Dalia Mokayed was born and raised in Aleppo, Syria where she received a bachelor’s degree in Architecture from the University of Aleppo. She then worked for ten years in heritage conservation, rehabilitation, and city planning in the Old City of Aleppo.  She is a recent graduate of the USC Heritage Conservation Masters program and currently works for the Planning Department of the City of Los Angeles. She also recently started designing art pieces decorated with Arabic calligraphy to help keep alive Arabic culture and heritage.

Co-host Trudi Sandmeier is a Professor of Practice in Heritage Conservation, and the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs for the USC School of Architecture. Her work centers on the conservation of the recent past and the impact of underrepresented communities on the historic built environment.

Co-founder and president of the Will Rogers Ranch Foundation, Trudi also serves on the boards of the Historic Preservation Education Foundation, the California Preservation Foundation, the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions, and the Southern California chapter of Docomomo US. She co-edited the 2019 Routledge Companion to Global Heritage Conservation.

Co-host Cindy Olnick is a communications pro specializing in heritage conservation. After fourteen years leading communications at the Los Angeles Conservancy, she formed her own practice in 2018.

Cindy chairs the communications committee of the National Preservation Partners Network. She also serves on the board of Photo Friends of the Los Angeles Public Library (for whom she wrote the 2017 book, Los Angeles: Lost and Almost Lost).

A Georgia native, Cindy worked in communications in Boston before moving to Los Angeles in 2000, largely for its architecture. She loves L.A. and thinks historic places are magical.

Podcast producer Willa Seidenberg teaches audio journalism and podcasting at USC’s Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism, while pursuing a Master of Heritage Conservation degree at the USC School of Architecture.

A 20-year broadcast journalist and an inaugural fellow with USC’s Center for Excellence in Teaching, Willa founded Annenberg Radio News, the university’s radio news operation; and Intersections South LA, a reporting lab and community website for South Los Angeles.

With photographer William Short, Willa created two oral history/photo projects: A Matter of Conscience: GI Resistance During the Vietnam War and Memories of the American War: Stories From Viet Nam.