One Class, and a Bold Career Move: Leslie Milton’s Story
Leslie works alongside instructor Nathanael Ulfers. Ulfers is a Virginia-based historic preservationist, woodworker, and timber framer whose work has included Mount Vernon, Montpelier, Menokin, and other preservation projects in the U.S. and abroad. Watch this video to learn more about Nathanael and his career in historic preservation.
How She Found a New Career in Historic Preservation
For more than 27 years, Leslie Milton built a career with Starbucks. She enjoyed the work, especially helping people grow in their jobs, but over time she began to realize there was something missing.
“What I accomplish at the end of the day, you don’t see,” Leslie says. “I don’t get to look at something and say, ‘Oh, I made that, and here it is.’” She was looking for something more tangible. She just didn’t know yet what that would be.
That began to change when Leslie, who lives in Wisconsin, signed up for the Historic Windows and Doors course at the Sam Beauford Woodworking Institute in July, 2026. She had almost no previous experience. Her last formal woodworking education had been middle school shop class, where she made a trivet.
That was it.
Starting With an Old House
Leslie’s interest in the class started, in part, at home. Her house was built in 1864 and still has many of its historic windows and doors. Like most old houses, it also has plenty of things that need attention. She had considered signing up for one of SBWI’s introductory classes first, but the timing of the Historic Windows and Doors course worked better. And the subject sounded too interesting to pass up.
“When I read the prerequisites, it sounded like I probably didn’t belong in that class,” she says. “But I thought maybe you would let me in.”
So she signed up. Sometimes, you just have to jump.
Feeling Completely Out of Place
“It was definitely not the first day,” Leslie says when asked when the class started to feel right. “I was way in over my head.” She remembers feeling frustrated with herself for even attempting it. There were students in the room who already worked professionally in construction and preservation, including contractors and people with the National Park Service. They knew the tools. They knew the terminology. Leslie was starting from the beginning.
Leslie works on a traditional wood sash during the Historic Windows and Doors course
But something important happened during those first few days. Instead of making her feel like she did not belong, the other students helped her. “They were so willing to help and just give confidence,” Leslie says. “Just say, ‘Hey, you’re on the right track. You’re doing it.’” By the end of Tuesday and the beginning of Wednesday, she started seeing a change.
Her window was beginning to look like everyone else’s. “I started feeling like, ‘Oh, okay, I understand how this goes together. I can see how this is going to fit,’” she says. “It started looking more and more beautiful, and I got a little bit more confident.”
That was the moment when things began to click.
Making Something Real
For Leslie, the class became about more than learning how to construct and repair a historic window. She liked the feeling of working with her hands. She liked seeing progress. She liked knowing what needed to happen next. “When I was working with the window and I was learning how to use some of the tools, it felt real,” she says. “I could see my progress.” Then she adds something that, looking back, explains almost everything that came next.
“That feeling, I want more of that.” The class also changed the way she looked at the buildings around her. Now when Leslie sees an old window, she notices the muntins, rails and stiles. She thinks about how the pieces fit together and how the sash could be repaired or reglazed. Even doors suddenly looked different.
Before the class, Leslie says she assumed an old door was basically one solid piece of wood with decorative details carved into it. She had no idea how many individual pieces went into traditional door construction. “It totally changed my perspective of what even these things are,” she says. And that curiosity did not disappear when the class ended. It grew.
Learning From People Who Love the Work
The people teaching the course also had an impact on Leslie. Historic preservationist Nathanael Ulfers led the class, sharing techniques from a career spent working on historic buildings and traditional architecture. Leslie was especially struck by the passion he brought to the subject.
“The class was, I think, even more impactful because not only did you have an instructor who knew what he was doing, but that’s his life’s work,” she says.
The class also included conversations with other preservation professionals, including Ryan Prochaska , whose discussion with Nathanael left a lasting impression on her.
“The two of them talking was inspirational,” Leslie says. “Just the passion that people have for these old buildings and how to maintain them.”
That passion was contagious. By the time Leslie went home, historic preservation no longer felt like something she simply admired. It felt like something she wanted to be part of.
Making the Call
After the class, Leslie began researching preservation companies and looking for ways to enter the field. Then she did something bold. She cold-called a historic preservation company in Milwaukee. Leslie was not responding to a job posting, she simply asked whether there might be a position, an apprenticeship, or some way she could learn.
