WHO WE ARE
The Victorian Preservation Center of Oakland is entirely volunteer run. There are no paid staff, only dedicated people who want to preserve a piece of Oakland history.
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Our volunteers fall into three categories:
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the Board of Directors who manage the non-profit, including finances, building, grounds, and programming;
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the Advisory Committee who lend their expertise to the organization on a pro-bono basis;
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and the Volunteers who lend their time and energy to completing projects in the garden, collections, tours, teas, and other events.
Board of Directors
Patty Donald
President
Great-granddaughter of the original family
Coming to visit my great Aunt Emelita at this house was always a special occasion. I learned that this place was truly unique, not just the home my grandfather was raised in. The house is a time capsule that deserves to be preserved for the future. My degree is in interpretation; I've worked teaching and training teachers, students and docents for the City of Berkeley's Shorebird Nature center and Adventure Playground for 38 years. Teaching increased knowledge and my appreciation of this area and its history. I've been on these boards: Save S.F. Bay, Aquatic Outreach Institute, Citizens for Eastshore State Park. I am on these boards now- Rotary Nature Center Friends, Things that Creep and Victorian Preservation Center of Oakland/Cohen Bray House since its inception.
My interest here is to continue to preserve the property, the house and it's contents as a study center, create workshops to revitalize the lost crafts of restoration and to reach out to benefit the neighborhood. This is a place where everyone can teach each other and learn the best practices to preserve it. I love to learn and everyday is a new experience here at the house. Join us.
Nancy Donald
Vice President, Secretary
Collections Manager
​Nancy Donald is also a great-granddaughter of the house and is Patty's sister. Nancy retired from teaching in 2014 and has dedicated her time and energy to the house. She has been managing the collections, volunteers, administrative duties and so much more.
Julie Lee
Treasurer
​“I discovered the Cohen Bray House when I volunteered to help with cataloging the collection. I learned how to use new software programs, PastPerfect and then Catalogit (much easier). Then, I started helping out in the garden, becoming the ‘Rose Queen’ of Cohen Bray garden. Eventually, the Victorian Preservation Center of Oakland (VPCO) needed a new board member.
“Having kept the books at a law firm for 14 years, I volunteered to act as treasurer. Having also taught science to 9th graders for 5 years, I've offered to help with the school programs when classes return. I visit the Cohen Bray House once or twice a week. There’s always a great variety of things that need to be done. It keeps my visits fun and interesting for me. I have also met some new friends along the way.”
Miranda Krutulis
Specialist
Originally raised in the Pennsylvania, Miranda completed their degree at Purdue University before moving to San Francisco to work as a theatrical stage manager. Since moving to Oakland in 2022 with their partner and cats, Miranda has transitioned into stage managing corporate events and now travels the country to call shows across dozens of industries.
Miranda previously spent a decade volunteering as a re-enactor and tour guide at a 1799 Stage Coach Museum, served as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for San Francisco foster youth, and represented the 5,000+ undergrad students in the College of Liberal Arts as a Senator in the Purdue Student Government. They enjoy collecting mechanical typewriters, tinkering with computers, and spending time making things from inside their pile of yarn.
Advisory Committee
Paul Roberts
Former President
“I would like people to know that I love historic houses and have restored and lived in three of them for about the past 40 years, that I was very involved in preservation in Berkeley, then Alameda, and now at the Cohen Bray House in Oakland, and that I love doing research and discovering new things. I am now retired, and moved to Santa Cruz.
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“I have been a member of several preservation organizations, including BAHA, OHA, and the National Trust; and was board president of the Alameda Victorian Preservation Society (AVPS, now AAPS) in 1983 (on the board 1982–84), founding board vice president of the Alameda Main Street Project in 1983 and president of the board 1985–1986, and a board member of the VPCO (the Cohen Bray House) since 1997 and board president 1999–2020. I have researched and led walking tours in both residential and commercial districts in Alameda and given several lectures on historic residential architecture in Berkeley and Alameda and on Victorian designer/builder A.W. Pattiani, architect Joseph Cather Newsom, and turn-of-the-century photographer Edgar A. Cohen.
“In my other life I have recently retired from studying air pollution and the effects of air pollution on health. I have done work on air pollution all over the U.S. and in Juarez, Mexico and Cairo, Egypt; this has given me many opportunities to visit historic houses! I have done work on air pollution in schools very near major freeways in Las Vegas and Salt Lake City.”
