RICHARD WARNER serves as president of Preserve Council Bluffs, an officer of the Historical Society of Pottawattomie County (HSPC) and vice-president of the Pottawattomie County Genealogical Society.  He has edited the Historical Society’s member publication for over thirty-five years and co-authored four books about local history. He also hosts the podcast “Accidentally Historic,” produces the local history YouTube channel "Council Bluffs Revealed," and is a frequent speaker on topics of local history.  He was a recipient of an Iowa Governor’s Volunteer award in 2017.  Dr. Warner is a graduate of Abraham Lincoln High School in Council Bluffs, Creighton University (BS, DDS) and UNO (MA).

MICHELLE MUTCHLER-BURNS has served as the Secretary for Preserve Council Bluffs since 2011.  She has a penchant for nonprofit work and serves on the Board of the Historical Society of Pottawattamie County, the Fairmount Park Neighborhood Association as Vice President, past President, and co-founded the organization in 2007.   She is a Master Gardener and had also served with the Greater Omaha Cage Bird Society (GOCBS); her 28-year tenure with the organization ended with the closure of the nonprofit in December of 2023. She is most passionate with fundraising and served as the organization’s Fundraising Advocate.   Of course, with the closure of the nonprofit, comes the reallocation of the funds, and the GOCBS Board was proud to donate more than $48,000 to small nonprofits in the Omaha metro.

MARK CHAVEZ, native of San Luis - the Oldest Town in Colorado, attended the University of Nebraska, Lincoln where he majored in architecture, finishing with a bachelor’s degree in 1977.  Mark obtained his architectural license (Nebraska) in 1985, after working for 8 years as an apprentice architect.  That year, the opportunity to work in historic preservation and the National Park Service (NPS) presented itself, and Mark began a new career as a Historical Architect.  For seven years he focused on historic buildings in the NPS's Midwest Region (13 states, and 50 units in the upper Midwest, including several on the Great Lakes). Most of the duties included research, some design and drawings; many projects related to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP); and lots of time managing both construction, and architect/engineer design contracts. 

While with the Park Service, Mark spent nine years (1991 to 2000) in San Antonio, TX working at the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park.

A native of Rockford, Illinois, Michelle spent her adult years in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Omaha and finally found her niche in Council Bluffs in 2004.  She is the mother to four adult children, and “Gram” to three boys.  She and her husband enjoy working on their Victorian home and caring for avian family members. They have two Bolivian Blue and Gold Macaws, both 30 years-old, affectionately known as “Double Trouble.”

Professionally, Michelle’s credentials are RN, BSN, CCM.   She has been a Registered Nurse for more than three decades and she is also a Certified Case Manager.

Michelle’s additional interests include our very own Bregant Residence, and maintaining the Preserve Council Bluffs Facebook page, in addition to the Woodward Candy Memorabilia Collectors Facebook page.

Her words to live by…”the word ‘no’ is small and it doesn’t hurt.” 

Mark returned to Omaha and the NPS's Midwest Regional Office, to completed his career, then with the NPS's History and National Register Programs.  Rather than units of the Park System, Mark's work included NRHP and National Historic Landmark (NHL) properties in the Midwest Region - a few in NPS parks, but mostly those in private or public hands.  Mark co-authored one NRHP nomination (the Ethel Wilson Harris House in San Antonio), and one NHL nomination (the former Omaha Union Station, now The Durham Museum) - the latter co-authored with an NPS colleague.  Both nominations were successful - the buildings are now listed.  Mark retired in July 2019 with 35 years of Federal employment under his belt.

Aside from historic preservation, Mark’s interests & hobbies include: antiquing, Art Deco, railroading (Mark is a member of HSPC, and volunteers at the RailsWest Museum), model railroading, and gardening. He is a huge Frank Lloyd Wright fan, and for modern architecture, Santiago Calatrava. His “family” includes two long-hair orange tabby cats, Odie and Katrina, siblings approaching 19 years of age.