Skyline Council is Landmarks Illinois’ committee of young professionals. It consists of more than 30 emerging leaders with an interest in historic preservation, the built environment and sustaining healthy communities. Through service, social engagement and advocacy, Skyline Council members promote Landmarks Illinois’ mission to empower individuals to save places that are important to them while strengthening their networks. Skyline Council was founded in 2011.
Skyline Council organizes and presents networking and fundraising events throughout the year. Its signature events include the Skyline Social, the Skyline Historic Pub Crawl and the highly popular Skyline Trivia Night.
Utilizing members’ wide range of expertise in several career disciplines, the Skyline Council began working with the Village of Campton Hills in 2015 to restore the Whitney Schoolhouse, a one-room schoolhouse constructed in 1852 by John Whitney. The Skyline Council prepared a Relocation and Reuse Study for the Campton Hills Township Board of Trustees on the schoolhouse, which identified Gray Willows – 208-acres of open space in Campton Township with rolling meadows, woodlands, oak savannas and Ferson Creek – as the most suitable new location for the historic schoolhouse. The Skyline Council goal is to see the schoolhouse repurposed into an environmental education center at the township-owned Gray Willows Farm in Campton Hills, which is already home to the Monarch Corridor restoration program, native wetlands, Wheaton College Living Laboratory classes, native oak propagation and Boy Scouts of America campgrounds. The Skyline Council plans to continue to pursue funding in 2018 for moving the schoolhouse, including applying for a grant through Kane County’s Grand Victoria Riverboat Fund.
Members of Skyline Council are also members of Landmarks Illinois. Benefits of joining Skyline Council include:
Curious about becoming a Skyline Council member or learning more about its events? Interested in sponsoring Skyline Council events and programming? Email Tiffanie Williams or call (312) 922-1742.
The Skyline Council at its 2017 Skyline Social event at Revel Motor Row. Credit: JM Photo Chicago.
Skyline Council members working to restore the Whitney Schoolhouse, a 1852 one-room schoolhouse in Kane County. Credit: Chris Enck
Members of Landmarks Illinois' Skyline Council at a heartbombing event in February 2018. Credit: Lewis Purdy
Skyline Council members Erica Ruggiero, Sarah Van Domelen, Greg Dowell and Eric Dexter at the 2017 Summer Mixer. Credit: Lewis Purdy
Skyline Councl members in front of the Whitney Schoolhouse, 2015. (Photo credit: Tiffanie Williams)
Allison is an Associate II at Klein & Hoffman, Inc. with a unique architectural and structural engineering background and portfolio that includes residential, commercial, historic and institutional projects. She handles the challenges and intricacies of the Architectural Engineering team’s projects such as façade restoration, roofing replacements and investigations for various building systems on historical and contemporary buildings. Allison’s passion and creativity for photography and media development grants her the ability to assist the firm’s Marketing Director with branding and corporate outreach. Allison holds leadership with Landmarks Illinois’ Resource Development Committee and is also a member with Association for Preservation Technology (APT) – Western Great Lakes Chapter and Structural Engineers Association of Illinois (SEAOI).
Sarah Van Domelen is a Senior Associate with Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc. She has completed numerous investigations, including facade inspections, condition surveys and water leakage testing. She has made repair recommendations and developed restoration details for various types of construction, including steel, concrete and masonry. Notable projects include the American Museum of Natural History, the New York Life Insurance Building, Second Presbyterian Church of Chicago and the Old Chicago Main Post Office. She serves on the Preservation Engineering Technical Committee of the Association for Preservation Technology International and is a member of the Student Design-Build Competition task force.
Katherine currently works as a historic preservation designer at AltusWorks. She earned a Master of Architecture with a Historic Preservation Certificate from School of the Art Institute of Chicago and is currently working towards architectural licensure. Her experiences include building documentation and assessment, design, and research. Katherine is an active member of Skyline Council and participates on the service subcommittee.
Allison Toonen-Talamo, Chair
Sarah Van Domelen, Vice Chair
Erica Ruggiero, Chair of Service Projects
Sarah Van Domelen, Secretary
Erika Block
Rachel Cole
Susanna Craib-Cox
Eric Dexter
Gregory Dowell
Chris Enck
Gwen Evans
Rachel Firgens
Lauren Garvey
Chelsea Medek
Lewis Purdy
Jeff Runck
Emily Sadjak
Laura Schuetz
Brian Snedden
Kate Stanger
Jenna Stein
Chris Thomas
Susie Trexler
Emily Tribbia
Paul Tzanetopoulos
Brooke Voris
Jessica Wagner
Alex Wolking
Lauren Garvey is a Project Manager at Klein & Hoffman, an architecture and structural engineering firm in Chicago. Four years ago, Garvey joined Landmarks Illinois’ Skyline Council to meet other young professionals in the industry with shared interests. Read our full interview with Lauren and learn about her work in preservation and why she thinks you should come to the Skyline Council’s August 10th Summer Mixer!
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