Patty Reidenbach
Gardener, Retired Treasurer, Great-granddaughter of the original family
Patty Reidenbach has a wonderful connection to the house and vast knowledge of the house and her relatives—the Gillilands—who lived in this house for 30 years and next door, 1448 29th St., in the carriage house that was converted into a home for her grandmother Marion Cohen Gilliland (second child of four raised at 1440). She retired from being Treasurer, and served on the board from 1990–2020 and is on the garden committee. She and her daughter Emma continues to add their expertise to our special events and teas.
Kirk Peterson
Kirk has been our pro bono architect for the past 30 years. He won the City of Oakland Orchid Award, Cohen House Restoration, Oakland (1990). He wrote our Historic house Report in 1983 when he first met Emelita Cohen and has been a resource and friend to the house ever since.
KIRK E. PETERSON & ASSOCIATES (KPA) is an architectural design firm that has worked on a wide variety project types – commercial, mixed-use, multi-family, custom single-family, residential remodel, historic preservation, and ecclesiastical – for private, public and non-profit clients since its founding in 1981. KPA’s design work is characterized by a traditional style, which appreciates:
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context – we employ recognizable vernacular and high-style historic forms and motifs extant in the urban fabric to create an original design that is a peer of its best neighbors
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sustainablility – we explore and advocate for ways in which traditional building sensibilities can support environmental conservation
Mara Melandry
I am co-editor of the newsletter to which I contribute articles. I am especially proud of my success in qualifying the house for a major reduction in property taxes which involved the Alameda County assessor’s office and several state agencies.
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I graduated from UC Berkeley, also the alma mater of my parents and several of my siblings. This was followed by graduate work at the London School of Economics, followed by three years teaching anthropology and sociology at Haile Selassie University in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. I worked for the California Department of Transportation for thirty years, specializing in the agency's compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act. I was instrumental in the relocation of several historic buildings including some that are now in Preservation Park of Oakland. I ended my career at Caltrans as the environmental manager for the new bay bridge. It practically killed me but I have lived long enough to volunteer at the Cohen Bray House.
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I live in Berkeley (naturally) with my photographer-husband Don of 48 years.
Randolph Langenbaugh
International consultant in Building Conservation with a specialty on traditional construction in earthquake areas.
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Visiting Professor and Keynote Speaker at international conferences.
Recent teaching was at the University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy Department of Engineering, PhD Program: 20 hour course on traditional construction in earthquake areas in 2008.
Keynote Addresses and invited lectures have been in Italy, Portugal and the Azores, Turkey and Turkish North Cyprus, Germany, England, Canada, India, Iran, Aghanistan, Pakistan and Singapore. In October, 2014, he presented a TEDx talk in Manchester, New Hampshire.
Videos of some of his recent lectures, including an ICOMOS talk in Beijing, China in 2012, and invited lectures at the World Bank in 2011, and the USGS in November 2008 are available on the web on YouTube, the World Bank website, and the USGS website. Links to these can be found on the home page at www.conservationtech.com.
Specialties: Historic Preservation Theory and PracticeArchitectural photographyEarthquake performance of traditional buildings of different types of construction with timber and masonry.
Hank Dunlop
Hank Dunlop, former chair of the Interior Design Program at California College of Arts, taught from 1978 to 2009, when he was awarded Professor Emeritus status. Hank worked at Gensler as the firm’s first interiors hire. He had an immense impact on the interior design field at large and on design education at CCA. Hank won many awards and was part of the team that won the Top Preservation award for the Leland Stanford Mansion State Historic Park (2005–2007).
Hank first brought his expertise to the house in 1970 and has worked hard to help us understand what a treasure we have here. He brought the Ellingwood collection of items to the house to be stored and preserved, and taught us the history of our items and how to treat our collections. He connected us with the specialty flooring company to copy the pattern of the original flooring in hall and butlers pantry. Hank has written many articles, and supported many interns with their projects here. He is our go-to person.
Caretakers
Mark St. Gaudens
I have recently been enlisted as caretaker of this fabulous Victorian jewel of a home here in the Fruitvale District of Oakland.
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Born and raised in Marin County, I was brought up in a home where attention to detail was paramount. Both my grandfather and father were fabricating jewelers trained in the old European style. The opportunity for me was available to take over the business but my passion for woodworking took precedent.
I have made a living as a finish carpenter for the last 25 years before joining the Cohen Bray Team with my lovely and creative wife of more than 30 years, Elizabeth E. We both live on site and will be instrumental in the preservation of this remarkable historical landmark.
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I am happy to be working on the unique challenges this opportunity presents and to meet the people so passionate about the field of vintage home preservation.
