After moving to Galena in 1989, Beth worked with others on community projects, completing the City’s Historic Preservation Guidebook, and preparing a report on Historic Lighting for downtown Galena.  Beth served as Development Director for the City of Galena from 1991 to 1993.  Duties involved grant writing, grant administration, project development, and oversight of city facilities and associated personnel.

In 1993, Beth left the city to open a community development consulting firm with Monica Notheis. The firm provided consulting services, primarily to local governments, for economic development planning, infrastructure project development and funding, and comprehensive planning.  Major projects included a six-county Flood Recovery Plan (1994-95), a Housing Study for Jo Daviess County (1996), a Comprehensive Plan for the Village of Hanover (1997), and a Comprehensive Plan for Jo Daviess County (1999).

Beth worked with Notheis & Baranski, Inc. from 1993 to 2000.

From 2004-2006 Beth  participated on the development of architectural design guidelines for new residential construction on a 1500-acre area development near Sugar Grove, Illinois for developer, Kimball Hill Homes.

Beth also did research on the history and remaining historic structures on the development site, and created documents entitled “Settlers Ridge at Sugar Grove: History, Historic Assets and Trail Development Opportunities”, “Suggested Uses for Existing Structures”, and “Colonel Samuel Saltus Ingham Farmstead, Aurora, Illinois: Family History, Property History, and Potential Uses of Existing Structures”.

Other preservation work includes a historic preservation tax project for the Iowa State Falls bank in Iowa Falls, Iowa in 2010, the listing of the Henry W. Miller House on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011, and a feasibility study for the 1865-1885 John Hess Farmstead in Galena, Illinois, in 2012.

Developed determinations of eligibility for the Pringle Schoolhouse, Council Hill Station, and the Marine Hospital and in 2022 placement of Bishops Busy Big Store on the National Register.