Board Members

ARLA Contributions: Founding Member, Board Chairperson

Work phone/email: pearlpreservation22@gmail.com

Pronouns: they/them

Preferred Professional Title: Principal Conservator

Specialty: Preventive 

“Community Partner” Organization (if applicable): Pearl Preservation, LLC.

Short description of work outside of ARLA: Margalit Schindler (they/them) is Principal Conservator at Pearl Preservation LLC, a preventive conservation consultation and services firm based in Los Angeles, CA. Pearl Preservation is guided by material science, sustainable preservation practice, and ethical decision making to support and steward collections of all kinds. Founded on the Jewish value of L’dor va dor, from generation to generation, Pearl Preservation specializes in the support of Judaica and Jewish material culture. Margalit is a formally trained preventive conservator with a decade of experience working in museums and preservation labs. They are a graduate of the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation and have worked at institutions including The Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts (CCAHA), the Cleveland Museum of Art, and ICA Art Conservation. They are working to combine preventive conservation and social justice, supporting traditionally marginalized collections by sharing information and empowering others. A passion for Jewish culture has led to a focus on studying and impacting the preservation of Judaica in collections around the world.

ARLA Contributions: Founding Member, Secretary

Work phone/email: 805.290.6046/kiernan@siteandstudio.com

Pronouns: she/her

Preferred Professional Title: Senior Conservator

Specialty: Mural/Architectural Decoration

“Community Partner” Organization (if applicable): Site & Studio Conservation

Short description of work outside of ARLA:

Kiernan Graves is the owner of the private practice Site & Studio Conservation. She graduated from the Courtauld Institute of Art with a Master’s in the Conservation of Wall Painting. Her specializations are modern frescos, community-based murals, mosaics, and architectural decoration. She spent the first part of her career working on UNESCO World Heritage sites in Asia and Europe. In the US, her professional collaborations have included MoMA, SFMOMA, LACMA, and the Getty Conservation Institute. This last year, she has enjoyed contributing to teaching and mentorship programs at UCLA, LA County Department of Arts & Culture, and Sardis Archeological Exploration. From its inception, she has organized her private practice to prioritize working with a diverse group of interns, pre-program conservators, graduate-level students, conservation technicians, and artists. Believing that the most significant positive impact on the future of the conservation discipline is to support a wide range of voices and perspectives in the study and care of cultural heritage. 

ARLA Contributions: Founding Member, Treasurer

Work phone/email: (619) 236-9702 / esalmon@bacc.org

Pronouns: she/her

Preferred Professional Title: Preventive Conservator

Specialty: Preventive Conservation

“Community Partner” Organization (if applicable): Balboa Art Conservation Center

Short description of work outside of ARLA: Elizabeth Salmon (she/her) is the inaugural Preventive Conservator at the Balboa Art Conservation Center in San Diego. In her role at BACC, Elizabeth consults with museums and private individuals throughout the western region to center preventive care with the ultimate goal of making heritage preservation more accessible, sustainable, and resource-efficient for a broader range of cultural institutions. Elizabeth earned her PhD in Conservation of Material Culture from the UCLA/Getty Conservation Program. Her dissertation, titled "Traditions in Practice: Utilizing Traditional Knowledge for Sustainable Pest Management in the Preventive Conservation of Cultural Heritage," focused on how conservators can utilize traditional knowledge to address practical Collections Care challenges, particularly for culturally conscious pest management in museums. Previously, Elizabeth was a Research Associate at the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training. She is an alumna of Vassar College and has diverse experience in Collections Care that includes training at the National Museum of the American Indian, the Smithsonian's Museum Conservation Institute, and the Mehrangarh Museum in India.

