The Bay Agenda: Preserving the People's History

In January 2024, Amanda Bartlett of SFGate profiled four San Francisco-based nonprofits–the California Historical Society, San Francisco Heritage, The Society of California Pioneers, and Western Neighborhoods Project (WNP)–that were struggling to preserve and share history in the face of civic budget shortfalls and the shifting terrain of individual giving. Today, only three of them survive. 

Join us on Tuesday, March 25th at 6:00 PM for a moderated discussion with Woody LaBounty, Mercedes Devine, and Nicole Meldahl, the directors of these survivors, at a special live recording of WNP’s “Outside Lands San Francisco” podcast. 

Western Neighborhoods Project, founded in 1999, preserves, interprets, and shares the diverse history and culture of San Francisco’s west side. In support of this work, WNP launched the OpenSFHistory program in 2014 to digitize and make accessible online thousands of historical San Francisco images. Find out more at www.wnpsf.org.

Panelists Include:

Woody LaBounty, SF Heritage

Woody LaBounty serves as President & CEO of San Francisco Heritage (sfheritage.org), a 54-year-old nonprofit with a mission to preserve and celebrate San Francisco’s unique architectural and cultural heritage. LaBounty is a well-known speaker, writer, and leader of initiatives using history to improve and support local communities.

Nicole Meldahl, Western Neighborhoods Project

Nicole Meldahl is an award-winning journalist and community historian who has worked in San Francisco archives and museums for 18 years. In that time, she's been lucky to work at the Golden Gate National Recreation Area's Park Archives and Records Center, the California Historical Society, 500 Capp Street, and the Walt Disney Family Museum. But Western Neighborhoods Project (WNP) has been the great love of her professional life. She began volunteering for the community history nonprofit in 2012 as an archivist, quickly joined its Board of Directors in 2014, and is now in her fifth year as Executive Director. At WNP, Nicole curates exhibitions, hosts public programs, and everything in between, but she’s perhaps best known for transforming the former Cliff House Restaurant into an immersive history experience called The Museum at The Cliff from 2021-2022. In her “free” time, she volunteers on the Program Committee for the Western Museums Association, attends concerts, reads (mostly nonfiction) books, and works on her classic Sunset District home with her husband and two overweight cats, who provide moral support.  

Mercedes Moore Devine, The Society of California Pioneers

Mercedes Moore Devine is the Executive Director of The Society of California Pioneers (www.californiapioneers.org), a non-profit historical society founded in 1850 and dedicated to the preservation and appreciation of California history. After earning a master’s in public history at Northeastern University in Boston, she returned to her home state of California and signed on with the Pioneers, where she has worked for 26 years and counting.  Mercedes is the proud mom of three terrific young adults and resides in Walnut Creek.

There is a $10 - $20 sliding scale suggested donation for this event. Nobody will be turned away for lack of funds.

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📍 220 Montgomery St., San Francisco, 2 blocks from BART/MUNI
🚪 Doors open at 5:00
🗣️ Program begins at 6:00
🍷 Refreshments for donation (and KALW members get their first one on the house)
🆓 The event is free with an RSVP — and you are welcome to donate what you want

Please note:

• The event space is just to the left of the main entrance to the Mills Building at 220 Montgomery Street
• We recommend taking BART/MUNI, exiting at Montgomery, and walking two blocks north
• Ride-shares can drop off and pick up directly in front of the venue
• If you drive, there are several garages within two blocks of the event location

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