Alessa Wylie
Manager of Education Programs

Alessa Wylie joined the Greater Portland Landmarks staff in May 2015. A New York State native, she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Union College, Schenectady, NY. She served as Director for Old Fort Johnson National Historic Landmark in Fort Johnson, NY for 14 years before moving back to Maine with her husband in 2014. While in New York she served on the board of historic Green Hill Cemetery in Amsterdam, NY where she created and led walking tours, including popular evening candlelight tours. She was also part of a four person team that researched and produced a book Uncovering The Underground Railroad: Abolitionism and African American Life in Montgomery County, New York 1820-1890. She is excited to be back in Maine and working at the Portland Observatory, the very first historic site she ever volunteered.

awylie [at] portlandlandmarks.org | 207.774.5561 ext. 104

Jessie Brakenwagen
Administrative Coordinator

Historic building lover, snowboarder, and mother of two (plus one 80 lb. fur baby), Jessie Brakenwagen joins the Greater Portland Landmarks staff in this newly created position.

Originally from Ohio, she has been working to preserve history, both built and otherwise, since graduating from Muskingum College (New Concord, Ohio) in 1996. Jessie’s varied professional career has taken her from being a Maine carpenter, to an Ohio electrician’s assistant, to Boston-based genealogical society member representative.  Along the way, she graduated from the University of Vermont Historic Preservation Master’s Degree Program and worked in building maintenance at the Shelburne Museum (Shelburne, Vermont) on their historic structures collection.

Jessie and her family moved back to Maine 5 years ago to work on their own little sliver of history, a 1927 modified Cape in South Portland. At Greater Portland Landmarks, she is excited to continue learning about Portland’s unique fabric of architecture and history of place to teach future generations.

jbrakenwagen [at] portlandlandmarks.org | 207.774.5561 ext. 103