Technical Professionals
Jaclyn E. Lillis, Archaeologist
517-788-3550 ext 20
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Ms. Lillis serves CCRG’s clients as project archaeologist. She has been involved in all facets of archaeological investigations, including fieldwork as a technician, crew chief, and field director, report authorship, and laboratory analysis. Ms. Lillis’ primary experience is on prehistoric and historic sites in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Illinois. Ms. Lillis also served as a teaching assistant and undertook internships at the Milwaukee Public Museum and the Michigan State University Museum.
Ms. Lillis was the primary author of an evaluation of the cultural resources along State Highway 29 through Marathon and Shawano Counties, Wisconsin. She also contributed to the report preparation for the Enbridge Pipeline project in Wisconsin and the Rockies East Pipeline project in Illinois.
Rachel Bankowitz, Architectural Historian
517-788-3550 ext. 22
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Ms. Bankowitz, CCRG’s architectural historian, has extensive experience documenting rural, suburban and urban above-ground resources throughout the Great Lakes region. She is especially familiar with urban and rural resources located in Indiana and Ohio. Ms. Bankowitz serves clients by preparing environmental compliance reports, National Register of Historic Places nominations and Historic American Building/Historic American Engineering Record documentation.
Ms. Bankowitz has authored or co-authored more than 50 Section 106 review survey reports for both public and private entities, including the Department of Transportation of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin, the Department of Natural Resources of Ohio and Wisconsin, Consumers Energy and Rickenbacker International Airport in Columbus, Ohio.
Perhaps the most unique project taken on by Ms. Bankowitz was the Historic American Engineering Record documentation required for the decommissioning of the Big Rock Point Nuclear Power Plant facility in Charlevoix, Michigan. This project required extensive use of archival materials including maps, photographs, and drawings due to the partially demolished state of the resource at the onset of the project.
Cheryl A. Chidester, Preservation Planner
M.S. Historic Preservation, 2007; B.F.A., Graphic Design, Painting, 1981
Architectural historian Cheryl Chidester provides a full range of preservation planning services for CCRG’s clients. She is experienced in grant-writing, Section 106 reviews, architectural/historical surveys, oral history interviews, historic district delineations and National Register of Historic Places determinations.
Ms. Chidester has experience documenting residential, commercial, and industrial properties, in both suburban and urban settings, in Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana. She is a member of numerous professional societies, including the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Michigan Historical Preservation Network and the Association of Midwest Museums.
Mary Lynn Jeakle, Laboratory Director/Logistics Coordinator
517-788-3550 ext 19
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As CCRG’s laboratory director, Ms. Jeakle directs a staff of laboratory assistants in properly preparing and curating artifacts, as well as field and laboratory documents. She sees that all field projects are equipped with the necessary technical and safety gear, and she uses her extensive field experience to help direct archaeological projects.
A member of many societies including the Michigan Archaeological Society and the Society for American Archaeology, Ms. Jeakle is responsible for the analysis of ceramics, lithics, glass beads and trade goods; processing and curating of artifacts; processing flotation sample; data base management; report writing; literature searches; photography of artifacts; and field logistics and field laboratories.
Technical Administrative and Senior Office Staff
Donald J. Weir, President
517-788-3550 ext. 12
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CCRG’s founder and president, Donald Weir has been actively involved in Great Lakes regional archaeology since the early 1970s. Weir has served on the boards of many professional organizations, including the Society of Professional Archaeologists, the Society for American Archaeology and the Conference on Michigan Archaeology. He is listed on the Register of Professional Archaeologists and he served as a member of the Michigan State Historic Preservation Review Board. Mr. Weir has been the major author of over 75 technical reports and published articles, and 10 papers presented at professional meetings.
Today, Mr. Weir maintains a vital role in CCRG’s as the project manager/project coordinator for their various cultural resources projects, such as surveys of above-ground resources, Phase I, II and III archaeological investigations, and NRHP assessments.
