CHARISSA W. DURST
AIA, LEED AP
President and Principal Architect
Charissa holds an undergraduate degree in Architecture from the University of Maryland and a Master of Architecture degree from The Ohio State University. She is a registered architect and architectural historian with nearly 30 years of experience in architecture and cultural resources management. Charissa established the firm in 1990, and currently focuses on the rehabilitation of historic buildings, including new additions, as well as new design in historic neighborhoods. In addition, she is the firm’s preservation planner. Charissa is NCARB-certified and a Leadership in Energy Efficient Design™ (LEED®) accedited professional. She is also a founding member of the American Cultural Resources Association (ACRA).
Cathie Senter
Project Manager
After a successful career as a project manager on historic renovation projects in northeast Ohio, Cathie Senter partnered with HDC in 2007 to implement the Historic Structure Report she prepared for Five Oaks Historic Home in Massillon and to assess and prepare rehabilitation documents for the windows at the Woodward Opera House in Mount Vernon. She joined HDC full time after teaching at Belmont College’s Building Preservation and Restoration program for seven years. Cathie is passionate about building construction and a tireless advocate for historic preservation, having served for nine years as a Board member and President of the Canton Preservation Society, served on the Standards and Code Committee for Canton Tomorrow, and acted as the chief reviewer for the Facade Grant program on behalf of the City of Canton for two years.
John Creasy
Project Manager
John joined HDC after a diverse career as a Project Coordinator/Team Leader, Construction Administrator, and CAD Operator on government, educational, institutional, retail, food service, and residential projects across the country. His experience includes site and building fieldwork/assessments, preparing specifications and cost estimates, and working with zoning, permitting, and building code issues. John has managed the production of construction documents for many of HFC’s projects, ranging from interior renovations for the General Services Administration to the rehabilitation of historic opera houses. John earned a Bachelor of Architectural Design from the University of Florida in Gainesville.
Ziti
Office Pup
Ziti joined the office as a puppy in 2019 as a rescue from Tails of Hope in Cincinnati. She is registered as a beagle with the American Kennel Club for purposes of participating in FastCAT races. In 2021 was ranked as the fastest beagle in America, running just over 26 miles per hour. Ziti comes to the office every day and when the weather is not too hot, she will visit job sites as well. Ziti is also active in agility and has successfully moved out of Novice into the Open category in both Standard Agility and Jumpers With Weaves. She was thrilled to have been invited to run in the third national AKC FastCAT event in Orlando December 13-17, 2022, placing #1 for Beagles and #9 overall in Speed of the Breed. Ziti anticipates moving forward in Agility and FastCAT runs and looks forward to being invited the the AKC FastCAT Invitational in 2023.