Board of Directors of the Historic Seattle Foundation

James Fearn is a graduate of Antioch College and the University of Chicago Law School. He is currently the General Counsel for the Seattle Housing Authority. Previously he has been an attorney in private practice and worked as an attorney for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Seattle Commons, the Land Use Division of the Seattle City Attorney’s Office, and Seattle Legal Services. James has also worked as Deputy Director and Executive Director of the Institute for Local Government and Public Service in Budapest, Hungary. He has served on a variety of boards and commissions including the Seattle Parks Board, the Port Jobs Board of Directors, the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust Board of Trustees, the Sand Point Blue Ribbon Committee, the King County Conservation Futures Citizens Committee, the Seattle Citizens Open Space Oversight Committee, the Seattle Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee, the Governor’s Growth Management Task Force, and the Building Industry Legal Trust Fund Advisory Committee. James has been a member of the Historic Seattle Public Development Authority Council for more than ten years.

Gary Gaffner was born and raised on Alki Point, a fifth-generation Seattleite, and has enjoyed a lifetime avocation studying the history of the city, its many interesting people, its architecture, and collecting its artifacts.He graduated with a B.S. in Engineering from the University of Washington in 1957 and an MBA from Stanford University in 1961.  He spent his entire career at The Boeing Airplane Company as an engineer and later in various management positions, with occasional stints as a visiting lecturer in the Graduate Business School at Stanford.As an extension of this avocation, he and his wife undertook privately the restoration of many old Seattle homes, hoping to bring back as much of their original charm as possible.  He served as a founder and board member of the Community Council and the Historical Society on Seattle’s Queen Anne hill for several decades. When Historic Seattle was being formed 31 years ago, Gary was elected by the conveners as the first constituency member on the Council’s first board and has served continuously since then on the Council’s Board, followed by the Board of Directors of the Historic Seattle Preservation Foundation, serving as the Council’s third chairperson. 

Michael Herschensohn is an inveterate cultural conservationist with a PhD in Romance Languages and Literatures ( University of Pennsylvania) and a MA in Historic Preservation Planning ( Cornell University). Michael’s preservation experience includes historic district surveys, National Register nominations and exhibits about the history of Chicago’s architecture, especially the origins of skyscrapers and industrial parks. In Chicago he organized routes and trained guides for the Chicago Architecture Foundation’s famous walking and bus tours. In Seattle, he has directed The Children’s Museum, The Museum of History and Industry, and Northwest Folklife. Serving Historic Seattle since 1989, Michael is particularly enthusiastic about the preservation of vernacular buildings and sites.