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Our Staff
David Herring
Interim Executive Director
Formerly the Director of Properties & Programs and one of the co-founders of A.C.O.R.N., David Herring has been a resident of Church Hill for 20 years and has restored two houses during that time. He is currently A.C.O.R.N.'s Interim Executive Director. David has been instrumental in the success of A.C.O.R.N.'s Option Program and developed A.C.O.R.N.'s Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit Program. He is former secretary of the Church Hill Association and served for two years as chairman of the zoning committee of that organization. In 2006 David was nominated for the Volvo for Life competition as a local hero for his efforts in preservation in the city of Richmond. Out of thousands of entries, he was among 255 nationwide semi-finalists for this prestigious award. David is a graduate of the VCU School of the Arts with a BA in Interior Design. He was employed as a commercial interior designer before joining the A.C.O.R.N. staff.
Melinda Skinner
Communications Coordinator
Another co-founder of A.C.O.R.N., former board member, and development director for three years, Ms. Skinner is in now charge of communications. She was an early advocate of preservation and renovation as a longtime resident of Church Hill-- one of Richmond’s oldest neighborhoods-- and served on the Church Hill Association board and its zoning committee. Ms. Skinner attended Hollins College, earned her M.Ed. degree from VCU, and has spent more than 30 years as a freelance writer, creating award-winning scripts for films and videos and other written materials for museums and educational organizations. She was the Membership/Annual Fund Coordinator for Historic Richmond Foundation for ten years and Annual Fund Director at the Library of Virginia Foundation for seven years. Ms. Skinner served on the board of Barksdale Theatre for eight years and currently serves on the board of the Friends of VCU Libraries (and was a past president). She is a member of the Colonial Dames of Virginia and The Woman’s Club.
Karri Richardson
Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit Consultant
Karri Richardson is A.C.O.R.N.'s Historic Tax Credit Specialist for the Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit Service. Before joining A.C.O.R.N, Ms. Richardson served as Manager of Historical Collections for Maymont House Museum in Richmond. An architectural historian and former Secretary of the Virginia Conservation Association, Ms. Richardson earned a bachelor's degree in American History from the College of William & Mary and a master’s degree in Art History from Virginia Commonwealth University. She worked on architectural history-related projects for Colonial Williamsburg, Dumbarton House Museum in Washington, D.C. and the Hancock-Wirt-Caskie House in Richmond.
Amy Vealey
Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit Consultant
Amy Vealey joined A.C.O.R.N. in December 2007 as a Historic Tax Credit Specialist for the Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit Service. Amy is also the Office Manager for an architecture firm, Art & Architecture, Inc., in Colonial Heights. While at Art & Architecture, Inc. she has worked on a National Register Nomination and Tax Credit Applications. She received undergraduate degrees in History and Psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University and will complete the Historic Preservation Planning Program at VCU in the Summer of 2008. She presented her research on Violet Bank in Colonial Heights at VCU's 15th Annual Architectural Symposium in November 2007 and will present her current research project at the 2008 Symposium.
Selden Richardson
Architectural Historian
A Richmond native, Selden received his undergraduate degree in history from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Master of Humanities degree from the University of Richmond. He later received a master's degree in architectural history at VCU. He is the former Archivist for Architectural Records at the Library of Virginia and currently serves as the President of the Board of A.C.O.R.N. Mr. Richardson is the author of A.C.O.R.N.'s 2006 publication, Built By Blacks.