Jessica Farrell

I moved to Medford in 2015 and quickly fell in love with the city’s historic neighborhoods, access to nature, and wonderful people. I’m an engaged community member who rolls her sleeves up to get involved in many aspects of Medford life. I’ve been working in archives and preservation since 2008, and am a strong advocate for libraries, archives, and preservation programs. I care deeply about Medford’s future, and while I advocate across myriad issues in the city, I wanted to join the Commission because this is an area of resource management that I have relevant professional experience in to make particularly informed recommendations. Joining the Commission has allowed me to bring my records management and library preservation knowledge to Medford, while getting to learn so much more about architectural preservation and our built environment. I think it’s useful to have a renter’s perspective on the Commission and I filled that role in my first year of service. I have since hopped barely over the line to our (ahem) sister (not rival?) city Malden with my husband Joel, and am honored to serve the Commission through the end of my term. No matter the season, you can usually find me birding at the Brooks Estate, the Fells, Mystic Lakes, or along the Mystic River paths.

Doug Carr

I am a third-generation Medford resident who grew up in Lawrence Estates and presently lives in West Medford. I have been deeply involved in many different aspects of Medford for the past 25 years.

I am an architect and Principal at CUBE3, which practices architecture, interior design and planning with offices in Boston, Lawrence, MA and Miami, FL. CUBE3 has designed and built 5 multi-family residences in Medford over the past 15 years, including Lumiere, Mill Creek Modera, 150 & 200 Rivers Drive, and the Hanover Mystic River project on Locust Street (under construction).

I have served on the Medford-Brooks Estate Land Trust Board for 25 years. M-BELT’s goal of restoring the Brooks Estate for public benefit – both the historic buildings and 50-acre estate on the National Register of Historic Places – has been an odyssey. My primary role on the M-BELT has been to oversee the restoration of the 1880 Shepherd Brooks Manor, for which I have managed over $1 million in restoration projects over the past two decades. I was also the primary author of the Brooks Estate Master Plan, which documents two decades of projects and planning and lays out the long-term future of the Brooks Estate.

I have also been a strong advocate for the Green Line Extension to Medford, a process which initially started planning in 2005. While the project will be constructed to Tufts University by late 2021, GLX advocates are still fighting to get it extended to its proper terminus at Route 16/Mystic River to serve a larger share of Medford residents.

I presently serve as 2^nd Vice President of the Mystic Valley Branch of the NAACP, a group dedicated to securing the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all people.

Finally, I have served on the Medford Historic Commission since 2013 and have been impressed by the Commission’s record of defending Medford’s strong architectural and historic legacy.

Jennifer Keenan, 2019 Chair

I’ve officially been a Medford resident since 2006, but my roots go deeper as my father had his business here during the 70s and 80s. I am proud to call myself a local Realtor®, and I love being able to do my small part each day to make Medford a better place for all. If you come to my house you’ll find tea instead of coffee, steak instead of seafood, and cookies instead of brownies. In my next life I want to be a rock star, but for now I am wife to Melvin and mom to furbaby Dallas.

Ryan Hayward, Vice Chair

I am lucky enough to have the opportunity to work in the fields of history and architecture. I was introduced to the topics in the fifth grade while attending Medford Public Schools. I later pursued these academically, graduating from the Boston Architectural College with a degree in Historic Preservation. My professional career began at the Medford Historical Society, Brooks Estate and Royall House and I joined the Commission in 2007 in order to give back to our community. When not preserving our local heritage, I’m out collaborating with homeowners as a self-employed preservation and design consultant. I’ve had he opportunity to work on buildings old and new. It’s rewarding seeing the joy of owners at the end of their renovations. I myself am restoring an 1895 Queen Anne Victorian which has been in our family for 70 years. As I have lived and worked in Medford all my life and know about the past, I can’t wait to see what the future holds for our community. Working with the Commission, we will ensure preservation is part of the ongoing change happening every day.

Edward Wiest

More than 30 years ago, our family blundered into becoming temporary custodians of Medford’s Edward Oakes House – earliest elements erected c. 1729, moved to current site 1977.  We’re still there. I am on on the Commission now to continue paying forward the work of Joseph Valeriani, Greg and Maia Henderson, John Hand, Fred Knox and many others who preserved the home in which we have lived so long, and the history of Medford as a whole.

Peter Miller

My wife and I feel lucky to have settled in the Hillside neighborhood in 1997. We have three children, all of which have attended the Medford public schools. As an architect, I have an appreciation for the timeless craftsmanship and detail that can be found in our historic structures and I look forward to helping contribute to the preservation of Medford’s historic fabric. In summer, I can be seen performing with my band at the Medford Farmer’s Market and I very much enjoy walking my dog, Edward, past the Paul Curtis House and along the Mystic river paths.