Heritage Conservation Council
HCC Council Members
Jenny Trucano Muller
Chair | Natural Heritage and Executive Committees
Jenny Trucano Muller serves as the Vice Chair of the Douglas County Heritage Conservation Council (HCC). Jenny has dedicated her career to inspiring people to protect nature and is passionate about the HCC’s work to help people enhance and enjoy the county’s landscapes.
Jenny is currently the Director of Finance and Operations (DFO) for The Nature Conservancy in Kansas, where she manages the finances, human resources, and operations for the Kansas business unit. Prior to moving to Kansas in 2016, Jenny managed operations for the photography department at National Geographic magazine and did market research for Rare Conservation.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and a Certificate in Environmental Studies from Wake Forest University, an MBA and a Certificate in Sustainability from UCLA Anderson, and a Certificate in Executive Leadership from Cambridge University.
Jenny lives in Lawrence, serves as a precinct committee person for her neighborhood, and loves exploring the county by bicycles with her husband and six-year-old daughter.
Nicholaus Pumphrey
Vice-Chair | Cultural Heritage and Executive Committees
Nicholaus Pumphrey is the Associate Professor of Religious Studies and the Curator of the Quayle Bible Collection at Baker University. Nick received his Ph.D. from Claremont Graduate University and his M.A. from Vanderbilt University, with both degrees focused on Hebrew Bible. His main subfield within Bible are Ancient History and Archaeology. Nick has over 15 years of archaeological experience and is a senior staff member of the Tel Akko Archaeology Project in Akko, Israel. Outside of archaeology, he has published several articles and one book about the intersections of comic books and religion, especially uncovering harmful stereotypes about race, gender, and religion. Originally from a tiny town in south west Georgia, Nick moved to Kansas in 2014 immediately falling in love with the Kansas prairie. He is an avid bird watcher and loves to help with bird surveys and tours.
Patti Beedles
Committee Leader | Natural Heritage Committee
Patti Beedles (she/her) works as a Research Project Coordinator for a large lab at the Kansas Biological Survey and Center for Ecological Research at the University of Kansas. After graduating from KU, Patti has spent her career studying native ecosystems with an emphasis on botany. She has worked in ecological restoration and native plant conservation in the non-profit, for-profit, and governmental sectors. Patti enjoys dragging her family on hikes to explore wild places in Douglas County, visiting historic cemeteries, listening to and playing music, and gardening
Mike Delaney
Committee Leader | Cultural Heritage Committee
Mike Delaney is a retired partner at the Spencer Fane LLC law firm in Kansas City, MO, where he practiced as a labor and employment lawyer for more than 40 years. In 2014, Mike and his wife, Kathy purchased an historic home in the Oread neighborhood and returned to Lawrence, where both had attended KU. Since then, Mike has been teaching courses in Labor Law at the KU Law School and has become active in the local historic preservation community. In addition to serving as a member and past chair of the Douglas County Heritage Conservation Council, Mike serves as treasurer and past president of the Douglas County Historical Society/Watkins Museum of History, secretary and member of the board of directors of the Lawrence Preservation Alliance and Trustee of the Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area.
Amy Van de Riet
Council Member | Cultural Heritage Committee
Amy Van de Riet is a licensed architect in Kansas. She received her Bachelor in Architecture from the University of Kansas in 2003, and her Master of Science in Historic Preservation from Columbia University in 2005. She worked in New York City as a preservation architect until 2012 when she began teaching adjunct for Florida Atlantic University School of Architecture. In 2016 she began teaching adjunct at the University of Kansas School of Architecture and Design and teaches a course in the Graduate Certificate in Historic Preservation program.