June 20, 2024
Preservation Long Island Announces Retirement of Executive Director, Alexandra Parsons Wolfe
Cold Spring Harbor, NY – Preservation Long Island announces that its long-serving executive director, Alexandra Parsons Wolfe will step down at the end of June after eleven years in the position and eighteen years total with the regional historic preservation nonprofit.
“During Alexandra’s tenure, Preservation Long Island achieved important milestones towards its goal of increased institutional capacity and programmatic relevance in the 21st century,” noted Michelle Elliott Gokey, president of the board of trustees.
Under Wolfe’s leadership, Preservation Long Island successfully launched its Jupiter Hammon Project to develop a more equitable interpretation of Joseph Lloyd Manor, the 1767 Northern plantation house where Jupiter Hammon (1711–c.1810), the first published Black poet in America, wrote about freedom as an enslaved person during the Revolutionary War.
Other programmatic accomplishments include two major publications: Elias Pelletreau: Long Island Silversmith and Entrepreneur, 1726–1810 (released in 2018) and the forthcoming Art of Edward Lange, 1870–1889; updated and improved educational content for school programs and public house tours, and transformation of the organization’s Endangered Historic Places Program into a capacity-building pipeline for grassroots, community-driven historic preservation efforts.
“It has been an honor to represent this esteemed 75-year-old organization,” said Wolfe. “From my very able professional staff and board to colleagues, consultants, and advisors, I’ve had the pleasure of working with, and learning from, many amazing people during my time with Preservation Long Island.”
Wolfe is the seventh executive director to lead Preservation Long Island, formerly the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities. Its board of trustees, under the leadership of its president, Michelle Elliott Gokey, has assembled an executive search committee to conduct a national search and has named the organization’s current Assistant Director of Operations & Programs, Elizabeth Abrams as Interim Director.
“Preservation Long Island rests on a strong footing to transition successfully and I look forward to watching how the organization grows and thrives over the next ten years,” said Wolfe.  “It’s all very exciting.”
About Preservation Long Island:
Founded in 1948, Preservation Long Island is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to celebrate and preserve Long Island’s diverse cultural and architectural heritage through advocacy, education, and the stewardship of historic sites and collections.
Preservation Long Island Historic Sites and Collections:
- Joseph Lloyd Manor, Lloyd Harbor
- Custom House, Sag Harbor
- Sherwood-Jayne Farm, Setauket
- Old Methodist Church & Exhibition Gallery
Contact:
Andrea Hart, Public Affairs Director, Preservation Long Island
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 631-692-4664 x108
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