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Meet the Interns

Village Preservation’s team is a strong one – we’re lucky to have a group of interns who are here to gain experience in historic preservation in a non-profit environment. Internships are paid, and our interns come from all educational and life backgrounds. We work together to tailor internship experiences to fit an intern’s skills and interests.


Not to brag, but we know that our intern team is the best and brightest; organized, detail‐oriented, energetic self‐starters who care deeply about the Village, its architecture, its cultural heritage, small businesses, and vibrant communities. Interns assist our growing, dynamic, community‐oriented team of staff to take on educational, programming, advocacy, research, administrative, and fundraising projects.

Shanta Langford, Intern for Preservation, Programs, and Administration

A native Texan, Shanta has lived in New York City for over 30 years. She comes to us with a background as an Executive Assistant and Office Coordinator for a large financial organization. In the past few years, she obtained an LLC license and worked as a consultant for several companies. In addition to being a part-time intern at Village Preservation, she is also the night manager for the Neighborhood Preservation Center. On her off-hours, Shanta is a Stephen Minister at Marble Collegiate Church on 29th Street and is co-creator and co-host of a new podcast, A Table Four 1.

Shanta’s work at Village Preservation ranges from administrative and programming tasks to representing Village Preservation at community events. Shanta’s background in office management makes her highly capable of handling office organization projects. She works on our fundraising efforts through database entry and mailing projects. She also helps out at programs and community events by being one of our smiling faces tabling, gathering petition signatures for our advocacy work, and meeting new friends and members.

Dylan Garcia, Intern for Preservation, Programs, and Administration

Dylan is a recent graduate of NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study, where he concentrated in Urban Political Ecology and Development. He is interested in how cities create networks of support and resources. Dylan worked on environmental programming at NYU’s Office of Sustainability and hopes to eventually work in urban planning.

As an avid urbanist and writer, Dylan is excited to help protect historic spaces in New York. He has been welcomed to our team of blog writers – check out his most recent post here. Dylan has also been taking on administrative duties like materials preparation, writing and copy-editing, correspondence, mailings, e‐mail, marketing, filing, and, as the photo above illustrates, taking Village Preservation’s message to the streets with serious dedication.  Prior to coming to Village Preservation, Dylan did some great work with our friends at the Loisaida Center, and using that knowledge helped lead our recent Google Arts+Culture Latinx History tour.

Louisa Winchell, Research and Preservation Intern

Louisa has been with Village Preservation for the past year as the Research and Preservation Intern. Originally from Cambridge, Massachusetts, she graduated from Wesleyan University in 2018 with a double major in English and Environmental Studies. She wrote her senior thesis on the 1960s and 70s redevelopment of Middletown, Connecticut, where Wesleyan is located. In addition to detailing the story of the redevelopment, which eliminated blocks of historic residential housing to make way for a highway, parking lots, and commercial buildings, Louisa explored how the archives of the redevelopment are partial and difficult to reconstruct, limiting and warping the narratives of what happened during this pivotal moment in the city’s history.

Louisa’s current position puts her interest in urban planning, archiving, and mapping to practice. Day to day, she researches and writes about the many people and events that have shaped the Village over time for blog posts and for Village Preservation’s interactive online databases: Greenwich Village Historic District, 1969-2019: Photos and ToursEast Village Building Blocks, the Civil Rights and Social Justice Map, and the Historic Image Archive. Louisa also testifies regularly on behalf of Village Preservation at the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission. Louisa is thrilled to be part of this organization, which in her view does vital work of two kinds: Village Preservation works to help preserve Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo and strives to build a thorough and dynamic archive in conversation with the many community members who have called and continue to call this place home.

Yeshara Pryor, Intern for Preservation, Programs, and Administration

Yeshara is in her final year studying Architecture at the New York Institute of Technology in Manhattan. Her interests in architecture, historic preservation, restoration, and overall care for the history that New York City holds are what brought her to Village Preservation. Yeshara has also held internships with the American Institute of Architects Brooklyn chapter and a variety of architecture firms. Yeshara has also worked as a student licensing advisor, helping other architecture students achieve architectural licensure.

As you may have heard, Village Preservation is in the midst of a rebranding process, which includes editing and design work which suits Yeshara’s design background perfectly. Yeshara’s design work is helping to move our rebranding efforts forward, while she also juggles data entry, administrative tasks, community outreach work, and help researching, creating, and organizing our public programs.

Get Involved!

While we’re not currently hiring for interns, keep an eye on our internship page. We also are always looking for volunteers to help with mailings and general office work and to assist with our events. If you are interested in volunteering with us, please fill out our volunteer application form.

2 responses to “Meet the Interns

  1. Luisa,

    My son graduated from Wesleyan in 2001. I always wondered how downtown Middletown came to be so divorced from its surroundings and the elegant historic buildings that are part of the Wesleyan campus.
    Can I read your thesis?

    I co-authored with Francis Morrone Guide to NYC Urban Landscapes and edited MAS 10 Architectural Walks in Manhattan.

    Now take me to Middletown!

    Best,
    Robin Lynn

  2. This is a capable, educated and impressive group of interns.
    I’m sure GVSHP is pleased to have them on board.

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