Meet Our Board of Directors
Meet the Board of CoMo Preservation which is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation dedicated to the preservation of historic architecture in Columbia, Missouri. We strive to have a Board representing the full diversity of our community to give a voice to all who are passionate about preserving our historic architecture. If you are interested in joining the Board of Directors and/or devoting your time and talents to further our mission, please contact us at CoMoPreservation@gmail.com.
Dianna Borsi O’Brien
The wizard of obscure facts, Dianna Borsi O’Brien serves as the Board’s president. The author of the 2021 book Historic Movie Theaters of Columbia, Dianna calls herself a Columbia native wannabe. A Columbia resident since 1998, she was bitten by the historic preservation bug in 2010 when she stumbled upon the connection between economic development and historic preservation while reporting on a local historic reclamation project. When she’s not babbling about Sanborn maps or city directories, Dianna can be found traveling or hiking or best of all, doing both.
Dee Wasman
Webmaster, Dee Wasman, serves as the Board’s vice president and treasurer. A self-proclaimed anglophile, Dee’s love for historic preservation was fostered through her travels. Her favorite destinations range from the UK’s Cornish Coast to Savannah, Georgia. But her true love is Columbia’s unique historic architecture and learning about the technology necessary to promote the mission of CoMo Preservation. Besides her talents at technology wrangling, Dee earned a Masters in mathematics & PhD in curriculum and instruction at Mizzou. She was a mathematics teacher for 30 years with 24 of those years at Hickman High School where she became a PAEMST Awardee in 2015. She just recently became a Columbia Certified Tourism Ambassador.
Elena Vega
In January 2011 Elena Vega moved into a historic property in Columbia and entered the world of historic preservation. She has been involved with CoMo Preservation since the spring of 2022 when it was only a dream. Elena serves as the Board’s secretary. Since retiring in 2020, Elena has been spending time helping with her grandchildren and replacing her lawn with native plants including Missouri Coneflower, Little Blue Grass, Purple Coneflowers, and as many milkweeds as possible to support native pollinators. She is also on a mission to see the National Parks.
Melissa Bernhardt
Dedicated Lab Tech with a lifelong commitment to medical laboratories. My passion for history and historic places, influenced by parents deeply involved in restoration and American history, fuels my appreciation for the past. Beyond the lab, I find joy in breathing new life into old and discarded items, turning them into functional treasures.
Julie Plax
In 2015 Julie Plax retired from 25 years of teaching art history at the University of Arizona in Tucson. In 2017, she returned to Columbia where she received an MA and Ph.D. from the University of Missouri. She now lives in one of Columbia’s beloved historic homes and plays with her three cats when she is not preserving her house! She has been active in CoMo Preservation since its very beginning in June of 2022.
Matt Fetterly
Matt was born in Columbia, Missouri, and is an 8th generation Boone Countian. He is an alumnus of Hickman High School and the University of Missouri. A lifelong love of Columbia inspired him to preserve a growing collection of over 170 books about Columbia and Boone County. A related project is collecting and cataloging books and ephemera from Columbia’s historic publishers, especially those manufactured by the E.W. Stephens Publishing Company, once Columbia’s largest business. Matt specializes in Columbia, Boone County, and Missouri history: particularly natural history, black history, indigenous history, LGBT history, and cultural history (especially architecture, music, art, theater, and cemeteries). When not playing music or writing about local history, he enjoys hiking, caving, camping, and floating, in the forest and prairies of Mid-Missouri.