The Mimi Findlay Award for Young Preservationists is named for former Trustee and chair of Preservation Connecticut. In 2025, this award was presented to Christina Volpe.

As the curator and Site administrator of the Barnes Homestead Museum in Southington, Christina Volpe promotes understanding and preservation of historic places by bringing material culture to life through storytelling, digital interpretation, and public programming.

Christina came to the Barnes after working at a private cultural resources firm where she gained experience in cultural resources recordation and historical investigation for planning, environmental review, and architectural survey documents. She has prepared historical reports and inventories and has archived collections related to historic architectural resources and sites. 

The Barnes Museum occupies the home to three generations of the Barnes family from 1836 to 1973, bequeathed to the Town of Southington as a museum. In her work there, Christina oversees and manages collections and creates permanent and temporary exhibitions.

When expansion of the museum’s parking area revealed remnants of a cellar foundation, Christina initiated archaeological investigations to confirm that it was the location of a local clockmaker. She documented this work along with local clockmaking history in an article, “Southington’s Clockmaking Legacy,” published in Southington Magazine.

Christina also has collaborated on researching and interpreting the history of the Underground Railroad in Southington and taken this history to the broader community through her “History Pints” programs as well as presentations to local schools. Along with Town Historian Phillip Wooding, Christina created interpretive signs for the site of the home of Carlos Curtiss, a local abolitionist.

In addition to her work, Christina brings her commitment to preservation to the public through lectures about the importance of preserving historic buildings and artifacts and through community service. Elected to the Southington Planning and Zoning Commission in 2019 and serving until 2023, she helped to shape the built environment of her hometown and advocated for the protection of historic resources.

Christina is currently studying to complete her Ph.D. in Humanities at Salve Regina University while remaining a fervent advocate for historic places in her town.