STAFF

Ms. Susan Adler, MA

CEO & President

Susan Adler is an experienced nonprofit professional who specializes in community engagement, communications, and fundraising. Sue has many professional accomplishments in the local community including establishing Savannah’s Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure and fighting for Savannah’s tiniest citizens as executive director of the Savannah Chapter of the March of Dimes. She also directed community outreach events for Savannah’s Memorial Hospital, launching unique programs for the community.

She has served on several community boards including The Matthew Reardon Center for Autism, Horizons Savannah, and the Savannah chapter of Hadassah.

Currently she serves on the Visit Savannah board and is a member of the Downtown Rotary and the Chatham Commerce Club.

Sue holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Goucher College and a Master of Arts in elementary education and teaching from the University of South Carolina – Beaufort.

Ms. Melanie Jordan

Controller

Melanie Jordan graduated Summa Cum Laude from Savannah State in 1997 with a Bachelor’s degree in business administration and brings a vast array of business experience to Historic Savannah Foundation. After college, Jordan worked as an accountant for Dabbs, Hickman, Hill and Cannon, LLP assisting in audits, tax preparation and accounting services for various for profit and not-for-profit clients, and later as a contracted accountant with Arthur, Dana and Company. Jordan was subsequently hired as the controller at Ocean Plaza Beach Resort, where she was responsible for all financial reporting, budget preparation, accounts payable and payroll. Jordan also held the position of controller at the Jewish Educational Alliance and Savannah Jewish Federation, where she was responsible for all financial reporting, overseeing their budget process and maintaining restricted and unrestricted endowment activity. Before coming to HSF, she was the vice president of finance and administration at the United Way of the Coastal Empire, responsible for all financial reporting, budget preparation, oversight of building maintenance and rental, new hire onboarding and a staff of three, and also optimized the use of technology to automate many manual processes.

Ms. Ellie Isaacs

Director of Preservation & Historic Properties

Ellie holds a degree in Historic Preservation and minors in Architectural History and Interior Design from the Savannah College of Art & Design.  While at SCAD she participated in a Directed Collaboration Studio with the National Trust for Historic Preservation: Green Lab; culminating in a presentation at the NTHP PastForward conference held in Savannah.

Upon graduation, Ellie worked in Hot Springs, Arkansas as a historic preservationist and designer for a local architecture firm. Her most notable project was The Waters Hotel located in the 1913 Thompson Building, designed by George Mann. While there Ellie managed the seven-million-dollar project’s state and federal preservation tax credit application process and was a co-interior designer for the project.

Ellie returned to Savannah in 2017 and joined a local architecture firm as a historic preservation specialist, specializing in research, preservation tax credit applications, conditions assessments, and historic resource surveys. In 2020, Ellie joined the local preservation construction company Landmark Preservation LLC. While there she grew the consulting arm of the company which became Landmark Preservation Consulting in 2022.

Ellie meets the Professional Qualifications for Architectural History by the Secretary of the Interior. She was the SCAD Alumni mentor for her program, renamed to Preservation Design, for the academic year of 2023. Ellie most recently sat as Chair of the Savannah Historic District Board of Review and was a board member for over five years, resigning in January 2024.

Ellie has lived and worked in historic Savannah for over five years. She is proud to make her home here with her four dogs.

Ms. Colleen C. Reynolds

Assistant Director

Colleen Reynolds was born in Georgia and was raised in the historic bungalows of Arlington, Virginia with intermittent tours and travels in Europe with her family as an ‘Army Brat.’  She made Savannah her home with her husband over 29 years ago and pursued a career in the southern hospitality industry.

Colleen’s passion is working with people, bringing them together to create, to plan and to coordinate events and projects.  She thrives on collaborating with all stakeholders, ensuring the event experience makes a positive impact on all who attend while strengthening the organization’s sense of purpose.  It’s her sense of mission which drives her success. From working with group business within the hotel industry to building a successful couture interior design firm to managing the operations of a non-profit arts organization, to running an event company, Colleen is always making sure that personal connection is first, financial goals are met, trust is the foundation and tradition is honored.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Marquette University.

Colleen lives with her husband and puppies in Historic Gordonston. Her two daughters come home from college often to enjoy time together in nature, cooking, sharing a cup of coffee on their front porch and taking long walks around Savannah’s squares.

Ms. Laura Limp

Director of Development

Laura grew up in Southern Indiana in a community where Abraham Lincoln spent his youth and where his mother was laid to rest in the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial—history was everywhere! Her parents introduced her to Savannah during multiple childhood trips to the Southeast coast, where Laura carried the tradition with her own daughter as she grew up. Childhood friends still remember her goal of one day living in Savannah.

She graduated from Indiana University with a Bachelor of Science, moved to Chicago, and began her career in hospitality and meeting planning. She became a successful entrepreneur, building a lifestyle company that provided the opportunity to work for Oprah. Yes, that Oprah! A turn of circumstance brought her back to Indiana where she worked with the Indiana State Museum and Historic sites, as well as the International Center in Indianapolis. Both were development roles.

Throughout her philanthropic career, she has helped organizations develop a multi-level fundraising strategy, with ongoing stories and telling them with passion and conviction, data management, community engagement and ensuring the ease of donor giving.