ARLA Contributions: Founding Member, Events & Clinic Coordinator

Work phone/email: 213-315-9971/lvellanoweth@arts.lacounty.gov

Pronouns: She/ella

Preferred Professional Title: Conservation & Collections Manager / Conservator

Specialty: Costume and Textiles

Community Partner Organization: LA County Department of Arts and Culture

Short Description of Work Outside of ARLA:

Laleña Arenas Vellanoweth is a textile conservator and cultural worker in Los Angeles, CA. She received her B.S. in Biochemistry and B.A. in Art from California State University, Los Angeles and MA in Art History and Certificate in Conservation from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. She has held conservation positions at the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. She then worked as an independent conservator at the Autry Museum of the American West, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, and Los Angeles County Museum of Art.  During a conservation education fellowship for the UCLA/Getty Program, Laleña co-wrote the grant for the Andrew W. Mellon Opportunity for Diversity in Conservation and served as the Program Manager for its first cohort. She is currently the Conservation and Collections Manager for the Civic Art Division of the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture.

ARLA Contributions: Founding Member, Volunteer Coordinator

Work phone/email: (310) 440-6734 / emoody@getty.edu

Pronouns: she/her

Preferred Professional Title: Contemporary Art Conservator

Specialty: Objects, contemporary art

“Community Partner” Organization (if applicable): Conservation Association of Los Angeles (CALA)

Short description of work outside of ARLA: Ellen is a Project Specialist at the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI), where she develops projects to advance modern and contemporary art conservation and support its practitioners. Her favorite research activities are working with artists, especially those experimenting with materials and technologies, and creating documentation, especially of artworks with elusive qualities. Moody came to the GCI from the Museum of Modern Art in New York, where, from 2012 to 2020, she worked as an objects conservator. She completed graduate internships at the Brooklyn Museum, the Kröller-Müller Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She holds an M.S. in objects and preventive conservation from the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation, and a B.A. in art history from Pomona College. She is a founding co-chair of the Conservation Association of Los Angeles, an inclusive network of professionals dedicated to caring for art and historic materials who live and work in the greater LA area.

ARLA Contributions: Founding Member, Community Engagement

Work phone/email: npasserotti@ucla.edu 

Pronouns: she/her

Preferred Professional Title:Conservator, Associate Director for the Mellon Opportunity at UCLA/Getty Graduate Program in the Conservation of Cultural Heritage

Specialty: Objects, Community Conservation

“Community Partner” Organization (if applicable): 

Short description of work outside of ARLA:

​​Nicole Passeortti (she/her) is an objects conservator and the Associate Director for the Mellon Opportunity Program at the UCLA/Getty Graduate Program in the Conservation of Cultural Heritage. With over 15 years of experience, Nicole has worked with the Field Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Pitt Rivers Museum at Oxford University, the Kaymacki Archaeological Project in Turkey, the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, the Cantor Center for the Arts at Stanford University, the de Young Museum, and the Textile Museum of Oaxaca. Her Los Angeles experience includes contract work with the Academy of Motion Picture Museum, the Autry Museum, and the Mike Kelley Foundation. Her teaching experience includes UCLA graduate and extension coursework, and collection care workshops through the National Endowment for Humanities, Your Neighborhood Museum, and the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums. She holds an M.A. and Certificate of Advanced Study from SUNY Buffalo State and a B.A. in English from Oberlin College.

ARLA Contributions: Founding Member, Events & Clinics

Work phone/email: jen@yourneighborhoodmueum.org

Pronouns: she/her

Preferred Professional Title: conservator

Specialty: objects, community conservation

“Community Partner” Organization (if applicable): Your Neighborhood Museum

Short description of work outside of ARLA:

Jennifer Kim is a conservator working with cultural and academic institutions, communities, municipalities, and private individuals on projects including treatments, exhibitions, preservation planning, grant writing, teaching, and research. She is the co-founder of Your Neighborhood Museum, a non-profit collective of museum professionals and heritage care specialists providing museum services directly to artists and culture workers from communities historically underserved by traditional cultural institutions. Jen has an MA in Art History and Conservation from New York University. Jen has worked both in private practice as well as at institutions such as the Autry Museum of the American West, the Margaret Herrick Library, and the Archaeological Exploration of Sardis. She is currently the objects conservator at Los Angeles Art Conservation and co-director at Your Neighborhood Museum, and professor at the UCLA/Getty Conservation Graduate Program.

