Lauren Fly is the founder of The Fly Arts Initiative, a fine art conservation and collections management practice based in New York City. She discovered conservation as a teenager living in Rome, and never looked back. Lauren graduated magna cum laude as a member of Phi Beta Kappa with a double major in Art History and Historic Preservation from Mary Washington College, and went on to train in the conservation of fine arts at New York University’s Conservation Center before receiving a postgraduate certificate in the conservation of easel paintings from the Hamilton Kerr Institute at the University of Cambridge.

 With more than 15 years of international experience as both a museum and private practice conservator, Lauren works with a wide range of museums, private collectors, galleries, and other stewards of cultural heritage to preserve and protect their objects. Her expertise extends beyond the practical treatment of paintings to include preventive conservation, collections management, and best practice guidance. She is an active member of the American Institute for Conservation, serving as the Chair of Conservators in Private Practice, and is passionate about promoting and demystifying conservation for the wider public.

Ana Muñoz is a museum professional, with over 10 years of experience in the field. She currently serves as the Head Registrar at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, where she leads the Loans Section in the delivery of the museum's extensive loan programs.

At the V&A, Ana is responsible for ensuring that the care and handling of museum objects during loan activities adhere to best standards, including risk management, ethical considerations, and compliance with statutory regulations. She also contributes to maintaining the V&A's Collection Management procedures and practices in line with national and international museum standards.

Ana has extensive experience in exhibitions and loans project management, working with a diverse range of museum objects and fine art, including historical and archaeological collections, old masters, and challenging contemporary art. Prior to joining the V&A in 2019, she spent over six years at the British Museum, where she coordinated loans and exhibitions. Her previous work experience also includes positions in cultural institutions in Spain, the United States, and Ecuador.

Ana holds a Bachelor’s degree in Art History, a Master of Arts in Cultural Management, and postgraduate studies in Art History from Universidad Complutense de Madrid, as well as a certificate in Arts Administration from New York University.

She is passionate for arts and culture and seeks to stay up-to-date with the latest developments and advancements in the museum sector.  She is an active member of the UK Registrars Group, and is a regular speaker at industry events, having recently presented on topics such as virtual couriering practices and the return of cultural objects in museum collections.

Samantha Springer established Art Solutions Lab in the Portland Oregon area in 2020 to provide preventive care and interventive treatment services to regional arts and culture organizations, artists, and private collectors in the Pacific Northwest Region and nationally. Her practice grows from a foundation of learning at the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation and work at institutions with broad fine art collections and organizations with anthropological collections that focus on regions or peoples typically marginalized by dominant culture including the Portland Art Museum, Cleveland Museum of Art, Field Museum of Chicago, and National Museum of the American Indian. While Samantha remains a generalist in the specialty of objects, she has a particular interest in preventive conservation, sustainability, and working with living artists and makers as a means towards preserving less tangible aspects of cultural heritage objects, such as an artist’s intent.

Throughout her career, Samantha has supported professional organizations by serving on the WAAC board, AIC Sustainability Committee, Materials Working Group steering committee, and now on the AIC Board as Director of Networks and Committees. She is widely published in topics ranging from materials testing and analysis of Asian lacquer to the repainting of public sculpture and working with native basket weavers. Currently, Samantha serves on the Arts Council of Lake Oswego in support of heightening awareness of the importance of arts in her local community. 

Brad Epley joined the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs in July of 2022 as the Head of Conservation for the Museum Resources Division, and oversees the conservation activities across the state museums and historic sites. Prior to assuming his current position, he was at the Menil Collection in Houston for twenty three years, serving as its Chief Conservator from 2006. At the Menil Brad co-directed the Artists Documentation Program, a collaborative interview program with the Whitney Museum of American Art to recorded conversations between conservators and contemporary artists documenting the material and conceptual needs of artworks to create a ‘living will’ for their conservation.

