Volunteer

Volunteers are the heart of Open House New York

Our Volunteers are crucial to the success of Open House New York Weekend and OHNY’s year-round programming!

Each year, more than 1,200 dedicated New Yorkers volunteer to welcome, greet, and guide tens of thousands of OHNY Weekend participants at notable sites across the city. By helping to open buildings and experiences not normally available to the public, OHNY Volunteers promote a deeper understanding of how the city works, encourage civic participation, and meet other curious New Yorkers.

Ways to Get Involved

OHNY Weekend

OHNY Weekend Volunteers serve as the public face of OHNY by greeting guests, assisting with check-in, managing lines, and providing information about OHNY Weekend. In 2021, Volunteers also supported the health and safety of OHNY Weekend participants by helping to enforce our Covid-19 policies. Volunteer shifts usually last about four hours and take place at one location, and Volunteers have the option to help out on one or both days of OHNY Weekend.

Volunteering during OHNY Weekend is a great opportunity to explore and learn about a new neighborhood or place in your city- or to share your love of a familiar place with Weekend visitors! We do our best to accommodate requests for volunteer assignments in specific neighborhoods, or requests to work with a friend or partner.

If you are unable to volunteer in person, OHNY also has opportunities for volunteer assistance with virtual programming, as this content has become an important part of the Weekend since 2020. These Volunteers may assist with recording headcounts and view counts for virtual programs, or troubleshooting basic technology issues that come up.

Volunteer Registration for Open House New York Weekend 2023 will open in April.

District Coordinators

A core group of experienced, highly dedicated Volunteers work throughout the entire OHNY Weekend as District Coordinators, and serve as the main point of contact between Weekend Partners and Volunteers.

District Coordinators are each assigned a District based on where Weekend experiences are geographically located, and work closely with Site Partners and Volunteers within that District to handle difficult or unexpected situations that arise and ensure programs run smoothly. District Coordinators are required to have at least 5 years of experience as an OHNY Weekend Volunteer.

OHNY taps into the passion and experience of District Coordinators by seeking their input on year-round outreach and programming.

Year-Round Programming & Events

Throughout the year, OHNY hosts tours, talks, open studios, and social gatherings to introduce new developments and notable scholarship and promote a greater understanding of and discussion about the urban systems that underpin the city’s operation. We often seek volunteer assistance with greeting, participant check-in, and tour group management at these events.

Special Skills

OHNY periodically seeks volunteer assistance with photography, social media, website updates, administrative tasks, research, and data entry, especially as OHNY Weekend approaches. If this is part of your skillset and you would like to volunteer in this capacity, we encourage you indicate that on the Year-Round Volunteer Registration form.

Our Community

We are extremely proud to have fostered a community of Volunteers who have maintained a multi-year commitment to OHNY! To celebrate their achievements, Volunteers who have participated in 5, 10, or 15+ OHNY Weekends are listed below:

