The Oldest New Nonprofit in Raleigh

Curtis Kasefang is a board member of Preservation Raleigh and has held several other positions on City of Raleigh Advisory commissions.

Curtis spoke to City Council June 9, 2026:

I am Curtis Kasefang.

Many of you know me from the Raleigh Historic Development Commission (RHDC) — or from 8 years as a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) commissioner, 4 as commission chair, and 10 years on the Design Review Advisory Committee (DRAC).

Some may know me from my career as a theatre consultant at Theatre Consultants Collaborative, designing theatres throughout USA, Canada, and into Europe.

Today I am here representing Preservation Raleigh as a board member.

Preservation Raleigh was created by former RHDC chairs in response to a 2030 Comprehensive Plan 2030 work item to encourage the development of a Preservation Advocacy Not-For-Profit (NFP) focused on Raleigh. We are the oldest new NFP in Raleigh, created 2 years ago out of the dormant NFP that was the forerunner of RHDC.

Our goal is to provide you with fact-based information on the preservation impacts of policies and cases.

Most of these are more complex than a soundbite. This will likely mean that with many proposals, we will support them in part, and oppose them in part.

To date, we have:

• • Been commenting on Section 106 reviews
  • Working with developers and the community to help find a compromise on controversial projects
  • Providing competent testimony in COA cases
  • Answering questions from the community
  • Offering support to RHDC staff

We have been conducting highly successful awareness events, such as:

• • Hidden Gems tour series that has included:
    • The adaptive reuse of a firehouse
    • Most recently the mid-century-modern house tour.
    • The toilet tour

Lastly, we are available to you as a resource, so please reach out with questions and comments to us at: info@preservationraleigh.org

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