A Few Words About Steven Engelhart, A Great Leader and Mentor
In this guest blog post, Adirondack Architectural Heritage Education Programs Director Nolan Cool shares some thoughts on his colleague and mentor Steven Engelhart. Steven is one of this year’s Excellence in Historic Preservation Award winners and will be retiring from AARCH at the end of 2021.
Steven Engelhart sitting on a short stone wall in front of a sign directing traffic to I-87 and 22 North and South. A brown sign indicating Willsboro 4 miles to the right and Westport 13 miles to the left is positioned right of Steven in the photo.
In the often high-stakes, high-pressure field of historic preservation, leaders take many forms. Some grow with their position, learning how best to manage and get the most out of their staff, while others may go to every length possible to make sure their colleagues are “okay” and remain happy, healthy, and supported. Steven Engelhart is a leader who has transcended these categories for his 27-year career as Executive Director of Adirondack Architectural Heritage (AARCH).
When I first spoke to Steven on the phone before a job interview for my current position of Educational Programs Director at AARCH, I immediately observed that he was a modest, but serious leader. Researching and learning more about the organization before my interview, it was clear that Steven has inspired people throughout Northern New York, and years later, I rarely find a community in six-million-acre Adirondack Park and surrounding region that does not know of Steven.
As I walked through the 170-year-old doors of the former Ausable Horse Nail Company office building, now the AARCH headquarters in Keeseville, the atmosphere was clearly imbued the warmth, generosity, and spirit that Steven brings to seemingly every conversation, discussion, or meeting. His positive, calming vibe had trickled into the organizational fabric of AARCH, something that defines it to friends, members, and colleagues alike today. This is an earmark of Steven’s caring, thoughtful leadership over the decades – an atmosphere of deep respect and appreciation not just between staff and members of the AARCH family, but with the broader public(s) that AARCH serves across the region.
Beyond just being a colleague, Steven is a wonderful personal mentor and a cherished friend. I have been immensely spoiled to work so closely with someone so distinguished right out of graduate school, and even more so to observe and absorb how to truly accomplish the kind of grounded, emotional work of making an impact on communities large and small. Working under Steven, you learn that humility and listening are just as important to a community as a National Register nomination or guidance toward historic tax credits.
Moreover, I have met no other person who embodies the generosity and spirit of compassion more than Steven. His curiosity, inspiration, and the values he instills are infectious to everyone who has the pleasure to sit down with him. Steven’s sincere love of place, of his neighbors, and of community presents the rest of the world with a model of a truly caring civic champion, a banner preservationist, and a remarkable leader in the field and in life.
Nolan Cool is the Educational Programs Director at AARCH