Traditional Building Conference Speakers in Sleepy Hollow, October 2025
Architecture, Interiors & Landscape: The Power of Creative Collaboration in Design
Scott Sottile, AIA, Partner
Ferguson & Shamamian Architects
New York, NY 10012
Website: https://fergusonshamamian.com/
Ferguson & Shamamian Architects partner Scott Sottile earned his Bachelor of Architectural History with a minor in Historic Preservation from the University of Virginia, during which he was involved in the hands-on restoration work of Jefferson’s Lawn Buildings. He received his Master of Architecture from the University of Notre Dame and joined Ferguson & Shamamian in 2005. Some of Scott’s most recent projects include a new waterfront family compound in Maine, the restoration of an iconic, historic estate in East Hampton, and new houses and renovations in Palm Beach and California. His projects have won many architecture and design awards, and his work has been published by TRAITIONAL BUILDING, PERIOD HOMES, NEW OLD HOUSE, Architectural Digest, Veranda, The New York Times, and WSJ. magazine. He’s an avid gardener and spends most weekends with his partner and their two whippets in Sag Harbor.
Glass in Windows and Doors-Navigating Requirements for Climate and Code
Russ Oliveri, President
Oliveri Windows and Doors
W Palm Beach, FL
www.oliverimillworks.com
Rosario 'Russ' Oliveri is President of Oliveri Millworks, a leader in the South Florida market for architectural hurricane impact fenestration. A former general contractor armed with credible impact testing data, Russ advises general contractors and architects about specifying and installing historically accurate, custom windows and doors which meet stringent coastal area building codes.
Arts & Crafts Houses: Identifying and Understanding 20th Century Progressive Architecture
Gordon Bock, Author, and Educator; former Old-House Journal editor-in-chief.
ghbock@comcast.net
www.gordonbock.com
Gordon H. Bock is a writer, editor, architectural historian, and technical consultant specializing in historic building construction and early modern design of the Arts & Crafts movement. A contributing editor for TRADITIONAL BUILDING magazine, and frequent lecturer, Gordon is also an instructor for the National Preservation Institute. He taught at the Historic Preservation Program at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey (1997-2013). He has served as an Environmental/Historic Preservation reservist for FEMA. He is accredited by the Secretary of the Interior in Architectural History.
Gordon writes and edits for a wide variety of publications, books, and websites, and is the former Editor-in-Chief of Old-House Journal. He is the editor of the standard reference Residential Sheet Metal Guidelines (SMACNA) and, most recently, co-author of The Vintage House: A Guide to Successful Renovations and Additions, W.W. Norton publisher (www.thevintagehousebook.com). Gordon holds a master’s degree in publishing from New York University, as well as an A.A.S. in Electrical Technology. Among his several historic building projects is an 1880s Queen Anne house in Silver Spring, Maryland, once home to the descendants of Victorian architect A.B. Mullett, that he restored to state Historic Tax Credit standards.
Preserving the Integrity of the American Front Porch
Thomas C. (Chris) Tidwell, Vice President
Aeratis Porch Products
http://www.aeratis.com
Thomas (Chris) Tidwell is Vice President of Building Products International, manufacturer of Aeratis exterior products. His knowledge of materials and methods, including his understanding of the performance and maintenance of wood products, has guided Chris to develop alternative, composite, durable exterior materials, like Aeratis Porch Flooring. Aeratis is a solid extruded PVC tongue and groove porch flooring which is historically authentic. It has an acrylic cap which is ADA slip compliant and scratch resistant. Chris Tidwell is a graduate of Florida University, Miami.
Lyndhurst: Touring a Gothic Revival Masterpiece.
Henry J. Duffy, Ph.D., art historian, author, and Curator Emeritus, Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park, Cornish, New Hampshire
Henry J. Duffy, Ph.D., served as Curator and Chief of Cultural Resources, Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park, Cornish, NH, US Department of the Interior, National Park Service for 23 years. He also worked as the curator at Lyndhurst, a National Trust for Historic Preservation property, and as executive director of the Glebe House in Connecticut. He has taught at Rutgers University and Marymount College.
Dr. Duffy attended Drew University, Williams College and earned his Ph.D. in Art History in 2001 at Rutgers University. He has received several awards and fellowships throughout his career and authored many exhibition catalogs. He is currently at work on a book about Louis Saint-Gaudens. Dr. Duffy is the president of the board of directors of Historic Windsor, Inc., and The Preservation Education Institute in Windsor, Vermont.
