Brent Kovalchik

I was born and raised in a small town in Ohio just 25 miles south of Cleveland. My commitment to community began there. It seemed be in the family DNA.

I spent my youth exploring interests in music, tennis and architecture. The architecture won out with my time at Kent State University getting a BArch degree. My time at Kent was just 5 years after the riots and deaths of the students. Graduating on the 10th anniversary of the shootings which had taken place in the parking lot right outside of the building housing the Architecture Department. This time in Kent was a time of great growth for me, partnered with a semester studying in Florence, Italy developing a broader world view.

Not long after graduating I moved to New York City to work and to study at the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies. The Institute was a think tank for those pushing the boundaries of architectural thought and design, inspiring new ways of looking at buildings and the urban fabric. I remained working in New York for many years. During that time, I attended the National Academy of Design and eventually moved to Michigan to earn a Master’s in Architecture at the Cranbrook Academy of Art. 

After graduate school, my wife, Juliet and I, discovered Red Hook through a friend. And so began over 30 years of service to the Red Hook community. Starting on the Red Hook Village Zoning Board of Appeals, eventually becoming the Chair of that board for 14 years. Then becoming Village Trustee. A position I held for 16 years, eventually getting appointed as Deputy Mayor. Recently retiring from public life, I was thrilled to be asked to join the board of Historic Red Hook where I intend to continue fostering the rich rural and cultural heritage of Red Hook and the Hudson Valley.