Speaker Bios

Malaika Abramson (she/her) completed her bachelor's degree at the UCLA in 2023 with majors in art history and anthropology. She discovered her passion for conservation when she interned with the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History through the Conservation Internship for Broadening Access in the summer of 2024 and went on to intern with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art as a collections management intern for works on paper in the fall of 2024. Malaika is currently a conservation technician at LA Art Labs, where she continues to grow her knowledge of conservation techniques and plans to pursue a graduate degree to further her education in the field. 

Katya Birukova (she/her) is a paintings conservator with over a decade of international experience in the conservation of easel paintings, icons, murals, and gilded frames. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Painting Conservation from the St. Petersburg Stieglitz State Academy of Art and Design, where she also taught conservation theory and practice before relocating to the United States. Her professional background includes the conservation of historic interiors at the Yusupov Palace and the Sheremetevsky Palace Museum of Music in St. Petersburg, as well as private practice in Russia and Europe. After moving to the U.S., she served as an Associate Paintings Conservator at the Williamstown + Atlanta Art Conservation Center, working closely with institutions such as the High Museum of Art and supporting regional collections throughout the Southeast. Now based in Los Angeles, she works collaboratively with LA Art Labs, contributing to projects for local museums, contemporary artists, and  private collections. Katya is a member of the American Institute for Conservation (AIC) and the International Council of Museums (ICOM-RU).

Les Borsay is the Emergency Planning Specialist for the J. Paul Getty Trust Security & Visitor Services Department, handling emergency preparedness for the Getty Center and Getty Villa in Los Angeles. He has been with the Getty since 2000 and involved in emergency preparedness for the Trust since 2014. He sees emergency preparedness as an ever-evolving challenge that goes beyond structural planning and includes the training of staff for their own preparedness not only in the workplace but in their homes. When not working, Les enjoys cycling, triathlons, and time with his wife and daughter.

Madison Brockman (they/she) holds a MS in Paper Conservation from the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation. Born and raised in the Los Angeles area, Madison earned a BA in the History of Art at the University of California, Berkeley, and has worked at LACMA, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and more.

Elyse Driscoll (she/her) is Associate Conservator in the Department of Conservation and Preservation at the Getty Research Institute. She specializes in works on paper with a strong interest in prints and printmaking. She has previously held paper conservation positions at the Brooklyn Museum and the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City. She holds an MA and CAS in Art Conservation with a specialization in works on paper from SUNY Buffalo State University and a BFA from Pratt Institute. Her training included graduate internships at the Morgan Library & Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Williamstown Art Conservation Center.

Abby Duckor (she/her) is an Objects Conservator, working at Fine Arts Conservation since 2021. She received her M.A. in Principles of Conservation in 2014 and M.Sc. in Conservation for Archaeology and Museums in 2016 from University College London. She previously worked at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art for five years as a Mellon Fellow, Assistant and then Associate Objects Conservator. When she is not at the studio, you can find her surfing Southern California’s beautiful coast or throwing on her pottery wheel. 

Dr. Ruth del Fresno-Guillem (she/her) is a contemporary art conservator and researcher based in Canada, working internationally in private practice. Her research and professional practice focus on the preservation, documentation, and interpretation of contemporary art, with a particular emphasis on artist collaboration and the ethical dimensions of conservation. She earned her Ph.D. in Conservation from the Universitat Politècnica de València (Spain), where she specialized in the use of the artist’s interview as a methodological tool in conservation. Dr. del Fresno-Guillem is an active member of VoCA (Voices in Contemporary Art) and collaborates in delivering the Spanish-language edition of its Artist Interview Workshop. She collaborates with institutions such as the Art Gallery of Ontario, Qatar Museums, the Diriyah Biennale Foundation, and conservation studios, including LA Art Lab. She also works closely with private collectors and artists. Dr. del Fresno-Guillem regularly publishes and lectures in academic and professional contexts, and promotes open access to artist interviews and documentation through her platform TestimoniArt. Ruth is a member of the American Institute for Conservation (AIC) and the International Council of Museums (ICOM-CA).