Sketching Tour - Lyndhurst
David Pearson
David Pearson Architectural Design
David Pearson believes that all the Fine Arts should be engaged when practicing architecture. His own skills as an artist are particularly important to his design methodology. David was Senior Designer at Fairfax and Sammons Architects and an Associate with Robert A. M. Stern Architects in New York prior to establishing his own firm. David is a graduate of Rollins College (B.A., Theatre Design and Studio Art), and the Georgia Institute of Technology (M.S.in Classical Design,2008, Architecture; M. Arch., 2011), where he was an Arthur Ross Scholar. He was a Visiting Artist to the American Academy in Rome in 2008 and 2011. David is a member of the New England Chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture and Art. He received a Bulfinch Award for sketching.
Acoustics & Fenestration - How Windows & Doors Manage Noise
Ted Olear, Territory Sales Manager
Kolbe Windows and Doors
ted.olear@kolbewindows.com
Ted Olear joined Kolbe Windows & Doors in 1991 as a Territory Sales Manager, bringing with him a strong background in the building supply industry. Prior to his role at Kolbe, he served as Vice President of Operations for a Building Supply Company, where he gained extensive experience in construction materials and customer service.
With over three decades of experience, Ted is a trusted resource for architects and builders across the Northeastern United States. He regularly provides AIA/CES seminars to architectural firms and offers design and technical support for a wide range of projects — including commercial, residential, and historic renovations.
Building a Home to Last: Lessons from the Creative Process...and from Life
Gil Schafer, AIA
Schafer Buccellato Architects, New York, NY
Award-winning architect Gil Schafer is one of the country’s leading practitioners of contemporary classical architecture and one of the most sought-after residential architects working today. He is a member of Architectural Digest’s AD100, a winner of Veranda’s “Art of Design Award,” a frequent winner of TRADITIONAL BUIDING’S Palladio Awards, a recipient of the Arthur Ross Award for Architecture, and the subject of the recent PBS documentary, "Design in Mind: Unlocking the Mysteries of Place," which was nominated for a regional Emmy.
Gil holds a Master of Architecture from Yale and is the author of the bestselling books The Great American House, A Place to Call Home, and Home At Last. He opened his eponymous firm G. P. Schafer Architect in 2002 and renamed the firm Schafer Buccellato Architects in the fall of 2023. Gil serves on the Yale School of Architecture Dean’s Council and the board of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation. He was president and then chairman of The Institute of Classical Architecture & Art, the nation’s leading resource for the classical tradition in architecture and the allied arts, for over a decade. When he’s not traveling for work, he divides his time with his family between New York City and Maine.
Banking on Preservation. Investing in Hospitality
Matthew Mueller, AIA
Partner, PBDW Architects
www.pbdw.com
During his 25 years with PBDW, Matthew has contributed to many of the firm’s new construction projects including design work for the new buildings for the Reece School and the LearningSpring School, the addition of two wings to the Saginaw Art Museum, interior fit-outs for Equinox Fitness Clubs around the country, the 11-story condominium at Broadway + 110, and the addition to the Poly Prep Lower School. Most notably, he led the design and project management of the recently completed 20 Times Square mixed-use high-rise development.
Matthew coalesces his Midwestern work ethic, his love of urban contexts, along with his dedication to serving others to create buildings that fulfill a unique purpose, inspire their users, enhance identity, and strive to be both efficient and beautiful.
Matthew received his bachelor’s degree in architecture from Kansas State University College of Architecture, Planning and Design. He is a member of the AIA and is licensed in New York State and New Jersey. He is currently serving on the Green-Wood Capital Projects Committee and is a frequent guest critic for NJIT’s Hillier College of Architecture and Design.
Banking on Preservation. Investing in Hospitality
Shawn Basler, AIA
Co-CEO and Executive Director, Perkins and Eastman, New York, NY
“At the root of our culture is a valuation of the individual, whether it’s a team member or a user of one of our spaces around the world. This ethos guides our creative process and delivers experiences in the built environment that positively impact people’s lives.”
Shawn is responsible for fostering the firm’s global growth. He leads internationally recognized architectural and planning projects throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, building lasting relationships with clients and collaborators around the world.
Driven by a commitment to collaborative design excellence in his role as Co-CEO, Shawn champions a culture of unity along with a purpose that design should have a positive impact on people and the environment. An extensive world traveler, he values the experience of cultural immersion, nurturing Perkins Eastman’s belief that creating authentic, relevant design means being truly part of the communities in which we work. Shawn dedicates himself to the firm’s continually deepening and evolving design practice. His portfolio spans design work for commercial mixed-use, corporate office, residential, and hospitality, as well as large scale, urban design, and planning developments. He stays intimately involved in all aspects of the design process from planning and programming through project delivery, providing continuous oversight in support of clients’ goals.
