This July we recognize and celebrate our teammate Moira Gasior, Business Development Associate, as she hits her one year milestone working at EverGreene! Moira’s preservation journey began studying anthropology at Suffolk Community College and continued at Purchase College, SUNY where she graduated with her Bachelor of Arts in Cultural Anthropology. She is an active student in the Pratt Institute’s Historic Preservation program, earning her Masters of Science degree.
Moira began her career as an intern for the American Museum of Natural History in NYC. She then traveled with AmeriCorps to West Virginia in 2018 where she had various roles, which including working at the Appalachian Forest National Heritage Area, Preservation Alliance of West Virginia, and as a stained glass apprentice with Mountain Art Glass. In 2021, Moira found herself in Maryland where she continued in the industry working at the Conservation Legacy as a Historic Preservation Steward and for the National Park Service as an Exhibits Specialist. She returned to NYC in 2023 to pursue her Historic Preservation Masters. While continuing to work remote for the National Park Service, she also interned with the New York Landmarks Conservancy, assisting with their Sacred Sites Open House Program.
1) What inspired you to pursue a career in preservation?
Preservation, to me, feels like an amalgamation of all of my academic and personal interests: history, art, technical skills, and culture. With an undergraduate degree Cultural Anthropology, I have always been interested in understanding how history, and the built fabric the past leaves behind, influences the way we understand and “negotiate” the contemporary world around us… because there is “history” as a concept to be interpreted and then there is an actual building or structure produced by said “history.”
My time living in West Virginia propelled me towards the field of preservation. My AmeriCorps experiences with Appalachian Forest National Heritage Area and Preserve West Virginia provided me opportunities to preserve heritage and history, both tangible and intangible. I completed everything from masonry workshops and conditions assessments to oral histories and engaging stakeholders to understand which local histories mattered most to them. It absolutely expanded my understanding of how we contextualize and navigate history. Bonus, I also spent almost two years apprenticing under a stained glass artisan while living in Appalachia!
2) How has pursuing your graduate school education prepared you for real-life project work with EverGreene? How has it helped you to improve your business development skills?
My education at Pratt gives me the vocabulary, technical knowledge, and materials familiarity required to holistically understand scopes of work and why a historic place matters. I deeply value the asset-based preservation that Pratt emphasizes in our curriculum. My position at EverGreene gives me the opportunity to see preservation, conservation, and restoration projects from a client’s perspective. Juggling both is challenging, but it feels important (and necessary) for me to challenge myself.
3) What advice can you offer to the next generation of artists and craftspeople with this knowledge?
Historic trades are more important than ever! As skilled trades persons retire and leave the field, it is crucial for us to get new, excited people to fill their roles. Preservation has a wide and broad umbrella and there are rooms for a variety of trades and practitioners to be engaged — and more importantly — employed.
4) What is your favorite EverGreene experience working with historic structures and properties?
My first year at EverGreene has allowed me to enjoy conservation projects that I get the opportunity to participate working on with the team. Site visits at cemeteries, such as the church yard at Trinity Church Wall Street or Woodlawn, are always fun for me.
Congrats Moira on celebrating a year with EverGreene!