Ellie Porter is a Cultural Programmer specialising in artists' archives and contemporary art. As Head of Programme at Art360 Foundation she has delivered 46 tailored archival projects for artists and estates including Claire Barclay, Vanley Burke, Rose English, the Alexis Hunter Estate, Hayley Newman, the Donald Rodney Estate, Franklyn Rodgers, the Tim Stead Estate and the Maud Sulter Estate: see art360foundation.org.uk for more. She co-runs the Expanded Archives Network with Hauser & Wirth Institute, connecting freelance and institution-based archivists, curators and memory workers globally through a program of workshops and events. She also co-leads the British Art Network Research Group 'Art, Memory and Place', exploring artists' legacies through the lens of geography. Ellie's previous roles include Art Fund, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection and independent consultancy on archival management and preservation for artists, museums, and other non-profits and charities. In 2019 she collaboratively produced the first free mobile app for artists' archives.

Mark Lightcap is a composer, multi-instrumentalist, and Collection Manager for the Mike Kelley Foundation for the Arts.  Mark came to work for the Mike Kelley Studio as lead fabricator and project manager in 2006, eventually taking over as shop manager and head of fabrication in 2010. Following the artist’s death in 2012, he took on the role of Collections Manager, overseeing all artworks and related materials in the MKFA collection, loans, conservation/preservation, and advising on installations. Prior to his time with The Kelley Studio, Mark worked as an itinerant carpenter, art fabricator, preparatory and owner/operator of an illicit transcontinental art trucking company. As a musician and recording artist he is a founding member of the bands Acetone, Dick Slessig, and The Ecstasy of Gold. Over the years he has worked with Malmos, Hope Sandoval, Spiritualized, The Soft Pink Truth, Tom Chasteen, Mamadou Kelly, Led Kaapana, The Kronos Quartet, and Marshall Allen, among others.  He received his BFA in Music Performance and Composition from CalArts in 1989.

Martha Singer is the Director of Material Whisperer Consultation and Conservation Services, based in the New York City area. She specializes in modern and contemporary sculpture and objects. She has been working in conservation since 1991. Understanding materials, their working and aging properties as well as helping people is what Martha is most passionate about. She especially enjoys working with artists and their representatives or galleries to help them achieve their goals.

Objects conservator specializing in modern and contemporary art with a particular interest in plastics.

Rachael Perkins Arenstein is a partner in A.M. Art Conservation, LLC a private practice in the New York area with a specialization in preventive care.  She has implemented and conducted IPM programs in institutions of various sizes in the U.S. and abroad.  She worked on the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian Move Project and its extensive pest management program from 2001-2004.  She is a founding member and current Co-Chair of the Integrated Pest Management Working Group which created and supports the www.museumpests.net website and the PestList listserv.  She has held positions at the Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem, NMAI, the Peabody Museum of Art & Archaeology, the American Museum of Natural History amongst others. Her conservation degree is from the Institute of Archaeology, University of London.

Fran Ritchie is an Objects Conservator at Harpers Ferry Center, focusing on the conservation of natural history materials and decorative arts for sites across the National Park system. Fran graduated from the Art Conservation program at Buffalo State College and holds an MA in Museum Anthropology from Columbia University. She currently serves as the Objects Specialty Group Chair and is a Member-at-Large and Conservation Committee Co-Chair for the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections. Fran has taught workshops on the conservation of mammalian taxidermy in New York City, Denver, and in New Zealand, and has taught conservation strategies for natural science collections at New York University’s Conservation Program. She is a Professional Associate of AIC.

Stephanie E. Hornbeck is an art conservator and conservation consultant. From 2017-2021, she served as McCarter Chief Conservator, Anthropology Collections, at the Field Museum. From 2010-2017, she was Director of Conservation at Caryatid Conservation Services, her private practice in object conservation. From 2010-2016, Stephanie worked regularly in Haiti as chief conservator and then consultant to the Smithsonian Institution’s Cultural Rescue Initiative. From 1998-2009, she was Conservator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art. She holds an Advanced Certificate in Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (Objects) and M.A. in History of Art and Archaeology from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. The study and care of elephant ivory is a long-standing research interest for Stephanie, who lectures, publishes, and teaches on the subject. In 2019 she co-taught with Terry Drayman Weisser the SPNHC workshop “Identification, Care and Documentation of Mammal Ivories”. In 2018 she taught the Connecting to Collections Care webinar “The Care and Documentation of Ivory”, https://www.connectingtocollec...

