
Webinar - Tried By Fire
Thursday, September 24
1 p.m. - 2 p.m.
Speaker:
Ron Campbell
Principal Planner/Architect
Oakland County, Michigan
Ron Campbell is a Principal Planner and Preservation Architect for Oakland County Planning and Economic Development. He provides design and technical assistance for Oakland County’s 30 Main Street communities and preservation assistance for more than 90 National Register sites, two National Landmarks and numerous state and local historic resources throughout the 63 units of government. He is a former President of the American Institute of Architects Michigan, served on the Michigan Construction Code Authority and the National Main Street Leadership Board. He currently serves on the MI Barrier Free Design Board, the DDA Board of Davison and the Oakland County Historical Commission. He was recently honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Michigan Historic Preservation Network.
Speaker:
Alexandria Huff McFarland-Stankovich, AICP
Principal Planner
Oakland County, Michigan Planning & Economic Development
Alex Huff is an AICP certified planner and architectural designer with Main Street Oakland County. She is process-minded and implementation-driven with over a decade of experience working for and alongside Michigan communities. Alex has worked in local government and as a planning consultant. She’s worked on a range of projects from Master Plans and Zoning Ordinances to Campus Master Plans and has covered topics like affordable housing, downtown management and community resilience. With a passion for preservation, community engagement and measurable impacts, Alex loves making policies and tools accessible to community members and unpacking complex issues for technical teams.
A timely and relevant topic that all communities, local government, HDC’s, DDA’s, property and business owners can benefit. It is a matter that any of our communities could face at any moment. Actions that can be taken in pre-disaster planning and the possibilities to expect during post disaster recovery will be explained.
This is the story of three businesses, three historic buildings and three individual owners putting the pieces back together after a devastating fire. Told from the perspective of a Main Street Coordinating Program, the session will provide detailed awareness of what to expect, insight into the many different needs required and lessons learned during the recovery process. Beginning with a brief history of the district and the importance of understanding how history would eventually help in resolving a legal dispute, to the day of the fire and through the Coordinating Program’s response that followed will be analyzed.
Testing the resolve of the owners and the ingenuity of the Main Street program: we will examine the unique challenges faced by each owner with their various levels of experience as well as the Main Street response to the individual needs and circumstances. This session illustrates just how intricately the lives and livelihoods of people are entwined with their Main Street buildings and their businesses, and that as the work unfolds, the original course of action may not always be the final plan. From underinsured, loss of income during an extended period, selecting the right team, navigating financing and new code requirements, to litigation will be presented. Analysis will also include the crucial role that common changes to the infrastructure over time have lessen fire prevention and measures can be taken to reduce the risk, and the steps you can do to help in the crisis recovery efforts.
1) Attendees at this session will examine ways they can prepare for and help mitigate or prevent similar disasters from occurring.
2) Attendees at this session will recognize the issues affecting the businesses/property owners commonly experienced after such a disaster.
3) Attendees at this session will evaluate approaches businesses can do to provide income and preserve customer relationships during recovery and reconstruction.
4) Attendees at this session will comprehend how intricately the lives and the actions that are taken can entwined with other Main Street buildings and businesses.
Webinar - Remixing the City: Historic Preservation, Inclusive Design, and the Practice of Community Repair
Thursday, November 19, 2026
1 p.m. - 2 p.m.
Speaker:
Kiana Wenzell
Co-Executive Director, Design Core Detroit
Co-Director, Detroit Month of Design
Kiana Wenzell is an interior designer and creative director with over 17 years’ experience researching, planning, and executing design projects in metropolitan Detroit. She executes large- and small-scale projects at the College for Creative Studies (CCS) and managed local activations in partnership with local and national brands including Gucci, Foot Locker, Kickstarter and Ford Motor Co. Kiana also leads the programing for the Detroit Month of Design, an annual multidisciplinary design festival, that attracted over 50,000 attendees in 2020. Though her work with the festival, she collaborates with designers and partner organizations to create dynamic place-based events that bring cultural experiences to Detroit for Lear Corporation, Rocket Companies, Kickstarter, Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, Herman Miller, and others. Kiana has a 2004 BS in Interior Design from EMU, and a 2015 MS in Technical and Professional Communications from Lawrence Technological University.
This webinar is a reprise of the keynote address presented at the 2026 MHPN Conference in May, offering attendees another opportunity to experience this timely and impactful presentation.
Kiana Wenzell, Co-Executive Director of Design Core Detroit, explores historic preservation as an undeniably powerful strategy for community repair, recovery, and resilience. She contends that true resilience is more than simply “bouncing back”—it is the capacity of communities to use historic preservation to bend without breaking, to adapt and repair with creativity, grace, and endurance. Through the lens of inclusive design, Wenzell explores how preservation can advance three core dimensions of resilience—social, economic, and environmental. She highlights how Detroit serves as a “Living Laboratory” for these ideas, demonstrating how design and preservation intersect to drive community-led transformation. The lecture will include examples of architectural adaptation and public space renewal, such as the revival of Michigan Central Station into an innovation campus, the transformation of The Congregation church into a thriving neighborhood hub, and projects like the Detroit Riverwalk, Dequindre Cut, and Dreamtroit, which foster accessibility and connection. Wenzell will also discuss environmental stewardship, showcasing how Detroit organizations are upcycling waste into new materials and reimagining vacant land as spaces for cultural and environmental art. The presentation will highlight community-led design, including how residents have reclaimed the front porch as a platform for storytelling, neighborhood memory, and resistance. Ultimately, Wenzell celebrates preservation’s primacy to Resilience by Design—a philosophy of designing for continuity—where cities thrive by being continually remixed, inclusive, and future-ready. This topic is especially relevant as preservationists and urban practitioners face growing challenges: declining civic engagement, economic disinvestment, social fragmentation, and environmental vulnerability. Wenzell’s keynote proposes an integrated framework that centers repair, recovery, and adaptation as essential preservation strategies. Using Detroit as a model, she illustrates how inclusive design can address these challenges through social, economic, and environmental resilience.
After attending this session, participants will be able to…
1) Demonstrate that historic preservation is a powerful planning strategy for the repair, recovery, and resilience of Michigan’s communities.
2) Discuss the three core dimensions of resilience – social, economic, and environment – and how historic preservation addresses them.
3) Describe specific projects – Michigan Central Station, Detroit Riverwalk, Dequindre Cut, Dreamtroit – and why they are examples of architectural adaptation and public space renewal.
4) Explain “upcycling waste” for the environmental stewardship of Detroit, and “reimagining” vacant land as space for cultural and environmental art.
5) Articulate that Resilience by Design is a philosophy of designing for continuity where cities thrive by being continually remixed, inclusive, and future-ready through the primacy of historic preservation.
For more information, please call us at 517.371.8080
or e-mail us at Info@mhpn.org