Personnel News: Williamstown + Atlanta Art Conservation Centers Announces Two Senior Leadership Appointments

The Williamstown + Atlanta Art Conservation Centers (W+AACC) is pleased to announce the appointments of Sigourney Stanford as Head of the Atlanta Conservation Lab and Montserrat M.M. Le Mense as Head of the Paintings Lab in Williamstown, Massachusetts.  

Stanford, a paper conservator with experience in institutional and private practice settings in the United States, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, joins W+AACC’s leadership team from the Georgia Archives, where she has served as Head of Preservation Services since 2019. Her expertise spans paper, book, photograph, and preventive conservation, as well as emergency preparedness and response. She is a Professional Member of the American Institute for Conservation and several regional preservation and emergency response organizations.  

Le Mense has been a member of the W+AACC conservation staff since 1995 and currently serves as Senior Paintings Conservator. A graduate of the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation, she has contributed more than three decades of expertise in the examination and treatment of paintings, research, intern training, and professional education. She is a Professional Associate of the American Institute for Conservation and is widely respected for her technical skill and generosity as a mentor. 

These appointments reflect W+AACC’s commitment to strengthening leadership across its Williamstown and Atlanta facilities and advancing the organization’s mission to preserve cultural heritage through the highest standards of conservation practice for museums, historic sites, collectors, and communities throughout the two regions.