Andrew J. Weir, Vice President
517-788-3550 ext. 14
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Mr. Weir is vice president and regional director of CCRG’s Jackson, Michigan, headquarters. Mr. Weir maintains close contact with CCRG’s clients to design project that fit their unique needs. He is also CCRG’s underwater archaeologist, specializing in the archaeology of the Great Lakes.
Most recently, Mr. Weir completed an evaluation of maritime resources in Lake Erie near Monroe, and he served as underwater archaeologist for the Phase II excavation and mapping of The Montana in St. Louis, Missouri. Mr. Weir also served as project archaeologist for the Phase III data recovery at the Middle Woodland Converse Site (20KT2) in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Mr. Weir is the author/co-author of numerous technical reports, including section of the official state site report for the Millecoquin Vessel Site and numerous other maritime archaeological reports, and has presented papers at professional meetings.
Elaine H. Robinson, Director, Historic Preservation Planning/Senior Architectural Historian
517-788-3550 ext. 23
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Ms. Robinson is CCRG’s director of historic preservation planning and senior architectural historian. Currently serving as the vice president of the Michigan Alliance for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage and the Communications Committee Chair for the Michigan Historic Preservation Network, past positions include board member for the Metropolitan Detroit Preservation League and chairperson for Preservation Wayne. She is also the author or co-author of over 115 technical reports.
Ms. Robinson has completed many complex projects, including a combined project that entailed 51 miles of survey in both rural and suburban areas. A recent project required Ms. Robinson to undertake the reconnaissance level survey of above-ground resources along just over 200 miles of pipeline right-of-way for the Rockies East Express Pipeline in Illinois. This project included identification of 48 resources, resulting in the potential determination of eligibility for two resources.
Sonda S. Raby, Office Manager/Accountant
517-788-3550 ext 13
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Ms. Raby received her B.A. in accounting from Hillsdale College and serves as CCRG’s staff accountant and office manager. She offers CCRG and its clients more than 10 years of experience in job cost accounting and analysis.
James B. Montney II, Graphic Design/GIS Technician
517-788-3550 ext. 11
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Mr. Montney is CCRG’s computer systems administrator; he coordinates CCRG’s graphic design and serves as the Geographic Information System (GIS) technician. His professional skills include cartography and geospatial modeling (GPS and GIS), laboratory analysis and archaeological field methods. His thesis for industrial archaeology involved creating an archaeological GIS for Ontonagon County, Mich., predictive modeling of historic mining and logging activities, and 3D models of the Norwich Mine on Ontonagon County, Mich.
Nancy F. Demeter, Technical Editor/Director of Production
517-788-3550 ext. 33
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As CCRG’s technical editor and director of production, Ms. Demeter provides editorial services and manages the production tasks for the Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois and New York offices. Ms. Demeter works closely with CCRG’s graphics and documentation professionals to maintain quality control and timely production. In addition to her editorial responsibilities, Ms. Demeter provides compliance services for CCRG’s clients, including preparing Historic Properties Management Plans and Cultural Resources Management Plans, Memoranda of Agreement documents and case reports, and she prepares and conducts cultural resources training for many of CCRG’s clients. She is trained in Section 106 Compliance and has completed specialized training in preparing regulatory documentation.
Ms. Demeter is the author of numerous technical reports and compliance documents, and technical editor for over 200 single and multi-volume technical reports, seven National Register of Historic Places Nomination forms, and two Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record projects. She is also the founder and past editor of Datum Points-MAS, the newsletter of the Michigan Archaeological Society.
Cynthia White, Secretary/Report Production
517-788-3550 ext. 10
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Ms. White has been with CCRG since its founding in 1988, offering clients expert technical report production and coordination services. Her expertise includes production of a wide variety of technical documentation ranging from single-page summaries to multi-volume, graphic-intensive technical reports. Her exacting standards ensure that CCRG’s clients receive precisely produced documentation that meets or exceeds all agency reporting standards. Ms. White is skilled in all facets of computerized publishing applications, and she has received certificates in business communication, word processing, and database applications.