Anne Léculier King is a Professional Associate member of the American Institute for Conservation (AIC) with 27 years of museum and conservation experience. Anne obtained her degree in the Conservation of Cultural Materials from Canberra University, Australia in 1993 where she specialized in Objects Conservation. She has held positions at The Australia Museum and the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, Australia, and in the Anthropology Department of the American Museum of Natural History, New York. Anne’s conservation treatment experience ranges from ethnographic, archeological, historical and contemporary collections, as well as natural history specimens. Anne has been responsible for the technical examination and treatment of a wide range of artifacts, some examples of which include Aboriginal bark paintings, Lapita pottery of New Caledonia, contemporary Vietnamese cultural materials, the iconic Haida canoe of the American Museum of Natural History, and the modern sculpture of Michael Richards. She has been a conservator in private practice since 2010, and joined with A.M. Art Conservation in 2020.

Paul Messier is an independent conservator of photographs working in Boston Massachusetts, USA. Founded in 1994, his studio provides conservation services for private and institutional clients throughout the world. The heart of this practice is unique knowledge and ongoing research into photographic papers. The Messier Reference Collection of Photographic Papers plays a vital role in this work.  Continuing with the private practice, Paul was appointed head of the newly formed Lens Media Lab at Yale University in 2015. He received a Masters of Arts and certificate of advanced study in the conservation of works on paper and photographs from the art conservation program at the State University of New York College at Buffalo (SUNY).

Sarah has a B.Sc. from University of Saskatchewan (Saskatoon SK Canada), a Master of Art Conservation from Queen’s University (Kingston ON Canada) and has worked in the conservation labs of the Glenbow Museum (Calgary, AB), Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto, ON), Royal Saskatchewan Museum, the MacKenzie Gallery (both Regina, SK) and National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa). In 1997, Ms. Spafford-Ricci founded Fraser Spafford Ricci Art & Archival Conservation Inc. where she remains the Principal Conservator. The lab employs 5 conservators of different specialties, the largest private lab in Western Canada. Sarah has been on the Executive of the Canadian Association of Conservators (CAC) and was a provincial representative for 16 years. She sat on the Board of the Saskatchewan Museums Association and has worked on peer review panels for grants for Canadian Heritage, the Canadian Archives Association as well as various municipal public art review committees. In 2010, Sarah received the Saskatchewan Centennial Medal for outstanding work in Heritage Conservation. In 2017, Ms. Spafford-Ricci was keynote speaker for the Canadian Conservators Annual Conference, delivering the Per Guldbeck lecture. Sarah has completed over 100 condition surveys and conservation assessments for collections in Canada and the USA, and has taught numerous workshops over the years to community museums, artists and conservators on everything from disaster planning, to storage design, to production of durable art materials, to care of mixed collections. Sarah’s strength lies in her generalist conservation knowledge which allows her to address conservation concerns for both art galleries and historic museums.

Ann Frisina began her career as a technician at the Textile Conservation Workshop in 1989 under the guidance of Senior Conservator, Karen Clark.  While at the Textile Conservation Workshop her work focused on flat textiles such as samplers and quilts. Moving on to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine Textile Conservation Lab, 5 years were spent conserving European tapestries and rugs . After interning in the Metropolitan Museum of Art Upholstery Lab, Ann moved on to Historic New England to work on upholstery conservation. In 2016 she was accepted and attended the Attingham Summer School program, which provided an in depth tour of English Country Houses. Recently in 2019-21 she served as Vice Chair and then Chair for the Textile Specialty Group of American Institute for Conservation. Ann currently works as the textile conservator for the Minnesota Historical Society, preserving and exhibiting a broad and varied textile collection  as well as her own business Heartland Textile Preservation Services, which serves local institutions.

