Denise Horne graduated from Willowbank in 2015. During her time at Willowbank she particularly enjoyed the courses on masonry and blacksmithing as her grandfather was a blacksmith by trade, from Manitoba. After years spent in the academic world, her transition to Willowbank opened her eyes to the benefits of the apprenticeship model of teaching on which Willowbank prides itself, where students are taught by masters of various skilled trades and simultaneously learn practice and theory. The apprenticeship model teaches a respect for the craft, skills gained over years of patient practice, and provides a foundation and deep appreciation for preserving heritage materials. It was the practical component to learning that she was missing on her career path in the heritage field, and Willowbank provided it. She also benefited from the theoretical approach to heritage conservation that Willowbank values, with its approach to understanding layered places and the fundamental belief that historic places can accommodate contemporary layers when the value of the historic place is understood and experienced. 

As part of her third year internship, she joined UNESCO’s world heritage centre in Paris, France where she learned about the challenges of evaluating and conserving World Heritage Sites. She also gained an understanding of the many ways that the World Heritage Centre supports capacity building for the conservation of heritage in under-represented countries. It was her time at UNESCO that most strongly challenged the theoretical approach to heritage conservation that she gained at Willowbank.  She subsequently undertook an internship with the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake and served as the Town’s Heritage Planner for 8 years. She recently joined a private consulting firm where she leads the heritage planning division and assists with land use planning, including development and policy work. Her time at Willowbank reinforced for her that historic places are not static and can rarely be maintained as such. Historic places are often ready to be reclaimed, remade and reimagined in a way that retains heritage value and respects the values that a community, or communities, hold. It is this framework of mind, gained from her time of learning at Willowbank that prepared her for a career in Heritage Planning.

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Denise is currently the Alumni Chair and Secretary (Interim) on the Willowbank board.