Mount Dora resident Melissa K. Medders recently completed the Victorian Society in America’s London Summer School, an intensive program devoted to Victorian architecture, historic buildings and the conservation of the historic environment.

Held in London from June 27 through July 1, the program combined specialist lectures, guided site visits and direct study of significant 19th-century buildings and landscapes.

Participants explored architecture, design, urban development, conservation practice and the social and cultural influences that shaped the Victorian built environment.

Melissa received substantial scholarship support to attend the program and participated alongside professionals, scholars and graduate students working in architecture, planning, conservation and cultural heritage.

“The Summer School allowed me to study historic buildings directly and to learn from specialists whose work spans architecture, conservation, planning and cultural heritage,” Melissa says. “It also gave me the opportunity to consider how international approaches to the historic environment might inform preservation work in Florida and other American communities.”

Melissa works full-time as a municipal planner, with responsibilities that include historic preservation case management, ordinance interpretation, staff reports and coordination with a local historic preservation board.

Alongside her municipal planning position, she owns and operates Medders Heritage Services LLC, a Mount Dora-based heritage preservation consultancy. Her work includes historical and archival research, historic resource documentation, survey work, support for National Register nominations and advisory services related to historic preservation.

Melissa holds a Master of Science in World Heritage Conservation from University College Dublin and is an affiliate member of the Royal Town Planning Institute. Her professional interests include historic preservation, heritage planning, adaptive reuse, community stewardship and the conservation of the historic environment. She is also a business sponsor and member of the Mount Dora Sister Cities Association.

Melissa has begun exploring opportunities for heritage-related exchange and professional collaboration between Mount Dora and its sister city of Forres, Scotland.

Completing the London Summer School was also a significant personal achievement. Melissa injured her ankle immediately before the program began and reinjured it during the course. Despite the injury, severe plantar fasciitis and two herniated disks, she remained determined to complete the demanding program.

Melissa plans to apply the knowledge and professional relationships gained through the Summer School to her continuing work in municipal planning, historic preservation and community-centered stewardship of the historic environment.

“Completing the program was something I wanted to prove to myself,” Melissa says. “It was an exceptional opportunity and I did not want my injuries to prevent me from fully participating in what may have been a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

Photos: Melissa Medders