Client Testimonials
Morris County Trust for Historic Preservation
Heritage Consulting Inc. responded immediately to our request for guidance in reorganizing our regional historic preservation group to prepare for its acquisition of a landmark property in Morristown, NJ, and related assets. Donna Ann Harris facilitated in-person and Zoom meetings with the board of trustees, during which we considered our vision for the organization’s future and developed strategic planning objectives and milestones based on anticipated resources. Donna provided advice on governance and proposed revisions to our by-laws, which were adopted unanimously by the trustees. Donna is a skilled, efficient communicator; as she listened to us at our first meeting, the depth of her experience and its relevance to our needs quickly became apparent. As a result, we can look forward confidently to accomplishing a transition that we were not prepared to undertake on our own.
George Cassa, Board Chair
City of Camden
Donna Ann Harris has worked with the City of Camden over the last two years to help us conceptualize and fundraise for the Heritage Tourism Interactive Touch Screen Kiosk recently unveiled in City Hall Camden. Donna serves as the historian for all three phases of the project and collaborated with me to prepare three successful grants of over $135,000, to three government funders to support this project. The first phase is now complete and explores three hundred years of City of Camden history through an artist drawn digital mural and a series of illustrations and 150-word stories that Donna wrote about important, people, places, and events in Camden history.
The next two phases will begin this year (2022). The second phase will add visitor information about fifty historic sites and history organizations in Camden County associated with the Camden County History Alliance, a project of the Camden County Historical Society. The final phase of this kiosk project will showcase the 39 Revolutionary War battle sites and skirmish locations in Camden County as we prepare for the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution in 2026.
Patrice McCarthy Bassett, Records Manager & Archivist
Haddon Heights (NJ) Historic Preservation Commission
Haddon Heights, New Jersey, has had a historic preservation ordinance since 1975. So, for almost 50 years, this Borough has believed that preserving our history and community character is essential. The Haddon Heights Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) with its resolute members over these many years, has worked hard to designate the eight individual landmarks and the Historic Districts along parts of First Avenue, Fourth Avenue, East and West Atlantic Avenues, the White Horse Pike, and along Station Avenue in our downtown. However, the HPC never had a Design Guidelines book for the structures in our Historic Districts.
For four months in 2021, Donna Ann Harris worked with the Haddon Heights HPC to create Design Guidelines for the Historic Districts in our town. As a long-standing Certified Local Government (CLG), we wanted to have, as required, a design guidelines book written specifically for Haddon Heights. We were able to secure grant funding from the NJ Historic Preservation Office to create this Guideline and Ms. Harris submitted the winning proposal in January 2021 to write and design it. During this period, Ms. Harris has proved knowledgeable, focused, and easy to work with, and she worked in a very timely and efficient manner. It was a true cooperative effort.
This Design Guidelines is a tool for property owners, to help them manage change and protect Haddon Heights’ architectural and historical resources. The Guideline book presents preservation treatments and activities that our HPC does, and does not, recommend throughout its 160 pages using more than 225 contemporary and historic photos, text, and drawings to educate and explain these treatments and activities.
We are just delighted to finally have this handsome document to help us further preservation activities in our Borough. Donna Ann Harris did a marvelous job in creating our Haddon Heights Design Guideline Book. This project won the 2022 Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia Preservation Education Award and the Preservation New Jersey Historic Preservation Commission Award in 2022.
Carol Larro, Chair
Roxborough Development Corporation
We have worked with Donna Ann Harris on several projects over the past few years and recently engaged her services to help us recruit a new Executive Director. She worked with us in 2021 to identify our needs and write a job description that resulted in finding several qualified candidates. She walked us through an extensive interview process and developed questions and topic discussions that focused on our needs. Donna’s guidance and advice were crucial to selecting and hiring the right person. And we did so one month sooner than expected!
Jo Ann Desper, Board President
Illinois Main Street
Illinois Main Street recently retained the services of Heritage Consulting for our New Executive Director Training held in the Summer 2024. We were grateful to have Donna share her knowledge and expertise with the group. As the new Director of the State Coordinating Program, it is extremely valuable to be able to rely on professionals like Donna who have experience at all levels of Main Street. We highly recommend her services and look forward to utilizing her again in the future.
Erik Reader, Director
Experience Princeton
One of the surest signs of a successful Main Street organization is hiring someone of the caliber of Donna Ann Harris of Heritage Consulting Inc. She knows her material inside and out. Even more impressive is the personal flair she delivers it with, making abstract concepts relatable. I’ve worked with Donna in multiple different organizational settings and have a track record of results to show from her solid professional guidance and direction.
Isaac Kramer
Carbondale Main Street
The Board of Carbondale Main Street would like to thank you for the excellent service you provided throughout the organizations’ transition to hire a new Executive Director and make needed changes in the structure of the organization. You successfully guided the two committees that were created to update the By-Laws and hire a new Executive Director.
The process lasted a little over four months and during this time you organized the committee agendas, set up the zoom meetings and provided professional guidance whenever it was needed. You sat in on numerous Committee meetings and several Board meetings and were involved in the selection and interviews of all the candidates for Executive Director. You also had significant effective communication with the candidates during the process.
Because of your positive encouragement and professional guidance Carbondale Main Street has new, updated By-Laws and has hired an experienced and well-qualified Executive Director. Carbondale Main Street is now in a position to advance the organization and meet the challenges and opportunities in our Downtown. Thank you again for all your support.
Adam Fletcher, President
Camden County Historical Society
The Camden County Historical Society has worked with Donna Ann Harris of Heritage Consulting Inc. several times over the last five years including an award-winning project the Camden County Heritage Tourism Plan.
This time, we engaged Donna to help us with a new project to plan for the rehabilitation of one of Camden’s oldest buildings to become the American Revolution Museum of South Jersey. In her tourism assessment Donna offered the Camden County Historical Society two options to operate the Benjamin Cooper Tavern (c. 1734) once it is restored and opens to the public in 2025. Donna provided us with a proposed operating budget and scope of work for a full time Visitor Center/Museum/Office space for nonprofit organizations at the Cooper Tavern. Her report also included similar information for the use of the Cooper Tavern as a part time Museum and Office space. Her 2021 report, part of the New Jersey Historic Trust-funded Preservation Plan and Feasibility Study, is helping us to develop our initial educational programs to build an audience for this site as we prepare for the 250th Anniversary of the Revolutionary War in 2026, when we hope the American Revolution Museum of South Jersey will open at this site. Donna’s report was insightful and highly useful for us as we continue our planning for this site.
Dr. Jack O’Bryrne, Executive Director
Please see the complete list of more than 45 client testimonials over the years.