Tara Kennedy is the Head of Preventive Conservation at the Yale Library Center for Preservation and Conservation. She holds a MLIS and a certificate of advanced studies in Library and Archives Conservation from the University of Texas at Austin, an MS in Forensic Science from the University of New Haven, and a bachelor’s degree in Art History from Northwestern University. Before coming to Yale, she was an intern at the National Archives, and worked at the Smithsonian’s National Anthropological Archives, and the Gerald R. Ford Conservation Center/ Nebraska State Historical Society in Omaha, Nebraska. She is a Professional Associate with the American Institute for Conservation (AIC). She is an active member of the AIC National Heritage Responders, a group of conservators that specialize in emergency preparedness and response. She is co-chair of the National Heritage Responders Working Group, and former chair of the AIC Health and Safety Network. Outside of her preservation work, she is a volunteer for the Doe Network, the Online International Center for Unidentified and Missing Persons.

Andrew Robb is Head of Photograph Conservation in the Conservation Division of the Library of Congress. He also serves as the Coordinator of the Library’s Preservation Emergency Response Team and is responsible for the preservation housing supplies used across the Library. He has been a conservator and consultant for a variety of institutions, including the National Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian Institution, the Getty Conservation Institute, the National Park Service, Harvard University, the University of Hawaii, and the National Diet Library, Japan. He has been an Associate Editor of JAIC, a Co-Chair of the Emergency Committee, and Chair and Program Chair of PMG. He has an M.S. from the Winterthur / University of Delaware Art Conservation Program with a major in photograph conservation and a minor in paper conservation. He received a B.A. with honors in the History of Art from the University of Pennsylvania. He currently serves on the Steering Committee of the Materials Working Group and as a member of the National Heritage Responders. He is a Fellow of AIC.

Sarah Stauderman is a preservation administrator currently working as the Deputy Director, Preservation Programs at the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Formerly, she was the Director of the Department of Collections Care and Management at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (2015-2021), and from 2000-2015, Sarah was the preservation manager at the Smithsonian Institution Archives. She has worked in related preservation industries such as VidiPax (a magnetic media reformatting company), art galleries, and art museums in development and communications.

She is a contributing editor and author to "Preventive Conservation: Collection Storage" (2019) and she co-edited the publication "Proceedings of the Smithsonian Institution Summit of the Museum Preservation Environment" (2016) available for download at opensi.si.edu. Sarah is the Chair of the Bylaws Committee (2022). She was a member of the board of directors of AIC 2012-2015. She has lectured widely on the history of magnetic media formats and was active on the Electronic Media Group. Her areas of interest include preventive conservation, conservation of contemporary media especially magnetic media, paper and photograph conservation, and museum administration.  

My first exposure to archaeological conservation was an undergraduate field school lecture in Carthage, Tunisia, which focused on how the conservation of lead curse tablets from the circus we were excavating had not only improved the legibility of the tablets but also led to new avenues of research into the social undercurrents in the Roman Empire and the horse-racing world. The marriage of practical methods, knowledge production and people-centered approaches to the study of material culture appealed to me and I was instantly hooked. I completed a Masters in the Conservation of Historic Objects at Durham University and had internships at the British Museum, Museum of London, Institute of Nautical Archaeology in Bodrum, and the Chrysler Museum of Art before being hired by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (CWF) as their archaeological conservator. During my tenure at CWF, I had opportunities to take short sabbaticals and work at the Western Australian Maritime Museum, the Bermuda National Trust, as well as the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and to work on sites in Syria, Belgium and Iraqi Kurdistan. I also taught Introduction to Conservation at the University of Mary Washington (2010-2017) and Approaches to Art Conservation at William and Mary (Spring 2018). In 2018, I completed my PhD through the University of Leicester. It focused on African American tombstones, US Civil War Monuments and the ways that identity, memory and preservation all impact historical narratives.

