Liz Safanda (far left) in c. 1983 volunteering as a docent teaching children about prairie life in the 1840s in the hearth room of the Durant-Peterson House Museum.
After nearly 40 years with Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley (PPFV) as a volunteer, Board Member, and Executive Director, Elizabeth (Liz) Safanda retired in 2018.
She and her husband Carl grew up in Geneva and returned in 1978 after college and about eleven years in Philadelphia. Liz quickly became involved with Restorations of Kane County (later renamed to Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley) after returning to Geneva at the encouragement of her sister-in-law, Janet Safanda. Liz volunteered as a docent in the Durant-Peterson House Museum in St. Charles, IL and as co-chair of the education committee. In 1983, Liz joined the Board and then was hired, with her sister-in-law Janet, to serve as co-executive director in 1985. When Janet retired in 1993, Liz continued as executive director until her retirement in 2018.
During Liz’s leadership, Preservation Partners grew to operate five historic sites and be a well-respected voice on the value of historic preservation to the Tri-Cities. While she succeeded in helping to save important historic sites such as Riverbank Laboratories, the 1893 Viking Ship, and the Pure Oil Station in Geneva, she also ran into resistance with a proposed reuse of the Campana Building in Batavia and the establishment of the South Geneva Historic District.
When she retired in 2018, Liz had built PPFV into a well-known, highly respected non-profit museum operator and heritage educator.
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PHOTO: SOURCES: Liz Safanda, "Preserving the Tri-Cities: A Fifty Year History of Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley," by Al Watts, September 13, 2023; Restoration Advocate newsletters (1979-1993); The Advocate newsletters (1993-2018); St. Charles Chronicle (1972-1990); Kane County Chronicle (1990-2018).