15 +

Mary Farrell

Susan Katz

Kristina Farmer

Paul Herther

Stephen Mack

Hal Eskenazi

Ellis Farmer

Connie Finstad

Kimberly Jackson

Beth Neuman

Olga Piantieri

Margot Jacqz

Bill Thompson

Fiona Torres

10 +

Yul Bae

Claire Edwards

Bob Gelber

Michael Hirsch

Robert Ho

Michael Roque

Bernard Wides

Daphne Jay Bell

Janet David

Karen Eckhoff

Joseph Giargiana

Ruth Gold

Ethan Lercher

Sy Lukin

Tama Lukin

Leah Strigler

Barbara Torney

Judy Claybourne

Meredith Gardner

Phyllis Goodfriend

Arleen Gunzburg

Randy Hans

Alfred Kurchin

Helena Lai

Meredith Lewin

Kenneth Lin

Agatha Melvin

Myrna Payne

Natalia Ramirez

Kent Young

Diana Zuluaga

Nina Barucco

Anthony Cartelli

Judy Chen

Nina Clasen

Moses Gates

Sheila Greenberg

Clinton Greiner

George Hall

Paul Jansen

Paola Jordan

Anthony Kratunis

Joseph Kulhanek

Trudy Marchand

Ling Mark

Arlene Matlick

Kathryn McManus

Patrick Montlary

Connie Perry

Richard Post

Linda Roccos

Debra Scotti

Carmen Soubriet

Jean Vertefeuille

Blake Wayland

Christina Williams

Jean Andrews

Sharon Bermon

Ester Carballo-Jane

Ella Cardon

Donna Cohen

Cheree Dillon

Tatyana Epstein

Ken Frenkel

Ethel Gardner

Rachel Gellman

Stanley Goldberg

Maura Graziano

Anthony Hussey

Katie Killary

Alicia Kubes

Joy Palevsky

Inna Penek

Maggie Portis

Brian Pozun

Kenneth Reid

Cindy Riley

Norma Rosenthal

Minna Scharff

Roger Torda

Debbie Ullman

5+

Carolyn Benbow-Ross

Rita Callahan

Jon Cardon

Mac Chiulli

Elizabeth Colnaghi

Katy Dobbs

Audrey Drillich

Saul Ehrlich

Patricia Girardi

Ivy Goodman

Dorothy Guild

Karyssa Halstead

John Kelly

Eva Lam

Virginia Liebowitz

Kara Maser

Bob Moore

Gloria Neimark

Joan Palermo

Pilar Ramirez

Ann Reilly

Joan Reilly

Gilbert Rodriguez

Patricia Romeu

Sandy Roth

Margit Rott

Marta Schlitzer

Phyllis Shanley

Johanna Sterbin

Nancy Tepper

Carl Tyndall

Mike Weyand

Jane Woodbridge

Catherine Young

Gregory Zaic

Eric Aglow

Eric Ball

Katrina Barnas

Claire Bellin

Elena Bloom

Ina Bloom

Susan Bopp

Eugenia Chaplin

Michael Eginton

Muriel Ellenport

Amber Eng

Elizabeth English

Janette Farragher

Colleen Flett

Pat Garland

Carol Goldberg

Elizabeth Green

Tiffanie Green

Yvonne Griffith

Patricia Guida

Betty Haber

Jason Jeanjaquet

Marien Klushin

Richard Kressler

Adriana Kubes

Karen Lubitz

Michelle Matteson

Rhiannon McClintock

Leigh Montville

William Morris

June Muller

Philip O’Brien

Charlotte Pao

Diane Patrick

Cheryl Patterson-Zaic

M Rea

Seth Robbins

Ron Roth

Marian Rothstein

Erika Rupinski

Barry Schulman

Annette Shear

Wendy Shlensky

Laralu Smith

Elsie St. Leger

Catherine Stein

Kathy Sullivan

Sylvia Weiner

Joan Weingarten

Roberta Weiss

Ellen Wolff

Marcia Adams

Tia Adler

Abigail Amsterdam

Teresa Ayer

Justine Banda

Karen Bell

Catherine Bradley

Michelle Chai

Vincent Chin

Heide-Rose Cleary

Lindsay Crozier

Scott Devine

Antonio Fong

Jacob Ford

Melissa Friedman

Anna Gago

Mark Gardner

Diana Garrett

Jane Geller

Joe Gioco

Sharon Goldberg

Darrell Goode

Roswitha Graser

Naomi Greene

Beth Haines

Marilyn Hannum

Ben Helmer

Elisa Hertz

Vanessa Ip

Nancy Johnson

Kevin Josephson

Ursula Kay

Nicolas Lemery Nantel

David Li

Andrea Lillo

Joan Lurie

Jayne Lynch

Santa Martin

Jennifer McGarrity

Sandra McKee

Christian Melendez

Ben Meyer

Daniel Millstone

Gail Morse

MJ Morton

Svetlana Mudrik

Kathleen Murray

Bindu Nair

Kettly Nau

Ming Pan

Carole Post

Sylvia Pryce

Ruth Rennert

Peter Robbins

Magdalene Roberts

Eric Robinson

Lois Robinson

Sylvia Rosu

Rachel Roth

Arlene Sandler

Herbert Sandler

Jessica Sheridan

Michelle Somers

Odette Veneziano

Christian Jay Villanueva

June Wai

KC Weakley

Tamara Whitehouse

Allan Yashin

Christina Ziegler-McPherson

Bob Abelson

Joan Abelson

Peter Adams

Gail Addiss

Grace Jean Barraza

Jennifer Bassetti

Sue Bassetti

Ari Bergen

Nicholas Bergson-Shilcock

