Founded in 1999, the firm of kta preservation specialists has developed a distinct reputation for our diversity of cultural resource management skills. For over two decades, this small historic preservation consulting firm has prided itself on quality, efficiency and expertise. Our founder, Kerry Traynor M.S., M.Arch., has built this successful firm by prioritizing the attentive service given to each client and project, completing projects successfully, on time and within budget, by using our extensive expertise and technical skills in a diversity of settings.
kta provides comprehensive architectural and material fabric studies, inventories of historic properties, reconnaissance surveys and Federal Historic Tax Credit Projects. kta's involvement in projects is typically triggered as a result of public funding (grants and/or historic tax credits) and/or projects being conducted by not-for-profits. Clients include large architectural and engineering firms; real estate developers; state and federal agencies, and “locals” - churches, small business owners, home owners, not-for-profits and other local property owners who live in a historically significant building. We help many types of clients comply with local, state and federal preservation laws that regulate cultural resources. Our work is performed to the highest standards, and always in cooperation with state regulatory agencies such as the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, the New York State Museum and the Department of Environmental Conservation. We are qualified under 36 CFR 61 (Professional Qualification Standards) and by the Secretary of the Interior (48 CFR Part 44738-9) for History, Architectural History, Architecture and Historic Architecture. From completing historic tax credit projects to Section 106 Compliance to HABS/HAER documentation, kta preservation specialists brings a variety of skills, experience, education and professional relationships to suit each client's individual needs.
Our Team
Meet the hard-working team that comprises the firm of kta preservation specialists.
Kerry Traynor
Principal Investigator
As the founder of this firm, Kerry Traynor has been working in the field of historic preservation for over twenty years. In addition to her work with the firm, she has a diverse background that includes working in the public and private sectors, as well as in academia.
Her experience has included teaching architecture and landscape architecture history, historic preservation, preservation planning, and design studio at the collegiate level; scholarly research and publication; and she was ‘Restoration Project Manager’ at the Kentucky Heritage Council, State Historic Preservation Office. Having worked for the Kentucky SHPO office, Ms. Traynor has a unique understanding of Section 106 compliance; the preparation of historic resource surveys; material fabric studies, and preservation and maintenance planning from the perspectives of a representative of a State Historic Preservation Office, as well as a private consultant.
She received her undergraduate and graduate degrees in Architecture at the University at Buffalo. She continued her education, receiving a Master’s of Science in Architectural History from Mississippi State University. She is qualified under 36 CFR 61 (Professional Qualification Standards) and 48 CFR Part 44738-9 (Secretary of the Interior) for History, Architectural History, Architecture, Historical Architecture and Historic Preservation.
Annie Schentag
Preservation Specialist
Annie brings nearly a decade of preservation experience to the firm, ranging from the private sector to academia.
She approaches her work at kta preservation specialists with a diverse combination of academic and professional experience. Academically trained as both an architectural historian and an urban planner, Annie has also been working in the field of historic preservation since 2010. She has extensive experience in researching and writing National Register Nominations, conducting Section 106 Compliance projects, and architectural reconnaissance surveys. Her work has thus far listed over 1000 properties on the National Register of Historic Places in Buffalo, NY.
Annie received her B.A. at Smith College, a M.U.P in Urban Planning at the University of Buffalo, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in the History of Architecture and Urbanism at Cornell University. She is qualified under 36 CFR 61 (Professional Qualification Standards) and 48 CFR Part 44738-9 (Secretary of the Interior) for History, Architectural History, and Historic Preservation. She also teaches multiple courses at the collegiate level, in the Department of Art at Buffalo State College and at Villa Maria College, as well as in the Department of Environmental Design at the State University at Buffalo.
Camden Miller
Urban Planner
Camden Miller has been working in both the public (University at Buffalo, US Army Corps of Engineers, US Department of Energy, University of California-Berkeley) and private sectors for over seven years. She specializes in housing, historic preservation, community development, and neighborhood planning.
Camden Miller is a PhD candidate in Urban and Regional Planning with a focus on housing, community development, and neighborhood planning. She is working on projects involving the investigation of housing market dynamics (its limitations and exclusion of under-represented groups including people of color and low-income) and how we can work towards providing high-quality affordable housing for everyone within the housing market.
Over the past three years, Camden has published five co-authored articles and two single-authored book reviews in peer-reviewed journals. She also has a forthcoming book chapter, "Commemorating Historically Significant Gay Places." Camden has given 11 conference presentations at national conferences over the past three years.
Camden received her Master in Urban Planning with a specialization in Community Development and Neighborhood Planning and an Advanced Graduate Certificate in Historic Preservation from the University at Buffalo in 2016. Prior to studying at UB, Camden received her Bachelor of Science in Conservation Resource Studies from the University of California, Berkeley with a minor in Urban Design and a minor in Music.