Kiernan Graves is the owner of Site & Studio Conservation. She graduated from the Courtauld Institute of Art with a Masters in the Conservation of Wall Painting. Her specializations are lime-based wall paintings and public art. 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, and the Getty Conservation Institute. Over the past year, she has enjoyed contributing to teaching and mentorship programs at UCLA, Los Angeles Department of Arts and Culture, and Sardis Archeological Exploration, as well as her involvement with Art Recovery LA.

Amy Green is a ceramic specialist. She has a Master of Arts degree in Decorative and Architectural Tile Conservation from Antioch University. She also has a degree in Ceramics from the University of Michigan and a Certificate in Historic Preservation from the USC School of Architecture. Amy came to the field of conservation as a ceramic artist with a strong working knowledge of clay and glaze chemistry.

Katharyn Hernandez (she/they) is a painting conservator in private practice working at The Conservator’s Easel under Linnaea Saunders. She has undergraduate degrees from Rice University in Chemistry and Art History and a Master’s Degree in Art Conservation from Queen’s University.

Erin Jue (she/her) established Los Angeles Art Conservation (LAAC) with Jennifer Kim in 2010 as a firm specializing in paper and objects conservation. They bring our collective 30+ years of museum expertise to the private sector and are dedicated to maintaining institutional conservation standards in all our work. As native Angelinos, they are committed to serving our community through public outreach and conservation education.

Jennifer Kim (she/her) is the objects conservator at Los Angeles Art Conservation (LAAC) and co-director at Your Neighborhood Museum. Jen has an MA in Art History and Conservation from New York University. 

Kamila Korbela (she/her) founded LA Art Labs LLC (LAAL), a leading art conservation laboratory offering specialized conservation and restoration services for paintings, sculptures, and mixed-media objects to private collectors, museums, and cultural institutions throughout California and beyond. The lab seamlessly blends technical expertise with a profound respect for the creative essence of each artwork, employing innovative conservation techniques that combine traditional methods with advanced technology. With two decades of experience, Kamila M. Korbela has conserved artworks in encyclopedic collections across Europe, America, and Asia. She holds a German graduate degrees in Art Conservation and has held positions at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Balboa Art Conservation Center, the National Gallery of Denmark, and the German government to name a few. Her projects range from local treatments to international collaborations, including an ongoing U.S. Department of State-funded conservation initiative at the Bengal Foundation in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Alongside her hands-on work, she is deeply committed to building strong relationships between artists, collectors, art professionals and institutions to ensure the long-term preservation of cultural heritage which also encompasses disaster planning, preparedness, recovery and management. Under Kamila’s leadership, LAAL has become a trusted resource for resolving complex conservation challenges. The studio is particularly recognized for its expertise in emergency and disaster recovery of large collections, including fire and water damage remediation.

Rio Lopez (she/her) is an objects conservator and holds a M.A./C.A.S. in Art Conservation from SUNY Buffalo State College.  She has worked in both private practice and institutions throughout the Los Angeles area.  

Lillian Liu (she/they) is an emerging conservation professional and recent graduate of Cornell University, where they earned a BS in Urban and Regional Studies with a minor in Art History. They are currently pursuing further study in Jewelry Design at Otis College of Art and Design and gaining hands-on experience as a Conservation Intern at M Conservation in Los Angeles. Lillian’s background spans conservation, public programming, and collections care, with experience at the Center for Land Use Interpretation and Materials & Applications, where they supported artist programs and curated digital collections. They have worked with a range of materials, including photographic archives, ephemera, and textiles, and have additional art handling experience. They are particularly interested in community-centered conservation practices and the intersection of material care and public engagement. This is reflected in their roles at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and through initiatives such as the Mellon Opportunity for Diversity in Conservation and the CALA Conservation Clinic at MOCA Geffen. Lillian brings an interdisciplinary approach grounded in technical skill, cultural inquiry, and material sensitivity informed by their background in photography, printmaking, and fiber arts.

Melissa Mariano holds a Master’s Degree in Preventive Conservation from Northumbria University. She has a wide experience in collections care and management, working for museums, archaeological sites, private collections and consulting firms in a variety of roles. Melissa joined The Huntington as the Art Division’s first Collections Manager in 2023, where she is building a Collections Department and collections care program, among other projects.

