2026 Annual Membership Meeting + Elections
TUESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2026 | 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
MCFARLAND-MCBEE HOUSE | 3805 RED RIVER STREET
This FREE event is exclusively for Preservation Austin members. Join today to support our work and celebrate with us!
We’re excited to announce Preservation Austin’s 2026 Annual Meeting and Elections! This year we’re hosting at home and inviting the whole PA family to our beloved McFarland-McBee House. Our exclusive membership event will feature complimentary drinks, great music, and a surprise sweet treat all served against the backdrop of our recently restored headquarters. Join us to connect with local preservationists and explore our office after hours while toasting the incredible supporters who make our work possible.
Space at this event is limited! Each Preservation Austin membership receives two free tickets. Please reserve tickets through the membership portal by August 21 at 12 PM.
Interested in becoming a new member? Click the link below to support Preservation Austin’s 2026 Membership Drive. Email Development Coordinator Jurnee Troublefield Rasberry for questions about new membership or your membership status.
Event Details
The Annual Meeting will begin in the courtyard of the McFarland-McBee House at 7 PM. Remarks and the election of Preservation Austin’s 2026-2027 Board of Directors will take place at 7:30 PM. This event will primarily be held outside and attendees are encouraged to dress for a warm summer evening. In the case of inclement weather, the event will be rescheduled.
PARKING
Our small parking lot will be closed for this event. Guests are asked to find street parking in the neighborhood, typically available along 38th and 39th Streets on either side of the McFarland-McBee House. Please adhere to public right-of-way parking rules and be respectful of neighbors. Walking, biking, public transit, and ridesharing are always encouraged! The McFarland-McBee House has a bike rack available for use, as well as an ADA parking spot.
Event Support Provided By
Incoming Directors
JEN BERBAS
Jen has been a proud Austinite since she came to Austin to attend UT, and after a few brief stints in Chicago and Minneapolis, she came back as soon as she could. Now she lives in her favorite place on earth (except maybe a Greek island) and feels incredibly lucky to be here.
Jen's background in finance, first as an options trader and then working in the credit markets, laid the groundwork for a career in real estate and informs much of her work today. When she started purchasing, rehabbing, and investing in properties around Austin, she learned firsthand about the character and the common quirks of Central Austin's older homes. That hands-on experience gave her a deep appreciation for what makes these houses worth saving, and she's become someone who genuinely loves a great 1940s house as much for its story as its bones. Preservation, to her, isn't abstract. It's the difference between a neighborhood that still feels like itself and one that's lost its history one tear-down at a time.
That's part of why she's excited to be a member of Preservation Austin. She sees the organization's work, building a more inclusive, resilient, and meaningful community through preservation, as an extension of what she already tries to do with clients every day: help people see the value in what's already here, not just what could replace it. She especially loves working with people new to Austin, giving her an excuse to be a tour guide in her favorite city and point out the corners of town, and the homes, that carry real character.
When she's not geeking out on a spreadsheet or chasing down a great old house that just hit the market, she can usually be found at First Light Coffee, on the tennis court, or enjoying a greenbelt hike with her husband and her pup. She is grateful, always, to call this city home.
JONATHAN LOPEZ
Jonathan Lopez, a natural born Austinite, works at a local lumberyard, Eastside Lumber & Decking; where he has been employed for over 5 years.
Though he began as a bilingual salesperson, with his determination to continuously learn, build impactful relationships, and innate desire to help where he can, he has since become the purchasing manager.
He is adamantly passionate about Legacy Business Month because he believes that locally owned businesses are the backbone of the economy, bringing a sense of comfort, warmth, and a feeling of "belonging" for everyone.
Jonathan is excited to serve on the Board of Directors, where he hopes to inspire and aid others in preserving the legacy of the city that each one of us calls our home.
LESLEY TAYLOR
I moved to Austin in 2003 and have spent the years since chasing a particular kind of curiosity: what makes a place worth saving. That question has taken me from a downtown high-rise to a 1938 Art Deco building, and finally to my current home, a 1959 midcentury residence designed by Harwell Hamilton Harris. Each move sharpened the same instinct — that architecture carries memory, and that memory is worth protecting.
My path here wasn't linear. I grew up in Jacksonville, Florida, studied and worked in hospitality in Wilmington, North Carolina, and later sharpened my eye for fine dining in Seattle before Austin pulled me back for good. In 2008, right as the market collapsed, I stepped away from a marketing career in real estate and spent a season in a yurt in the Northern California redwoods, resetting my sense of what mattered. I came back with a clearer one. A later stretch in Paris, deepening my love of architecture and history, only confirmed it.
That conviction now shapes my real estate practice, where I focus on homes with a story — design-forward properties, hidden gems, and historic spaces that deserve careful stewardship rather than a quick sale. It's also why I serve on the advisory council at the Neill Cochran House Museum and have been a member of Preservation Austin.
I believe good design isn't decoration — it's inheritance. I'm honored to bring that belief, along with a real estate career built on trust and precision, to Preservation Austin's board.
2026-2027 Board Slate
2026-2027 OFFICERS
Travis Smith, President
Frank Farkash, President-Elect
Will Bridges, Vice President
Mary Kahle, Vice President
Kelly Little, Secretary
Nora Keane, Treasurer
Miriam Conner, Immediate Past President
2026-2029 NEW DIRECTORS
Jen Berbas
Jonathan Lopez
Lesley Taylor
2026-2029 RENEWING DIRECTORS
Erika Bonfanti
Mary Kahle
Travis Holler
2026-2027 ADVISOR
Cyndee Lake