Following news earlier this month that he would step down from his role as Executive Director of AIA New York and the Center for Architecture, Ben Prosky has announced his next career move: President of the Classical American Homes Preservation Trust (CAHPT). The Board of Directors of the organization announced today that Prosky will start work on April 3.
CAHPT is a nonprofit dedicated to American architecture, decorative arts, landscapes, and historic preservation. It supports architectural and land preservation work with a series of educational lectures and fellowships and has a portfolio of historical residences under its purview. Among the historic buildings oversaw by the CAHPT are Edgewater in Barrytown, New York; Ayr Mount in Hillsborough, North Carolina; Roper House in Charleston, South Carolina; and Millford in Pinewood, South Carolina. The Trust was founded in 1993 by Richard Hampton Jenrette.
At AIANY and the Center for Architecture Prosky developed new strategies and funds to support architecture in New York. In his new position, Prosky will expand CHAPT’s programming promoting the preservation of architecture, landscapes, and the decorative arts. The nonprofit has an endowment of $100 million and is hoping to expand its impact with research opportunities, including scholarships, grants, residencies, and artisan apprenticeships.
“As someone who has spent the past two decades working to promote and celebrate architecture and its adjacent fields, I have a great appreciation for the legacies of designers, patrons and collectors and the historic sites and artifacts they leave behind,” Prosky shared in a statement announcing the news. “I am excited to work with CAHPT’s board and staff to expand our role as not just stewards of important sites but as visionaries who will activate the Trust for learning and discovery. I look forward to building on Dick Jenrette’s trailblazing legacy by developing new programs to explore preservation issues and expand access, audiences, and engagement.”
Prosky was named Executive Director of AIANY and CFA in February 2016. Before assuming that position he cofounded online architecture media platform Architizer and held positions at the Canadian Centre for Architecture and the French Institute of Architecture, among others, and worked as Assistant Dean for Communications at Harvard Graduate School of Design.
“We are honored to welcome Ben as CAHPT’s new President as the Trust celebrates its 30th anniversary this year,” CAHPT Board of Trustees Chair Lucy Clark Dougherty said. “Ben brings experience, enthusiasm, and deep knowledge about the built environment to CAHPT at a crucial moment in its history. With Ben’s leadership and vision, we are embarking on our next chapter, with a broadened mission and a series of new initiatives.”
