Speaker Bios

Linnaea Dawson

Silverlake Conservation LLC is a full service conservation firm specializing in the assessment and treatment of sculpture and architectural materials.  We have been in business since 2001.  The principals in the firm - Linnaea Dix Dawson and Amy Green - have extensive knowledge and many years of experience in the care and treatment of a wide variety of materials including metal, stone, ceramics, tiles, plaster, glass, and painted surface finishes.  Linnaea has worked as a conservator since 1995 and has a master’s degree in Historic Preservation with an emphasis in conservation from the University of Pennsylvania. She has previously worked for the Architect of the Capitol in Washington, DC and the conservation firms of Wharton & Griswold and Sculpture Conservation Studio.  

Özge Gençay Üstün

As part of the "Ready—or Not" Cultural Heritage Disaster Preparedness Project, Özge Gençay Üstün provides emergency preparedness assessments to California organizations that care for cultural and historic resources (e.g., archives, libraries, museums, and tribal nations). Based in Los Angeles, CA, Özge is a conservation professional with 15 years of experience working with archaeological and indigenous collections. Formerly as Associate Conservator at the Autry Museum of the American West, her responsibilities included environmental monitoring, integrated pest management, collections conservation, repatriation, and research. She holds an MA in UCLA/Getty Interdepartmental Program in the Conservation of Cultural Heritage and is a Professional Associate of the American Institute for Conservation (AIC). Özge is the Senior Field conservator at Alalakh/Tell Atchana excavation in Hatay region of Turkey.

Amy Green

Silverlake Conservation LLC is a full service conservation firm specializing in the assessment and treatment of sculpture and architectural materials.  We have been in business since 2001.  The principals in the firm - Linnaea Dix Dawson and Amy Green - have extensive knowledge and many years of experience in the care and treatment of a wide variety of materials including metal, stone, ceramics, tiles, plaster, glass, and painted surface finishes.  Amy has a master’s degree in conservation from Antioch University.  Prior to co-founding Silverlake Conservation, Amy worked at Sculpture Conservation Studio.  

Nelson Hallonquist

Nelson Hallonquist, Director of Operations and Partner, holds a B.A. in Sociology from the University of Central Florida. With RLA since 2015, he leads treatments and maintenances for the Cities of Beverly Hills (CA), Pasadena (CA), Santa Monica (CA), West Hollywood (CA), Los Angeles (CA), South Gate (CA), Oakland (CA), City of Miami Beach (FL), Honolulu (HI), Southlake (TX), Kansas City (MO), the Huntington Library, San Diego International Airport, Casa del Herrero (Montecito, CA), and many private clients throughout southern California and Nevada. Nelson is the firm’s lead sculpture painter and patina specialist. He is versed in the maintenance and treatment of bronze, stainless steel, painted mild steel, ceramic, electronic media, stone, concrete, fiberglass, wood, glass, and plaster, among other materials. In addition to treatments/maintenances, Nelson performs condition assessments and documentation, both written and photographic. He is Jahn® Mortar certified and recently participated in the Getty Conservation Institute’s “Bronze Patination for Conservators” workshop. 

Rosa Lowinger

Rosa Lowinger is a conservator of sculpture, contemporary art, and architectural materials with over 30 years of experience. A graduate of NYU’s Institute of Fine Arts, she was the founder of LA's Sculpture Conservation Studio, and currently serves as co-chief conservator at RLA Conservation, LLC (www.rlaconservation.com), a practice with offices in Los Angeles and Miami. A Fellow of AIC, the Association for Preservation Technology, and ICCROM, Rosa was the 2009 Fellow in Conservation at the American Academy in Rome, where she conducted research on the history of vandalism to art and public space. Rosa has authored dozens of articles on conservation and is a current consultant to the GCI's Outdoor Painted Sculpture Initiative and the Luna Luna project. She works regularly with artist's studios and writes about conservation for general publications. Her full length books include: Tropicana Nights: The Life and Times of the Legendary Cuban Nightclub (Harcourt: 2006) and Dwell Time: A Memoir of Art, Exile, and Repair which will be published by Row House Publishing in October 2023.

Chris Morris

As Senior Director of Preservation Programs in Los Angeles for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, I collaborate across the organization to define and implement strategies that help the National Trust achieve its mission; strengthen the national historic preservation movement through grantmaking, programs, projects, and advocacy; and broaden the capacity of the organization to work in preservation’s complex 21st century environment with a growing diversity of partners and issues outside the traditional preservation context. Now in my third year as leader of the National Trust’s Where Women Made History program, my goal is to embed the principles of truthful, equitable representation for women’s achievements across all aspects of the organization to address the deep inequities that continue to be faced by women, women of color, indigenous and LGBTQ women. The preservation movement was founded by and continues to be led by women. We have a responsibility to recognize the presence of women at virtually every historic place and site, and to celebrate their contributions as a source of pride and inspiration for the next generation of women leaders.

Elizabeth Salmon

Elizabeth Salmon is a PhD Candidate in Conservation of Material Culture at the UCLA/Getty Interdepartmental Program in the Conservation of Cultural Heritage. Her doctoral research looks to traditional knowledge for museum pest management solutions that are culturally conscious, sustainable, and accessible for a broader range of cultural institutions. Elizabeth is a Regional Liaison in Southern California for the Emerging Conservation Professionals Network. She was a 2020 Project Assistant for Untold Stories, a program that aims to represent and call to preserve a fuller spectrum of cultural heritage. She is committed to work that promotes collaboration, accessibility, and cultural awareness in the greater field of heritage conservation.

Laleña Vellanoweth

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, La Plaza de Cultura y Artes, 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.

Chris Vyhnal

Chris Vyhnal, Ph.D., is currently the Chair of the Science Department and the Philip Bard Chair for Excellence in Science Teaching at The Thacher School in Ojai, CA. Prior to joining the Thacher faculty, Chris lectured in both chemistry and geology at the Hathaway Brown School in Shaker Heights, OH, and the St. Mark's School in Southboro, MA. Chris taught SAT II preparatory chemistry for 23 years and AP Chemistry for 15 years, and he served on the American Chemical Society's High School 2019 Exam Development Committee. During a recent sabbatical year abroad in Italy, Greece, Croatia, and Cyprus, Chris designed and then implemented an interdisciplinary course for his high school students entitled, Advanced Chemistry: Applications in Archaeology and Art. Chris has been known to apply his knowledge of aqueous geochemistry to the pursuit of the perfect pint of home-brewed, German amber lager.