Jamal Bing

Adam Blumenkrantz

Bob Bodenstein

Edward Bohner

Joseph Broda

Elizabeth Brody

Mary Brownlee

Matthew Brozyna

Kristine Bruch

Jeffrey Calhoun

Kirsty Carroll

Bahij Chancey

Jackie Cheong

Valerie Chicvak

Seth Chodosh

Edwin Cifuentes

Martha Coe

Thelmo Cordones

Joan Davidson

Ciara Diseta

Kimber Domke

Bree Donnelly

Allison Donolli-Lamorte

Christopher Duran

Patricia Dyett

Petrina Engelke

Edward Ertle

Polina Ezrokh

Brian Findley

Mary Foutz

Philip Friedman

Craig Fuller

Erik George

Bridget Gramling

Matthew Greer

Deborah Gul Haffner

Diane Gunther

Suzanne Gurney

Diane Hadel-Bobetsky

Karen Hester

Charlene Hill

David Hogarty

Jennifer Hoppen

Jacob Horn

Kyle Innes

Elizabeth Jaffe

Ethel Jatlowsky

Jacqueline Jeffrey

Ted Johnson

Alexandra Johnston

Kathy Jolowicz

Coco Kanakis

Jenny Kane

Deborah Kapell

Nancy Karg

Heidi Katterhenry

Arthur Katz

Renee Kessinger

Susanne Koster

Alice La-brie

Eilene Lauer

Ron Lauer

Carolyn Lee

Tiffany Lee

Roberta Levine

Sara Levine

Kimberly Lin

Wendi Liu

Susan Lustig

Tobias Lustig

Amritha Mahesh

Christine Mahoney

Sharon Meyer

Lynn Michaels

Michael Morelli

Carol Morry

Kelly Murphy

Dmitry Naidionov

Nancy Nguyen Watiker

Gaby Niemeier

Barbara Odwak

Mary Ogorzaly

Christine Pao

Marilyn Papas

Marion Pearce

Sara Perkins

Michelle Pizzimenti

Randy Plemel

Jennifer Romeo

Ira Rosen

Susan Rosen

Dennis Rosenthal

Ritu Saheb

Julia Sahin

Francie Scanlon

Joan Schiller

Alan Schlesinger

Emily Schmidt

Martin Schneit

Nadia Severina

Jacqueline Shaw

Rosalie Shields

Amy Shulman

Lory Skwerer

Patrick Smith

Elaine Stanley

Karol Stonger

Jason Sudik

Lois Surmacewicz

Iris Talesnick

Mary Tao

Margot Tohn

Janice Tsao

Laura Wagner

Hua Wang

Stacie Wax

Joy Weeeng

Katherine Winkleman

Pia Yasay

Barbara Zimmerman

Suzanne Zuckerman

Eileen Ahearn

Jordan Auslander

Amanda Bennett

Neil Benowitz

Philip Betheil

Jill Blackford

Duane Blue Spruce

Ellen Bochner

Jennifer Brown

Rachel Buchanan

Elise Burton

Susan Butterick

Sophie Buttiens

Maryann Byrnes-Alvarado

Berclee Cameron

Greg Caputo

Rocco Cetera

Hubert Chang

Kerry Chrystal

Evette Clarke

Marsha Cohen

Aldyth Coler

Santanna Cowan

Alba Cruz

David Cunningham

Sarah Cunningham

Barbara Curry

Lilyan Deangelis

Richard Drezen

Phyllis Eckhaus

Elizabeth Eiser

Ellen Elkins

Alexandra Ellis

Richard Elrauch

David Erickson

Wendy Felton

Aaron Foley

Sandy Foutz

Katie Garde

Caroline Gerkis

Aleksandra Gofman

William Gordon

Kathleen Hachmeyer

Sarah Hahn

Ronnye Halpern

Eric Hollander

Edward Holtzmann

Jill Horn

Randalle Hughes

Barbara Jiang

Gregory Jones

Judy Jones

Ruth Kassanga

Edith Kealey

Randall Kellogg

Karen Kennedy

Nathan Kensinger

Drew Kerr

Kevin Kochel

Pavla Kochel

Robert Lamphier

Samantha Langer

Serena Lavine

Nicole Lee

Jennifer Lerud

Elinor Levin

Catie Liken

Yi-ching Lin

Alexandra Lind

Marie Logiudice

David Long

Patricia Lozano Quintana

Lauren Lucchesi

Eric Lustig

Lori Lustig

Ruben Maldonado

Brenda McCall

Arlene Mehlman

Leila Meltzer

Linda Morgan

Anja Murke

Katherine O’Kelly

Chris O’Neil

Lisa Park

Samantha Peek

Aya Port

Carol Poticny

Eric Quick

Kate Reggev

Jack Richards

Laura Rivas

Kathy Robatel

Nicolas Robatel

Suzanne Rockman

Kathleen Rogers McInerney

Courtney Ryan

Judith Ryan

Suchi Sanagavarapu

Alexander Schkrutz

Lenore Schlossberg

Kari Scuglik

Phyllis A. Sears

Alex Shaurette

Terry Shtob

Karolyn Silver

Nina Skriloff

Fidencia Solomon

Jen Spano

Ashley Spatafore

Ralph Spielman

Katherine St. John

Anna Stancioff

Janet Stark

Stephen Symbolik

Marc Sznajderman

Marivic Tagala

Harriette Tax

Judi Tolnai

Harry Tom

Jim Tormey

Megan Walsh

Mark Weinstein

Suzanne Welker

Karl White

Jacqueline Williams

Jolie Woodson

Kathryn Yu

Donna Zelle

If you have questions about your Volunteer tenure, please email us at volunteer@ohny.org.