In 2020, Laura moved from Indianapolis to Savannah to work with the American Red Cross. She was responsible for raising local funds to support local Red Cross services across the Southeast and East Central Georgia chapters. She was able to increase giving by 300% by year two. At four years, she continued to grow the market with increased revenue and community partners, setting the region up for ongoing success.

Laura lives on the “islands” with her two cats and pup;  her daughter, Hannah Jayne, lives in Indiana. Laura is big Allman Brothers fan, really, she loves most live music; she volunteers at Farm-Aid and the Savannah Music Festival; you may even run into her at a murder mystery event where she is part of the cast!

Kendall Graham

Education and Research Associate

Kendall Graham is delighted to be joining the team at Historic Savannah Foundation as the Education & Research Associate. Kendall came to Savannah from the Asheville, NC area and has called Savannah home for nearly five years. She holds a Master’s in Preservation Studies from Tulane University, and double majored in History and English Literature at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Kendall has extensive experience working in museums and non-profits. She most recently served as Communications & Development Coordinator at Coastal Heritage Society, and prior to that served in Membership and Special Events roles with CHS. Additionally, Kendall is well-versed in educational programming and historic house museums, having worked as a Historical Interpreter at Telfair Museums’ Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters. Kendall is passionate about interpreting our past to better understand our present, and loves conducting research to bring the soul of historic buildings to life.

When she is not in the archives, Kendall can be found swimming in the ocean or camping in the mountains, rescuing cats, practicing yoga, and reading Victorian novels.

Danielle Hodes

Executive Director, Davenport House Museum

Danielle Hodes was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana. She holds bachelor’s degrees in Experimental Psychology and Art History, along with a minor in Neuroscience, from the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina. She also holds a master’s degree in museum studies from New York University.

Danielle embarked on her museum career at the Morris-Jumel Mansion in Upper Manhattan, initially starting as an intern and eventually ascending to the position of Director of Education and Public Programs. During her tenure at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, she dedicated over three years to producing a wide range of public programs ranging from discussions on post-9/11 national security and geopolitics to artistic performances.

Subsequently, Danielle took on the role of Senior Program Producer at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, where she was responsible for orchestrating large-scale public programs, including the Smithsonian’s annual Food History Weekend. She also served as co-lead for the Smithsonian’s 20th-anniversary commemoration of the September 11, 2001, attacks.

Danielle serves as a consultant with the Institute for Disaster Mental Health at SUNY New Paltz where she focuses on identifying the training and support needs of museums and cultural institutions engaging with traumatic content in service of their communities.

Before assuming her current position as Executive Director of the Davenport House, Danielle served as the Senior Program Manager of Public Programs and Interpretation at the Edith Farnsworth House, a National Trust for Historic Preservation Historic Site.

Mr. Jeff Freeman

Director of Operations, Davenport House Museum

Originally from Richmond, VA, Jeff has been at the Davenport House Museum since 2006. After a four year stint in the U.S. Army and a 15 year career in the technology field, Jeff decided to follow his passion for history and pursue a career as a museum professional. He holds a BA in History from University of Maryland University College.

Ms. Angela Kimball

Davenport House Museum Shop Manager

Angela Kimball earned her Bachelor of Science in chemistry from Wheaton College and has worked in many business development, management and sales roles. She has also been a small business owner and is familiar with all the facets of running an operation, from employee relations to health insurance, payroll and IT. She opened a store, Anthi, which specialized in artisan-made products to complement architecture in New Bedford, MA, and ran the Cape Cod Museum of Art for five years. In Savannah, Kimball previously served as the Paris Market weekend manager.

Ms. Sheena Fulkerson

Davenport House Museum Tour Coordinator

Sheena Fulkerson grew up in the mountains of western North Carolina and northeast Tennessee, instilling a deep passion for nature and history.  While moving around the country for her husband’s career in the Army, she enjoyed the opportunity to provide a stable home during uncertain times, raising their three children, and fulfilling many volunteer opportunities.  Most notable was the two years she spent as a company Family Readiness Group (FRG) leader, where she was awarded recognition for her dedicated service at both a battalion and division level.  During this busy time, she also certified and worked as a birth doula with Birth Arts Institute and Doulas of North America (DONA).

Shortly after moving to the Savannah area in 2016, Sheena joined the volunteer force at the Davenport House Museum as a weekly docent and quickly filled the role of Tour Coordinator a few months later in early 2018.

Mr. Raleigh Marcell

Davenport House Museum Maintenance Technician

Raleigh Marcell has been the Davenport House Museum’s maintenance technician, having seen the site through hurricanes, hosts of people, and change, since 2003.

His experience includes thirteen years as Maintenance Superintendent at Mount Carmel Academy and five years as the Maintenance Tech at Shadows-on-the-Teche, a National Trust for Historic Preservation property – both in New Iberia Louisiana.

Mr. Marcell is a professionally produced and published playwright.  His four published one-act plays have been performed by over 2,000 schools, theaters, and colleges in the USA, Canada, Australia, and Turkey.  His short screenplay, Carapaces, was produced by Inward Films in the UK. His feature screenplay Elsie Venner, adapted from the Oliver Wendell Holmes novel, has been twice optioned.

Since 2003, Raleigh has successfully written history theatre for the Davenport House Museum. In 2016 the Coastal Museums Association recognized him as an Individual of Excellence for his service to the Museum