OFFICERS:
Lucia Bogatay, President
Lucia Bogatay has been active with the PHA since 1994, providing expert recommendations on proposed projects. An award-winning architect, she founded Bogatay & Associates in 1979, focusing on renovations, adaptive re-use and historic preservation. As a four-year member of the San Francisco Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board, she reviewed projects for conformance with San Francisco’s preservation ordinance and Secretary of the Interior’s Guidelines for Historic Preservation. She has served on the San Francisco Landmarks Board, Unreinforced Masonry Appeals Board of the S.F. Building Department, and numerous nonprofit boards. She holds a B.A. in art history from Wellesley College and Master of Architecture degree from Harvard Graduate School of Design.
Paul Wermer, Vice President
Paul Wermer started paying close attention to the Presidio when the controversy over the proposed Contemporary Art Museum of the Presidio, aka the Fisher Museum, erupted. Appalled to realize that the National Historic Landmark District we call the Presidio was at significant risk from new construction, he became an active participant in PHA’s fight to preserve the historic integrity of the Main Post. One thing leads to another. The Presidio is a treasure, with many tales to tell that help us understand both the past and the present – and Paul is helping PHA engage with the Presidio Trust and the NPS on improving the historic interpretation. Favorite San Francisco History book: Imperial San Francisco, by Gray Brechin
Jack Lapidos, Treasurer
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2018 Directors:
William Alich
James Babcock
Mike Brassington,
Robert Cherny
Robert Cherny is professor emeritus at San Francisco State University. He specializes in U.S. political history since 1877 and the history of California and the West. His most recent book is Victor Arnautoff and the Politics of Art (2017), a biography of a San Francisco artist known for his New Deal murals, including one at the Presidio. His PhD is from Columbia University, and he taught at San Francisco State University from 1971 to 2012. He is author of thirty-some essays in journals and anthologies, author or co-author of five books and two
textbooks, and co-editor of two anthologies. He served for five years on San Francisco’s Landmarks Preservation Advisory and currently serves on the city’s Historical Preservation Fund Committee. He has been a member of the PHA board since 1999.
Babette Hogan
Gary Widman, President Emeritus
Gary Widman served as President of the PHA Board from 2007 – 2016, providing guidance on key issues affecting the Presidio’s landmark status. He is a retired attorney who practiced with the Bronson law firm in San Francisco and Fulbright and Jaworski in Washington, D.C. He was a Professor of Environment and Water Law at UC Hastings College of the Law; former General Counsel of the Council on Environmental Quality in the Office of the President (Nixon and Ford administrations); former Associate Solicitor of the Department of the Interior for Conservation and Wildlife (Carter administration); former Chief Counsel, California Department of Parks and Recreation; and former Director of the Office of Staff Attorneys for the US Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.
Jason Wright
Jason Wright holds a Bachelor of Architecture Degree and a Minor in Historic Preservation from the University of Cincinnati. He is a native of Ohio who has lived in San Francisco for many years, joining the Presidio Historical Association Board of Directors in 2007. In the past, he has worked for such Preservation Architecture firms as John G. Waite, Associates Architects (Albany, NY), Hartman-Cox (Washington D.C.), and Architectural Resources Group (San Francisco). He is currently an Associate with Page & Turnbull in San Francisco. His interests and knowledge in preservation cover a broad spectrum within the field and vary from Design/Construction to Materials Conservation to Cultural Landscapes to Research and Environmental/Section 106 Review. He is actively involved with the Association for Preservation Technology (APT), both their International organization and their Western US Regional Chapter, and is currently the secretary for APT International’s Technical Committee for Sustainable Preservation. He is involved locally with San Francisco Heritage and is and active member of the San Francisco GLBT Historical Society’s Historic Places Working Group.
Emeritus Status:
F. Whitney Hall, President Emeritus
F. Whitney “Whit” Hall, COL, US Army (ret) has been active with the PHA for 30 years, serving as President for several years. Whit joined PHA in 1979 as an ex-officio member of Board and became an active Board member upon his retirement from the U.S. Army where he served as Presidio Post Commander in 1982. He spent 26 years on active duty with the Army, including as Presidio Installation Commander from 1979 to 1982. A font of information of the Presidio’s history and facilities, Whit earned a B.S. at the U.S. Military Academy, West Point; an M.A. degree from Georgetown University, and an M.B.A. from Golden Gate University.