Presented by the
Columbia County Historical Society
&
J. M. KAPLAN FUND

  "IT'S A HELLUVA TOWN" 
VIRTUAL BOOK TALK
featuring author Roberta Brandes Gratz, Wint Aldrich & Peter Paden


“Scratch the surface of so many of the initiatives and ideas that have made New York a better place to live and work and you’ll find the deft hand of the J.M. Kaplan Fund…  New York owes much to a wise, energetic and committed woman, in this case, the Fund’s indomitable leader for many of its seventy-five years, Joan K. Davidson.”
  -DARREN WALKER, president, Ford Foundation
“In Roberta Gratz’s exhilarating account, the stewards of the family-run Kaplan Fund emerge as modern-day Medicis: patrons of the arts and artists, defenders of the natural and built environments… In the course of half a century they have raised activist philanthropy to a fine art.”
-JOHN BERENDT, author of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
aired Tuesday, 20th April, 2021
Live via Zoom
Whether you know it or not, you’ve likely benefited from the advocacy and philanthropy of Joan K. Davidson. As the second-generation leader of the J.M. Kaplan Fund, Joan has worked tirelessly to preserve historic landmarks, clean up New York State’s waterways, and protect the fabric of New York City’s civic life—and that’s just skimming the surface.

Joan has also been a longtime resident and champion of Columbia County, lending vital support to organizations such as CCHS, the Columbia Land Conservancy, Scenic Hudson, Historic Hudson and the Preservation League of New York, among many others.

Please check back for the recording of this special celebration of Joan K. Davidson and the importance of citizen activism,  and discussion of the new book about her life and career. 
VIDEO WILL BE LINKED HERE SHORTLY:
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:  
  • Roberta Brandes Gratz is an award-winning journalist, urban critic and author of the new book, It's a Helluva Town: Joan K. Davidson, the J.M. Kaplan Fund, and the Fight for a Better New York. She served on the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission for seven years, and collaborated with Jane Jacobs to establish the Center for the Living City in 2002. She lives in New York City and Chatham.
  • John Winthrop (Wint) Aldrich is a lifelong activist in land conservation and historic preservation. A graduate of Harvard College, Aldrich formerly served as the deputy commissioner for historic preservation for New York State, and is currently a Governor's appointee to the State Board for Historic Preservation. He lives in Albany and at Rokeby, Dutchess County.
  • Peter Paden served as Executive Director of the Columbia Land Conservancy (CLC) from 2007 until 2020. With CLC, he worked with communities to conserve the farmland, forests, wildlife habitat and rural character of Columbia County, strengthening connections between people and the land. He lives with his wife, Charlene, in Taghkanic. 
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Our family goal should be to search for the realization of an ideal society, knowing it is a quest that always eludes man but one that he must compulsively seek. — Jacob Merrill Kaplan