Conference Speakers and Panelists

Principal Investigator | Aerial View of History: Use of Airborne Technology to Better Understand our Human Past

Jody is an archaeologist with 35-years’ experience in the American Southwest, Great Basin, Western Subarctic, and Egypt. Since moving to Utah in 2001, Jody focuses mostly on the rich archaeological record of the Colorado Plateau and its surrounding regions. During the last decade, Jody developed a keen interest in aerial archaeology and remote sensing using drones, airplanes, and satellites. Jody is the Principal Investigator and owner of Montgomery Archaeological Consultants, Inc.

Executive Director | Walking Tour: Provo's Historic Center Street

Quinn has been customizing his home, automobiles, and life for many years. Back in 2015 this expanded into a role customizing his community. He ran a retail shop on Center Street for about 5 years and saw lots of good things, and bad things happening. He learned there was a non-profit that should be helping fill in these gaps. He ended up becoming the director of that program and he has loved the journey since then.

Owner | Tour: Amanda Knight Hall

David Phipps co-founded MCRE almost 20 years ago as a value-add commercial real estate development company focused on high-design projects within niche use categories. Their main focus over the past decade has been historic renovations and hotel to apartment conversion projects. We identify properties in which we have a passion for to fill needs within affordable housing and unique historic revival projects.

General Manager | Non-Agency Land Managers who Rock at Preserving Cultural Heritage

Accomplished Mining Operations & Technical Executive with over 25 years of experience leading and supporting base metal and gold mining operations in North America (USA, Canada) and Africa. A Professional Engineer with a deep understanding of the business administration of mining operations and studies or projects.

Preservation Constant | Life on Main Street: The Crucial Role of Housing in Main Street Revitalization

Historic Sites Curator | The Provo Tabernacle: Rising From the Ashes

Ryan W. Saltzgiver is a historian and archaeologist with the Church History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Ryan writes on the archaeology of Latter-day Saint communities, the globalization of the Church, and the lived religious experience of Latter-day Saints throughout the world. From 2015 to 2022, he led the “Global Histories” project which compiled and published brief histories of the Church in the diverse locales where the Church has been established and where Saints live, worship, and serve. He now works as a curator of historic sites for the Church. Ryan holds degrees in literature and anthropology from Brigham Young University. He and his wife, Kristie, live in Layton, Utah with their four children.

Historic Preservation Program Lead | Utah's Architectural History in Practice

Prior to joining Logan Simpson, John was the Historic Preservation Officer for the City of Tempe. He has extensive archival research experience and has prepared and reviewed numerous historic property register nominations, Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) documentation, historic contexts, survey and inventory reports, façade and airspace conservation easements, and real estate development agreements. John is an appointed member of the Arizona Historic Sites Review Committee, sits on the board of the Tempe Historic Preservation Foundation, has been and adjunct professor and article author, and has been active board member and chair of various additional preservation organizations.

Executive Director | Expanded Engagement in Preservation

Brandy Strand grew up in the Rose Park and Glendale area and is a first-generation college graduate from the University of Utah with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Bachelor of Science in Sociology. Throughout her career, Brandy has served in nonprofits that serve the entire state of Utah. She has honed her skills in nonprofit management with special attention given to sound management practices focused on long-term sustainability and community building. Brandy joined Preservation Utah in July 2023 as the Executive Director.

| Managing Cultural Resources on Public Lands: Wildlife and Vegetation Management

President/CEO | Leveraging Civic Engagement + Partnerships: A Case Study of Ogden City's Historic 25th Street Revitalization

Sara Toliver, CDME, is President/CEO of Visit Ogden. Her passion for the Ogden-area community drives her in her day-to-day activities to make the greater Ogden area an amazing visitor destination and wonderful place to live. Sara is a strong advocate for the importance of the visitor economy in her community and around the state and region serving on several community and industry boards. In 2021, Sara was inducted into the Utah Tourism Hall of Fame.

Associate Teaching Professor | Aerial View of History: Use of Airborne Technology to Better Understand our Human Past

As an Associate Teaching Professor at Brigham Young University's Department of Anthropology, Scott specializes in digital archaeology, particularly focusing on the Fremont archaeological culture. With over two decades of experience, Scott has been involved with projects across the American Great Basin, Midwest, Southwest, northern and western Mexico, and the Middle East. His expertise includes Fremont ceramics and architecture, and advanced technologies like UAVs, LiDAR, GIS, and Geophysics.

Historic Sites Curator | The Provo Tabernacle: Rising From the Ashes

Emily Utt works as a curator for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Her work focuses on research and preservation of significant places around the world with a building portfolio ranging from 1820s log structures to 1970s New Formalist buildings. The fire at the Provo Tabernacle changed Emily from a historian to a preservationist. She holds a masters degree in historic preservation from Goucher College.

Steve Waldrip completed his undergraduate studies in English at Brigham Young University, received a law degree from the University of Utah and a Master's in Taxation from the University of Washington. After practicing law for a short time, he took a job with the Boyer
Company in Utah at the beginning of the Business Depot Ogden project. As project manager he helped bring in $500 million in private investment into BDO and Ogden, negotiated $250 million in lease transactions and helped create over 4000 new jobs. He served two terms in the Utah House of Representatives, and co-founded a social benefit real estate fund, Rocky Mountain Homes Fund, where he worked for several years. He is currently
serving as the Governor’s Senior Advisor for Housing Strategy and Innovation, a role he assumed in December of 2023. In addition he serves on the Board of United Way Northern Utah, the Utah Commission on Housing Affordability, and the Board of the Utah Housing Corporation.

Retired, Senior Public Historian | Preserving the Brigham Young Academy Building: The Backstory

Brad has either worked for or has directed historical agencies since 1976. He has been employed by USU, U of U, BYU, LDS History Dept (three times), the Athenaeum of Philadelphia, the Utah Historical Society and the Utah Department Of Culture & Community Engagement. He retired in June of 2023.

Community Development Director | From Storefront to Sidewalk: Activating Main Street Spaces & Walking Tour: Exploring Provo's Historic Center Street

Josh is a certified planner with over 15 years of experience, including land use planning, zoning, transportation, and historic preservation. Two of Josh’s favorite planning experiences are helping to establish a community design studio at Cornell University and being a part of the effort to save BYU’s Amanda Knight Hall from demolition, leading to its sale, preservation, and reuse as women’s housing. Josh lives in Springville with his wife, Kim, and their four children.