The Dunn Foundation routinely provides consultant contact information to those seeking further information on visual pollution topics, retro-fitting suburbia topics, hands-on assistance with local community appearance issues, and teacher-training on visual character curriculum materials. Consultants are from regions throughout the United States and make their own arrangements concerning fees and payment with those seeking help. For more information on consultant contact information contact the Dunn Foundation via email at viewfinders@dunnfoundation.org
Mr. Youngken is a community planner who has worked as a consultant taking him to a regional array of communities, organizations and private clients searching for development and historic preservation guidance. He has written innovative plans to protect heritage resources, open spaces and natural amenities. Rich joined The Dunn Foundation, in Newport Rhode Island as Executive Director in May 1999. His background is in historic preservation, community planning and urban design with 30 years of experience.
Rich was the Planning Director at the award-winning Newport Collaborative Architects in Newport Rhode Island for 12 years, from 1987-1999. Among his projects were urban revitalization plans, town comprehensive plans, innovative conservation development designs, new-urbanist village center designs, greenway projects, design guidelines, sign ordinances, and historical surveys and designations. In 1995 he authored African-Americans in Newport, 1700-1945, a ground-breaking historic resources survey funded by the State of Rhode Island Historical Preservation Commission.
Rich has worked as a consulting planner for communities creating innovative visions for the future. Prior to his work at Newport Collaborative Architects, Rich was the Town Planner in East Greenwich, Rhode Island, an affluent suburb of Providence with an historic town center in need of rehabilitation. While at East Greenwich, he was instrumental in developing a model comprehensive plan for the town and served on the State Land Use Commission developing Rhode Island’s innovative enabling laws for comprehensive planning, zoning, and land development.
Rich was also the assistant director of the Saratoga Springs (NY) Preservation Foundation. In Saratoga he worked on National Register nominations, public educational programming and the marketing of an extensive historic building parts warehouse. His career in historic preservation began with the inventory of historic resources in the Adirondacks region of upstate New York, including survey work on the abandoned remote 19th century ironworks village of Adirondac at Tahawus for the Adirondack Museum and National Register nominations for the Adirondack Great Camps for the State of New York and the Preservation League of New York State. He has written numerous National Register nominations in New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Rich has surveyed and inventoried well over a thousand historic properties for state and federal agencies. He currently serves on the Board of Advisors for the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
At The Dunn Foundation, Rich has been implementing a strategic plan incorporating research on visual pollution issues and suburbia with a K-12 educational program and related grant-making. He assisted in the editing and publication of, ViewFinders Too, Foundation’s middle school curriculum on visual pollution issues. He is also credited with editing the Foundation’s acclaimed film, Community of Choices.
Rich has a masters degree in community planning from the University of Rhode Island. His undergraduate degree in art history and sociology is from Duke University. He resides in South Kingstown, Rhode Island where he has been active with the local land trust and the preservation of the cultural and scenic character of the Saugatucket River watershed.