Peter H. Miller, Hon. AIA is the publisher of TRADITIONAL BUILDING, PERIOD HOMES and NEW OLD HOUSE, producer of The Traditional Building Conference Series, author of a monthly column “For Pete’s Sake,” and host of the “Building Tradition” podcast This business-to-business media platform is part of Active Interest Media (AIM). AIM is a publisher and producer of special interest magazines, conferences, web seminars, podcasts, a TV show, e newsletters, books and websites with media brands which include Old House Journal, Arts and Crafts Homes, Fine Homebuilding, Antique Trader, Log & Timber Home Living, Fine Gardening, Garden Gate, Horticulture, Popular Woodworking, Fine Woodworking and Woodsmith.
The Home Group meets the information needs of 55 million old house owners, home buyers, architects, contractors, building owners, developers and facilities managers who do residential and non-residential historic preservation, restoration/renovation and traditional building.
Pete is also the President of The Institute of Classical Architecture & Art (ICAA), Washington, DC, Mid-Atlantic Chapter. ICAA WMA’s members are dedicated to the practice and appreciation of classical and traditional design principals through education and special events. While not covering his beat for TRADITIONAL BUILDING Pete coaches Peewee ice hockey.
Lyndhurst: Touring a Gothic Revival Masterpiece
Krystyn Hastings-Silver,
Associate Director, Lyndhurst
National Trust for Historic Preservation, Tarrytown, NY www.lyndhurst.org
Krystyn Hastings-Silver is responsible for the preservation, conservation, and restoration of over 10,000 decorative art objects, fourteen buildings that range in age from 1839 to 1911, and the stewardship of 67 acres of intact 19th century landscape that represents the evolution of American landscape design; specifically the Gardenesque, the Picturesque, and the Beautiful. She also writes grants and assists with the development and implementation of interpretive and public programs as well as special events. She holds a master’s degree in Historic Preservation from the University of Vermont and a Bachelor of Science in Interior Design and Art History from Marymount College of Fordham University. Prior to joining the National Trust in 2006 she ran a successful consulting and construction firm that specializes in the restoration and interpretation of historic sites and cultural resources.
Lyndhurst: Touring a Gothic Revival Masterpiece, Lyndhurst Sketching Tour and Kykuit Tour – Neoclassicism and Modern Art
Stephen Tilly AIA, CPHC, LEED AP
STEPHEN TILLY, Architect
Dobbs Ferry NY
stevet@stillyarchitect.com
www.stillyarchitect.com
Stephen Tilly, AIA, CPHC, LEED AP, grew up near Chicago in a house designed by his mother, who later became an interior designer. After a B.A. in English Literature from Grinnell college in Iowa, he went to M.I.T. for a graduate degree, with a year off as a VISTA volunteer. After hands-on work as a general contractor, he did research, planning, and urban design in Boston, Washington, and New York and became a partner in Design Coalition, a much-published design firm that helped pioneer New York's historic Soho district in the 1970s and 1980s. With Elizabeth Martin, Mr. Tilly founded a mission-based studio in Dobbs Ferry focused on environmentally-friendly and socially-useful projects. He has served on local land use committees and boards and is the past President of the Westchester Hudson Valley Chapter of the AIA and Chair of the Advisory Board of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Lyndhurst Historic Site. For the National Trust and the Association for Preservation Technology, he has spoken and written on the essential connection between preservation and sustainability.
Celebrating Hudson River Valley Architecture
William Krattinger
State Parks and Sites Historian/Conservator of Architecture
william.krattinger@parks.ny.gov
William Krattinger has worked for New York State’s Division for Historic Preservation since 2000 and worked previously as a historic interpreter with the National Park Service at federal historic sites in New York and Connecticut. He holds an undergraduate degree in Art History from the State University of New York at New Paltz and a Master’s Degree in Public History from State University of New York at Albany. His professional interests center on the historical, architectural and cultural traditions of New York State and the Northeast, with a particular emphasis on vernacular building traditions and the influence of builder’s guides and pattern books on the architectural landscape. He has authored articles for various historical journals and publications and speaks frequently on topics relative to New York State architecture; he has additionally served as an adjunct faculty member at SUNY Albany, where he taught a graduate course on the history of American architecture. He resides in Jackson, New York.
Call for Presentations:
We are accepting proposals for future Traditional Building Conferences. We invite you to submit your ideas for AIA CEU HSW seminars and/or suggestions for architectural tours.
We are particularly keen to present collaborations between architects, contractors, and craftspeople that are rich with practical how-to information. To submit a proposal for a presentation, fill out this online form.
Speakers receive free tuition for themselves and a guest at the nation’s premier business to business event for traditional building and historic preservation. Submit a proposal today to be part of this growing event for preservation and traditional building pros.