About Our Guides
Meet our dedicated team of tour guides
Lillian Dean
Lillian is an environmental planner with a background in architectural history and historic gardens. In addition to leading Cultural Center tours for Preservation Detroit, she volunteers at the Freer House in Detroit and is a tour guide at the historic Wickham House in Richmond, Virginia. Lillian lives in Huntington Woods with her husband Walter.
Rick Johnston
Rick is a lifelong Detroiter, Wayne State University graduate, and retiree of Pfizer. He and Carol now live downtown and spend time volunteering or enjoying Detroit's resurgence. Rick's goal with every tour is to help each visitor make a personal connection with the city.
Kathleen Marcaccio
A native Detroiter, Kathleen holds a master's degree in Library Science from Wayne State University, working in the electronic information field until her retirement. She has been leading tours in the Cultural Center and Midtown neighborhoods since 2004, and at Woodlawn Cemetery since 2012. Her interests include Detroit's cultural, industrial and automotive history and architecture, photography, and exploring art museums and cities.
David Pernick
David was born, raised, schooled, and currently works, plays, and volunteers in Detroit as often as time permits. He grew up in the classic Northwest Detroit neighborhood of North Rosedale Park, home to many Tudor-style and other solid, comfortable, early-20th-Century homes and a vibrant, inclusive community organization that has flourished through thick and thin (for nearly 100 years!). David is a lawyer and realtor who shares a love of late 19th and early 20th century commercial and residential architecture and design with his fellow preservationists and he has been a tour guide and shepherd, primarily in the Midtown neighborhood, since 2013.
Ken Peterson
Ken was born and raised in Detroit and currently lives downtown enjoying the rebirth of the downtown areas. He has led the Downtown Tour, the Theater Tour, and numerous private tours for over 7 years and enjoys showing people the architecture, history and revitalization of Detroit.
David Zaleski
Although Dave hails from the nearby suburbs, he has convinced himself over the years that he is a native Detroiter. He recently retired from a forty year career managing engineering and construction projects and is also a docent at The Henry Ford and the Detroit Public Library. Dave's hobbies include woodworking, obsolete forms of media format and exploring museums and other historical places.
David Ziriada
A native of Windsor, David practiced law for 40 years before retirement in 2019. He has participated in the Cultural Center and theatre tours since 2005. He has an interest in architecture but is not an authority. Input from tour participants always welcome.
Gail Powell
Gail is an integral part of our Eastern Market team.
Dorothy White
Dorothy is an integral part of our Eastern Market team.