Stephen Koob was responsible for the care and preservation of all of the Museum’s collections until his retirement in 2020. This included cleaning the glass and making recommendations for its handling, storage, display, and movement. He also oversaw the maintenance and repair of objects in the Museum’s conservation lab, and provided documentation of such objects throughout their repair. Koob collaborated closely with  curators and research scientist to evaluate new acquisitions for condition and quality. He is an expert in dealing with “crizzling,” a condition that affects unstable glass.

A member of numerous professional organizations, including the Archaeological Institute of America, Koob is also a Fellow of the International Institute of Conservation and the American Institute for Conservation. He replaced Dr. Robert Brill as Chairman of Technical Committee 17, which studies the Archaeometry and Conservation of Glass, as part of the International Congress on Glass. He is the author of the book, Conservation and Care of Glass Objects (2006).

Koob holds an MA in Classical Archaeology from Indiana University, and a B.Sc. in Archaeological Conservation and Materials Science from the Institute of Archaeology, University of London. Before joining the Museum staff in 1998, Koob worked for 11 years as conservator, specializing in ceramics and glass, at the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution.

Tara Kennedy is the Head of Preventive Conservation at the Yale Library Center for Preservation and Conservation. She holds a MLIS and a certificate of advanced studies in Library and Archives Conservation from the University of Texas at Austin, an MS in Forensic Science from the University of New Haven, and a bachelor’s degree in Art History from Northwestern University. Before coming to Yale, she was an intern at the National Archives, and worked at the Smithsonian’s National Anthropological Archives, and the Gerald R. Ford Conservation Center/ Nebraska State Historical Society in Omaha, Nebraska. She is a Professional Associate with the American Institute for Conservation (AIC). She is an active member of the AIC National Heritage Responders, a group of conservators that specialize in emergency preparedness and response. She is co-chair of the National Heritage Responders Working Group, and former chair of the AIC Health and Safety Network. Outside of her preservation work, she is a volunteer for the Doe Network, the Online International Center for Unidentified and Missing Persons.

Eden Burgess is a partner at Cultural Heritage Partners PLLC in Washington, D.C. She practices in cultural heritage, historic preservation, art, museums, and related legal areas. Her practice focuses on legal and government relations representation for cultural heritage, historic preservation, and art and museum organizations. Ms. Burgess helps clients navigate the National Historic Preservation Act, supports historic preservation on the state and federal levels, and provides representation in Indian tribe-related disputes. She has litigated and settled complex claims involving Nazi seizures, wartime looting, forced sales and thefts. Ms. Burgess also publishes and speaks on a broad range of cultural heritage and art issues, and is a Professorial Lecturer in Law for the Advanced Field Placement Program at The George Washington University Law School. She previously taught an art law seminar at GW Law. Prior to her current position, she was a Senior Attorney at Andrews Kurth Kenyon LLP for over 10 years. Ms. Burgess is admitted to practice in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

Lauren Fly is the founder of The Fly Arts Initiative, a fine art conservation and collections management practice based in New York City. She discovered conservation as a teenager living in Rome, and never looked back. Lauren graduated magna cum laude as a member of Phi Beta Kappa with a double major in Art History and Historic Preservation from Mary Washington College, and went on to train in the conservation of fine arts at New York University’s Conservation Center before receiving a postgraduate certificate in the conservation of easel paintings from the Hamilton Kerr Institute at the University of Cambridge.

 With more than 15 years of international experience as both a museum and private practice conservator, Lauren works with a wide range of museums, private collectors, galleries, and other stewards of cultural heritage to preserve and protect their objects. Her expertise extends beyond the practical treatment of paintings to include preventive conservation, collections management, and best practice guidance. She is an active member of the American Institute for Conservation, serving as the Chair of Conservators in Private Practice, and is passionate about promoting and demystifying conservation for the wider public.