ARLA Contributions: Founding Member, Grants & Fundraising

Work phone/email: (619)236-9702 / lgomezfranco@bacc.org

Pronouns: she/her/ella

Preferred Professional Title: Executive Director 

“Community Partner” Organization (if applicable): Balboa Art Conservation Center

Short description of work outside of ARLA: 

Leticia Gomez Franco (she/her/ella) is the Executive Director of the Balboa Art Conservation Center. Her work is rooted in the intersection of culture, representation and social justice, all values that play a role in her position at BACC where she is collaboratively leading the 50 year old organization, through a transformative shift into a radically inclusive art conservation nonprofit. She previously served as Senior Arts and Culture Funding Manager for the City of San Diego where she led the City’s arts and culture funding program, oversaw the development and implementation of professional development, technical assistance and capacity building for arts organizations. Before that, she was co-founder and Director of Casa Familiar’s The Front Arte & Cultura, where she oversaw development and program management for multiple border art spaces as well as headed a rigorous and culturally conscious exhibition calendar with a commitment to local arts, representation, and community empowerment.  Leticia is a first-generation college graduate born in the U.S. to immigrant parents from Tepatitlan Jalisco, Mexico and raised in Pico Union/South Central L.A. She holds a B.A. degree from the University of California, Berkeley in English and Chicana/o Studies and a M.A. in Curatorial Theory from San Diego State University’s Liberal Arts & Sciences Program. She is also a two-time fellow of the National Association of Latino Arts & Culture (NALAC). Leticia remains steadfast in her commitment to use her experience in arts administration and community activism to increase access to the arts for all.

ARLA Contributions: Founding Member, Webmaster

Work phone/email: madison@losangelesartconservation.com

Pronouns: they/she

Preferred Professional Title: Paper Conservator 

Specialty: Works on Paper, Photographs, Books

“Community Partner” Organization (if applicable): Los Angeles Art Conservation

Short description of work outside of ARLA: 

Madison Brockman is a Paper Conservator with training in all “cellulosic” object types across art and library/archive collections, including works on paper, photographs, and books. Born and raised in the Los Angeles area, Madison earned a BA in the History of Art at the University of California, Berkeley, and an MS in Paper Conservation from the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation. Previous positions and graduate training placements include the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Legion of Honor (Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco), Zukor Art Conservation, The Fowler Museum, and the Phoebe Hearst Anthropological Museum. Madison has extensive experience in the areas of teaching and community outreach, including developing and implementing curricula for undergraduate and graduate coursework through LACMA partnerships with Fisk University and the Alliance of HBCU Galleries and Museums, the Getty Marrow fellowship, Arizona State University, and more.

ARLA Contributions: Founding Member

Work phone/email: ozge.ustun@gmail.com

Pronouns: she/her

Preferred Professional Title: Conservator/Emergency Preparedness Consultant

Specialty: Archeological and Organic Objects

“Community Partner” Organization (if applicable):

Based in Los Angeles, CA, Özge Gençay Üstün is a conservation professional with 20+ years of experience working with archaeological and indigenous collections, most recently at the Autry Museum of the American West, where her responsibilities included materials testing for exhibits and storage, environmental monitoring, integrated pest management, collections conservation and surveys, repatriation, and research. Özge is currently part of NEDCC's "Ready—or Not" Cultural Heritage Disaster Preparedness Project, through which she provides emergency preparedness assessments to California organizations that care for cultural and historic resources (e.g., archives, libraries, museums, and tribal nations). In addition, she is the senior conservator for Alalakh excavation in Tell Atchana, Hatay, Turkiye. She has published and presented at various conferences about conservation issues and collections care throughout her professional life. She holds an MA from UCLA/Getty Interdepartmental Program in the Conservation of Cultural Heritage and is a Professional Associate of the American Institute for Conservation (AIC).