Elizabeth St. Gaudens
It is my absolute delight to be part of this magnificent home's preservation.
I am a lifelong resident of California, fourth generation, with education at Sir Francis Drake High School, College of Marin, and the Academy of Art in San Francisco. I worked as a graphic designer with National Branding with DeVito Associates for over 25 years, then morphed into software engineering with Broderbund Software in Novato, California, and then to Quality Assurance with Boise-Cascade for the remainder of my career.
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Mark and I love our new position as caretakers at the Cohen Bray House.
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Hobbies include: ornithology, primarily hummingbirds, hawks and songbirds; astronomy, ephemera; science; meteorology and all things vintage and antique.
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I am enjoying meeting all of you who visit here to help preserve this living treasure.
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Volunteers
Our wonderful volunteers are what keeps us going! Thank you to:
Andres Villarael Acosta, Betsy Murray, Bob Prizzi, Carol Bowers, Carol Kane, Claire Harper, Debbie Aquaro, Ella Spandorf, Emma Davison, Finn Marchetti-Rose, Ian MacIntyre, Jaquoia Griswa, Jenna Harper, Jennifer Engels, Kate McAnaney,
Leah Hennick, Leigh Carroll, Linda Carroll, Maria Del Real, Oscar Rivera, Patrick Doyle, Paula Shadle, Ronin Blethrow,
Rosalind Kaye, Sophie Frey, Sydney Marshall, Sylvia Hughes-Gonzales, Xilin Guan, Yasha Roy, and many more!
Testimonials from Volunteers
Deborah
I watched a zoom program with Kate, came to a tea and and then got involved in collections, transcribing insurance documents from the historic Cohen Estate in Alameda. I have helped with teas and feel that this special house is "her" house.
Kate
Kate loves historic houses and loves that she is able to do different projects on different days. She comes because it is a full emersion into history, not just papers and archives. the projects she has gotten involved in allow her to research in different directions, and share the info she's found. This place allows her to put things in order, which is so satisfying.
Ronin
He first came to the house while on a Oakland Heritage Alliance tour of the Fruitvale neighborhood with his grandma. He had a school assignment to work with an organization. He convinced two of his friends to join him. they did projects in the garden. After he graduated from high school he returned and is now helping clean out the back buildings.
Finn
He came to the Cohen Bray house because he is a friend of Ronin and needed to complete the school project.
He really liked doing various projects in the garden, he helped serve tea and it has been interesting cleaning out the back buildings. He loves collecting old books . He like being productive and helping to preserve history.
Andres
He came to support his wife Maria. He was encouraged to volunteer for his own well being by an ESL-(English as a second language teacher.) He started helping Maria and then got caught up in his own projects.Learning about Emelita and her love for dogs which he shares. There is always work to do and flexible timing.
Maria
Maria needed practice for her Masters in library science and we were available. She came on a tour on her own and then brought Andres. She is organizing the link and tags with in our book collection. She has the freedom to do what she sees is necessary. They moved from S.F. to Oakland and she is proud to be able to do what she likes to do and to give back to the Oakland community she lives in.
Casey
Recently graduated in Design Studio Art Casey realized she was very interested in an historical perspective. Before getting an archival degree, she wanted to do some practical work. Positions are hard to find so she was delighted to find she could volunteer with us. Combining her love of prints, she is scanning Emelita's linoleum block prints and learning how to use the Catalogit App. to updating data from 2012.
Claire
Claire came to a harvest festival a couple of years ago and found a community here, outside of her work as a therapist in an elementary school. The people working in the garden, the cats and the amazing space drew her. She enjoys the flexibility of the work and getting to choose what she does. She has cataloged the book shelves, cleaned the woodwork, helped with the tours and teas.
Rosalyn
She started during Covid, She had felt isolated in S.F., so went on Volunteer Match and found us. Coming here was incredible, autonomy, see what grabs you. She found Captain Cumming's ship journals from 1877-1879 and transcribed them, 5 years ago. She thought she would write an article for the news letter and ended up writing a book on Clipper ships, the goldrush and family. It was a Victorian candy store. Which will be for sale at the house.
Julie
Julie moved here 6 years ago because her daughter was pregnant with twins. She found us through Volunteer Match and realized that she would love to work with collections. So she came and met Nancy and toured a spooky beat up old house and put little numbers on items. She graduated to work in the garden and then joined the board as treasurer. She has recently worked taking the old glazing off the glass so we can rebuild the sunroom windows. She says there is always something to do in this house and it changes all the time.