She was upfront about her background. “I’m not a candidate that you would typically find looking to come into your business,” she remembers telling them. She explained what she thought she could bring to the company. She also explained what she didn’t know. That list was longer. Still, the conversation went well.
Then she waited. And waited. Eventually, Leslie assumed nothing was going to come from it. She chalked it up as an interesting conversation and moved on. Then the phone rang. The company wanted to talk again.
A New Career in Milwaukee
That conversation eventually led to a job offer. Leslie accepted. Her new role will include historic window attunement and preservation work in Milwaukee, with opportunities to learn other parts of the company’s work as well.
The company handles restoration and preservation projects including windows, exterior carpentry, porches, decorative details and other historic building elements. Leslie will have the opportunity to learn the different parts of the business and eventually spend more time in the area that fits her best. She already has a favorite. “I’m weirdly passionate about windows now,” she says. “That’s where I really want to focus.”
It is a remarkable shift. A few months earlier, Leslie was wondering whether she even belonged in a week-long class. Now she is beginning a career in the field.
Leaving 27 Years Behind
The excitement does not mean the decision has been easy. Leaving a career after 27 years is complicated. Leslie describes the transition as bittersweet. “I’ve put my whole life into this other career for 27 years,” she says. “Wrapping that up is hard.”
Starbucks had been good to her. It gave her stability, opportunities and a career she was proud of. But it also gave her the ability to recognize when it was time for something different. Leslie says she is especially grateful to have a supportive partner who encouraged her to take the leap. The decision was, in her words, a “big, scary, crazy thing.”
But the reasoning was simple. “You only have one life.” So they decided to do it.
Why Preservation Matters
As Leslie learned more, she also began to understand how important preservation skills are. Historic buildings cannot simply be recreated whenever something goes wrong. The materials are different. The craftsmanship is different. And in many cases, the knowledge needed to repair them properly is becoming harder to find. “Nothing is made the way it used to be made,” Leslie says.
She sees historic buildings as resources that can often continue serving communities for generations if people know how to care for them. “We have these buildings, and they can be repaired,” she says. “A lot of them can be kept in great condition to last for another hundred years or probably longer.”
Now, she also sees mistakes differently. She looks around her own 1864 house and recognizes repairs she once attempted without fully understanding the problem. “I can see the damage that I’ve done,” she says. “Hopefully I will be able to redo that mistake and get it a little bit healthier.” That new knowledge feels empowering. And soon, it will be her job.
Being Willing to Be a Beginner
One of the things Leslie appreciated most about her time at SBWI was that she was allowed to start without already knowing everything. She was a beginner in a room with people who had far more experience. And it was okay.
Leslie, instructor Nathanael Ulfers, and fellow students from the Historic Windows and Doors course stand with a traditional wood door they constructed during the week-long class
That experience shaped the advice she would give someone else who is nervous about signing up for a class. “Jump in,” she says. Ask whether the class is right for you. Ask for help. And then try. “The amount of help that I found made it incredibly doable,” Leslie says. “And I haven’t had that much fun in forever.”
She also believes places where adults can explore a trade in a short, intensive format are important. For Leslie, finding that opportunity had been surprisingly difficult. Technical colleges often offer longer career programs, but she was looking for a way to explore the work before committing to an entirely new direction. SBWI gave her that jumping-in point. “Thank you for having this class,” she says. “Thank you for having this school.”
Finding How Good It Felt
At the end of the interview, Leslie returned to something she wanted SBWI to understand. Her new career was not something that had already been in motion before she arrived. The class really did change things. “When I made this decision and took this new position, it was because of taking the class and finding how good it felt,” she says. That feeling turned into curiosity. Curiosity turned into a phone call. The phone call turned into an opportunity. And the opportunity became a new career.
A few months ago, Leslie Milton walked into SBWI’s Historic Windows and Doors class wondering whether she had enough experience to be there. Soon, she will walk into a historic preservation company in Milwaukee as its newest employee. She knows there is a lot left to learn. That is part of the excitement. After 27 years in one career, Leslie is becoming a beginner again. This time, she knows exactly why. She found work that feels real.
And she cannot wait to see where it leads.
Special thanks to Leslie for sharing her inspiring story with us!