Our Team
Under CBCA’s expert guidance I was able to get my building listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places which opened the door for much needed funding opportunities. My project could not have moved forward without this vital step.
– NEAL RADICE, Executive Director, Alleyway Theatre/Upper West Arts Center
CBCA staff meet and exceed the United States Secretary of the Interior’s 36 CFR Part 61 Professional Qualifications Standards in History, Architectural History, Architecture and Historic Architecture.
Clinton E. Brown, FAIA
President, Heritage & Project Architect clintonbrown@cbcapc.com
Clinton Brown, FAIA, is a nationally recognized leader in historic preservation architecture, community revitalization, and public policy in the private, non-profit, and public sectors. He has over 30 years of experience in collaboratively creating new value in historic buildings and heritage places. He leads each of CBCA’s projects.
He earned a BA in Sociology from Franklin and Marshall College, interned at the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies in New York City, and earned his M. Architecture from the University of Virginia School of Architecture.
Clinton’s credentials exceed the Secretary of the Interior’s 36CFR61 Professional Qualification Standards in Architectural History, Architecture and Historic Architecture. Secretaries of the Interior have appointed him a Commissioner of the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor Commission. The Governor appointed him a founding Director of the Richardson Center Corporation Board that is renewing Buffalo’s former Asylum. He is a Board member of the Willowbank School of Restoration Arts in Queenston, Ontario, Canada, of which HRH The Prince of Wales has been Patron.
The listing of our beloved but vacant former high school in the National Register that Clinton Brown Company arranged was a turning point in our community’s success at saving the school from the landfill. Listing helped ensure its continued service to our community for years to come as the Niagara Arts and Cultural Center because listing opened doors for much-needed funding.
– LOUIS TOWNSEND, Chief Financial Officer, Niagara Arts and Cultural Center
Alma O'Connell-Brown
Business Manager, Project Manager, Grant Administrator almabrown@cbcapc.com
Since 1998, Alma has provided Grant Writing and Administrative, Commercial Center Improvement/New York Main Street Program, and Special Project management services for CBCA clients.
Alma has helped CBCA clients raise more than $37 million in grants for a wide variety of historic preservation projects from public, private foundation, and other sources. She works closely with clients to make competitive and compelling applications . She works with grant funding agency staff, often on a daily basis, to maximize funding impact for clients and facilitate efficient and effective grant compliance for funders.
Alma has also led the completion of more than 300 Main Street small building/small business improvement projects. She has been the Project Manager since 2003 for the Erie County Commercial Center Improvement Program for more than 70 small business and property owners. Alma has completed New York Main Street-funded Technical Assistance Program projects across the state. She has administered many Buffalo Main Street Initiative (BMSI) and Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) projects.
In addition, Alma manages Special Projects. She was Project Coordinator for the City of Buffalo’s Interpretive Signage Project for the Black Rock Ferry Network to Freedom Site at Broderick Park, facilitating collaboration among the Buffalo Quarters Historical Society, the National Park Service and community groups for interpretive signage bid to public standards for this public park. She was the Project Manager for the African American Cultural Center’s Expansion Project that received an Empire State Development grant.
Alma served as a member of the Advisory Committee of the 2016 PUSH Buffalo Better Buffalo Fund Main Street grant. She served on the Episcopal Diocese of Western New York buildings task force and is president of her Block Club.
Jill Nowicki, BFA, MFA
Project Manager, Historic Preservation Specialist
jillnowicki@cbcapc.com
Jill brings nearly twenty years of experience in historic preservation project management. She holds a Master of Historic Preservation degree from the Savannah College of Art and Design and a BFA in Interior Design from the Rochester Institute of Technology.
Jill is an award-winning historic preservationist and a Heritage Preservation-certified CAP Building Assessor who specializes in Historic Structure Reports, Investment Tax Credit applications and design consistency with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards. She performs historic preservation project management on restoration and rehabilitation projects, including design development, construction documents, and construction contract administration.
Jill’s Historic Resources Survey experience includes the Town of Amherst, Village of Clyde, the Elmwood Historic District East, Village of Williamsville, Village of Springville East Hill, the Old First Ward and Black Rock areas of Buffalo, NY, and the Town of Clarence. She also was the primary author of National Register Nominations for Park Avenue Historic District in Rochester, Village of Springville West End & Fiddler’s Green, Village of Lancaster, South Junior High School, Niagara Falls, NY, the High and Locust Streets Historic District in Lockport, NY and assisted in Elmwood Historic District (West) Buffalo, NY.
Tera Perilli
Project Manager
teraperilli@cbcapc.com
Tera is a 2019 graduate of the University at Buffalo’s Master of Urban Planning Program with a specialization in Historic Preservation. Her projects at CBCA include Homeowner and Commercial Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit Applications, Grant Administration assistance for NYMS / DRI / BMSI Façade Improvement grant projects throughout New York State, and historic documentation for Historic Resource Surveys, National Register Nominations, and Adaptive Use Reports.
Gregory Pinto
Architectural Historian
gregpinto@cbcapc.com
Gregory is a 2019 graduate of the University at Buffalo’s Master of Urban Planning Program with a specialization in Historic Preservation. His projects at CBCA include research and writing
historic nomination forms for properties to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Greg provides historical research for several other preservation projects, including HPC Applications, the NYMS / DRI / BMSI Façade Improvement grant projects, and Preservation Planning/Design Guideline reports. Greg also has led survey projects in Forestville and North Tonawanda, which have led to the discovery of potential National Register Eligible historic districts.
Thainá Wahler
Design Professional, Associate AIA
thainawahler@cbcapc.com
Thaina is an architectural designer with a 4-year Bachelor's degree in Architecture and Planning from Brazil and a 2-year Master of Architecture with a focus on Urban Design from the University of Buffalo. Her projects at CBCA include architectural documentation, design development and construction documents for Rehabilitation projects, Building Conditions Reports, Historic Structure Reports, Feasibility Studies, Historic Resource Surveys, Historic Tax Credits Projects, and Façade Improvements projects. She was part of the Jamestown survey team and wrote over 500 architectural narrative descriptions for the report. She also creates graphics for marketing and social media.
CBCA has been a tremendous asset to my project. …With their vocal advocacy for the cause of preservation in the community they have my highest recommendation
– Andrew Meier, President ReNewell, LLC
Colleagues & Collaborators
Heritage Resources, LLC
M/WBE company owned and operated by Alma Brown, specializing in Grant Writing and Grant Administrative Services
City of Light Publishing
Local company co-founded by Marti Gorman who publishes and markets Clinton Brown's Olmsted's Elmwood book.