ARLA Contributions: Founding Member, Social Media Master

Work phone/email: carolinabenitez2016@gmail.com

Pronouns: She/her

Preferred Professional Title: Conservation Technician/Pre Program Conservator

Specialty: Objects

“Community Partner” Organization (if applicable):

Short description of work outside of ARLA:

Carolina Benitez is a pre-program art conservation professional at the Autry Museum of the American West. She is a first-generation college graduate and holds a B.A. in Art History, cum laude, from California State University, Long Beach. She started her journey in the field as a participant of the Andrew W. Mellon Opportunity for Diversity in Conservation Summer Workshop in 2021, through which she was awarded an internship grant. In addition to working as a freelance technician for various private conservation studios, she has held positions at the Margaret Herrick Library, Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, The Getty Conservation Institute, The Getty Research Institute, Getty Museum, and Brooklyn Museum. Beyond conservation, Carolina has held roles in other museum departments at the Museum of Latin American Art, Carolyn Campagna Kleefeld Contemporary Art Museum, Timken Museum of Art, and the Museum of Us. She served as Co-Liaison for the Los Angeles chapter of the Emerging Conservation Professionals Network from 2022 to 2023 and has been a board member of Collections That Care since 2023. She currently serves as Social Media Officer for the Conservation Association of Los Angeles (CALA). 

ARLA Contributions: Founding Member

Work phone/email: makayla@yourneighborhoodmuseum.org 

Pronouns: she/her

Preferred Professional Title: Assistant Conservator

Specialty: Objects, Community Conservation

“Community Partner” Organization (if applicable): Your Neighborhood Museum

Short description of work outside of ARLA:

Makayla Rawlins is a graduate student of the UCLA/Getty Conservation of Cultural Heritage Master’s program. She is dedicated to advancing her career in art conservation, with a focus on community engagement and utilizing her expertise to support and preserve community collections working with both large museums and small cultural centers. Makayla holds a B.A. in Art History and Biological Anthropology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, along with a minor in American Indian and Indigenous Studies. She has gained valuable hands-on experience through various internships across the United States including the Two Mississippi State Museums, Barona Cultural Center and Museum, The Autry Museum, The National Museum of the American Indian, Sherman Indian Museum, and the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. Makayla currently works as a program assistant and assistant conservator for Your Neighborhood Museum while finishing her thesis research on basket material used by her community. 

ARLA Contributions: Community Partner

Work phone/email: 626.379.4043 / laac.conserv@gmail.com

Pronouns: She/her

Preferred Professional Title: Paper Conservator 

Specialty: Works on Paper, Photographs, Books

“Community Partner” Organization (if applicable): Los Angeles Art Conservation LLC

Short description of work outside of ARLA: 

Erin Jue is a paper conservator and owner of Los Angeles Art Conservation.  Prior to opening her practice, she worked for 13 years at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and the Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.  Erin received her M.A. in Art History and Advanced Certificate in Conservation from New York University in 2008.  She has B.A. degrees in Art History and Molecular & Cell Biology (Biochemistry & Molecular Biology) from the University of California, Berkeley.

ARLA Contributions: Volunteer/Translation

Work phone/email: yulimarluna86@gmail.com

Pronouns: She/her

Preferred Professional Title: Conservation Technician/Pre Program Conservator

Specialty: Paintings

“Community Partner” Organization (if applicable):

Short description of work outside of ARLA:

Yulimar is a conservation technician at ArtCare’s Los Angeles studio. She holds a B.A. with Distinction in Art Conservation and Art History from the University of Delaware. Her senior thesis focused on cultural institutions in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, with an emphasis on damage prevention from natural disasters. She has completed conservation internships at notable institutions, such as The Winterthur Museum Garden and Library, The Museum of Art of Puerto Rico, The Museum of Art of Ponce, The Getty Conservation Institute, and The Autry Museum of the American West. Additionally, she has worked as a conservation technician in the Los Angeles area, specializing in the conservation of outdoor sculptures and murals. Yuli has a particular interest in late 18th-century Spanish and Latin American paintings, and plans to pursue a master’s degree in art conservation to further advance her career in the field.