Madalyn P. Meehan is a paper conservator and the founder of M Conservation LLC, a private practice in Los Angeles specializing in the conservation and restoration of works on paper. She holds an MA with distinction in Conservation of Fine Art, specializing in works on paper, from Northumbria University in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, and a dual BFA in Fine Art and Theatrical Set Design from the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts)—a foundation that continues to inform her material understanding and treatment approach. Since establishing M Conservation in 2019, Madalyn has provided conservation treatment, preservation guidance, and consulting services for prints, drawings, watercolors, photographs, animation art, documents, and ephemera. Her clients include Los Angeles County, the Autry Museum, the Museum of Latin American Art, the Orange County Museum of Art, Walt Disney Imagineering, and the Mike Kelley Foundation, among others. She is a member of the American Institute for Conservation (AIC), the Western Association for Art Conservators (WAAC), and the International Institute for Conservation (IIC). In addition to her studio work, she regularly teaches workshops and lectures on hinging, washing, stain reduction, and preventive care for artists, framers, libraries, and cultural institutions, advancing public understanding of conservation and preservation practice.

Vanessa Muros is the Director for the Experimental and Archaeological Sciences Laboratory at the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, UCLA. She holds a BA and MA in Archaeology, an MSc in the Conservation of Archaeological and Ethnographic Objects, and a PhD in Archaeology and Cultural Resources Management. Vanessa specializes in the technical studies of cultural heritage materials, specifically ancient glass and metals.

Ronel Namde (she/her) is Associate Conservator of Photographs in the Department of Conservation and Preservation at the Getty Research Institute. She has worked with a wide variety of materials, is passionate about equity-based work, and has a particular interest in historic, documentary, and archival photographs and non- paper-based supports.  She holds an MS and certificate of advanced study from the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation and has worked most recently at the J. Paul Getty Museum and the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.

Christina O’Connell is the Mary Ann and John Sturgeon Seniors Paintings Conservator at The Huntington.  She hold a M.S. in conservation with a focus in paintings from the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation. She began at The Huntington in 2013 as the inaugural paintings conservator. After completing a multi-year survey of The Huntington’s collections, she embarked on Project Blue Boy in 2017, which was the comprehensive treatment and technical study of Gainsborough’s The Blue Boy with many of the treatment phases carried out in the gallery on public view.

Brandon Phuong is a conservator technician from Portland, Oregon and has been working in the field for almost 4 years around the Los Angeles County, primarily on wall paintings and objects. 

Margalit Schindler (they/them) 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 in studying and impacting the preservation of Judaica in collections around the world. 

Catherine Sincich is the owner of Nautilus Archaeological Conservation located in Los Angeles, CA, providing archaeological conservation services for academia, museums, and private individuals. With 20 years of experience as a conservator, her specialization includes composite artifacts and waterlogged material from both terrestrial and maritime environments. Catherine obtained her graduate conservation training through the Nautical Archaeology Program at Texas A&M University, complemented with additional courses in Historic Preservation. She has also assisted with several archaeological projects, both on land and underwater in Turkey, Cyprus, the Bahamas, Florida, and Texas. Previous fieldwork in marine chemistry involved travel to Palau, South Africa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, creating an appreciation for the diversity of people and cultures found throughout the world.

Laleña Arenas Vellanoweth (she/her) 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. She is currently the Conservation and Collections Manager for the Civic Art Division of the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture.

Mayra Villegas (she/her) is an Associate Objects Conservator, working at Fine Arts Conservation since 2016. She attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where she received her BA in Art History and a minor in Classical Civilization in 2011. She received her MFA in Fine Arts from Claremont Graduate University in 2016. Mayra primarily focuses on objects, but has had the opportunity to assist painting and paper conservators in the Los Angeles area. Aside from conservation, Mayra is an active artist and has exhibited her work in the LA County area. In her free time, Mayra enjoys running and cycling. Her post-workout recovery routine involves watching movies and snuggling with her precious cats, Hammie and Moki.