BRIANN GREENFIELD, PHD
Executive Director
Briann Greenfield, Ph.D. is Executive Director of the Williamstown + Atlanta Art Conservation Center. Previously, she was Director of the Division of Preservation and Access at the National Endowment for the Humanities. Other roles include Executive Director of the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, Executive Director of the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, and Professor of History at Central Connecticut State University. Motivated by the power of art and heritage to provide meaning, identity, and understanding across differences, she works to increase access to heritage resources and build strong cultural organizations that serve the public good. Greenfield received her bachelor’s degree from the University of New Hampshire and earned an MA in Museum Studies and a PhD in American Studies from Brown University. She has held fellowships from the Smithsonian Institution and Winterthur Museum. In 2010, she received Central Connecticut State University’s prestigious Board of Trustees Research Award for her book Out of the Attic: Inventing Antiques in Twentieth-Century New England (University of Massachusetts Press, 2009).
KAREN PARRINO
Conservation Services Manager
Karen started at the Williamstown Art Conservation Center in 2019 and has acted as the first point of contact for all clients and visitors ever since. Before entering the field of conservation in an administrative role, Karen worked in operations management and office administration in land mortgage financing and healthcare industries and also as a buyer for an industrial minerals operation. The organizational and customer relationship management skills fine tuned throughout these years serve Karen well as she facilitates prospective and current client communication, monitors the inventory of office and conservation supplies and maintains the document database system for the WACC.
MICHELLE DEROSE
Finance and Administration Associate
Michelle joined the team at the Williamstown Art Conservation Center in 2024. She brings 35+ years of experience supporting clients and internal team members to help improve operations. Prior to arriving at the Center, Michelle served as the supervisor of the Customer Service and Order Management Departments at Crane Stationery LLC. In her 25 years at Crane, the company underwent many changes which helped her develop her skills by improving processes, writing procedures, and implementing training. For several years, concurrent with her full-time positions, she brought her caring, attentive companionship to the elderly as a part-time personal care assistant. Michelle has always felt a passion for helping the elderly in nursing homes and assisted living facilities after her father and grandmother needed this care. In her spare time, Michelle has found a calming outlet to satisfy her creative side. For the past ten years, she developed her painting skills and has been commissioned for several pieces. Her pieces range from landscape and florals to family pets.
WENDY SPACEK
Registrar + Operations Coordinator
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Wendy joined the Williamstown Art Conservation Center in 2024 after relocating to the Berkshires from the Pacific Northwest. Trained as a librarian, Wendy has worked as both a public and academic librarian, professor, and arts administrator. Her interest in conservation began as a graduate student when she served as a conservation assistant in the book preservation lab at Indiana University. In addition to her library master’s degree, Wendy holds an MFA in Poetry from Indiana University and a BFA in Writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and is a published author. At WACC, Wendy assists with both administrative and operational tasks and serves as the liaison for Williams College’s ARTH 508 course.
JOSH MEIER
Preparator / Administrative Assistant
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Josh received an MFA in Painting from Rhode Island School of Design in 2020 and a BFA in Visual Art and Art History from the University of Kansas in 2012. He has worked on exhibition projects at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum and Aspen Art Museum and in fine art print publishing at Anderson Ranch Arts Center and MASS MoCA. Before joining WACC in 2025, Josh taught as a Visiting Artist in Painting/ Printmaking at Williams College in 2024 and as a Critic in the Division of Experimental and Foundation Studies at RISD from 2020-23, teaching coursework in art, design, and material culture. He has also taught at Colorado College and Brown University.
WILLIAMSTOWN STAFF
MONTSERRAT LE MENSE
Senior Paintings Conservator
for Intern Training
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Montserrat received a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art from Saint Norbert College in 1984 and a Master of Arts in Art History from the University of Wisconsin in 1988. Following the receipt of her master’s degree in painting conservation from the University of Delaware/ Winterthur Museum Art Conservation Program in 1994, she completed internships at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the J. Paul Getty Museum in Decorative Arts and Sculpture. Montserrat joined the Williamstown Art Conservation Center in 1995 as Mellon Advanced Intern. She is a Professional Associate of the American Institute for Conservation.
REBECCA JOHNSTON
Senior Paper Conservator
+ Department Head
Rebecca received a Bachelor of Arts in the Technology of Artistic and Historic Objects from the University of Delaware in 1987. She completed a pre-program apprenticeship in paintings conservation at the Williamstown Art Conservation Center and received an Master of Arts and Certificate of Advanced Study from the State University College at Buffalo in 1991, where she majored in paper conservation. She completed internships in paper conservation at the Provincial Archives of British Columbia, Victoria B.C., The Center for Conservation and Technical Studies, Harvard University Art Museums, and at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston before returning to Williamstown to work in the paper department at the WACC in 1994.
LINDSAY RYDER
Objects Conservator
+ Department Head
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Lindsay graduated from Bates College with a BA in Classical and Medieval Studies in 2019. She completed several museum internships in Collections Management, including the Bates College Museum of Art. She graduated from Durham University (Durham, England) in 2021 with a Masters in the Conservation of Archaeological and Museum Objects. Part of her studies included a placement at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum (Exeter, England) where she treated a variety of 16-19th century historic objects. Her broader conservation works spans from Bronze Age weapons to 20th century multi-media Folk Art.
CHRISTINE PUZA
Senior Furniture + Frames Conservator
+ Department Head
Head of Analytical Services
Ms. Puza graduated from the Buffalo State University Program in Art Conservation in 2012 with a concentration in Objects after completing her third-year internship at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada. In addition, she has interned at the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Diyarbakir Museum, and in the private practices of Marianne Webb and Simon Moore. She holds a B.Sci. in biological science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and spent five years working in basic science research at the Physiology Department at the Medical College of Wisconsin before coming to conservation. Christine maintains a strong interest in Asian and European lacquers and has participated in the Recent Advances in the Identification of Asian Lacquers workshop held at the Getty, as well as the 2012 Workshop for the Conservation and Restoration of urushi lacquer-ware sponsored by the Japanese National Research Institute for Cultural Properties.
ERICA SCHULER
Associate Paintings Conservator
Erica received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Washburn University in 2005 and graduated from the Buffalo State University Program in Art Conservation in 2015. Since receiving her master’s degree in painting conservation, she has gained a wide range of experience in private and institutional labs that includes the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IN), Kuniej Berry Associates (Chicago), and the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House (MI). Pre-program work include internships treating paintings and decorative objects in labs throughout the Midwest, as well as on-site archeological treatment for the Amarna Coffin’s Project (Amarna, Egypt). She is a Professional Associate of the American Institute for Conservation.
CHRISTY GRATINI
Assistant Paintings Conservator
Christy received her M.S. in Conservation Imaging and M.A. in Paintings Conservation from the Garman Art Conservation Department at Buffalo State University in 2023. She was the National Endowment for the Arts Fellow in Paintings Conservation at the Chrysler Museum of Art in 2024 and completed her third year in the Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Paintings Conservation Studio at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. While in Boston she also had a grand time working for the studio of Gianfranco Pocobene. She has cultivated expertise in the treatment of large modern and contemporary works and has a particular interest in the mechanical failure mechanism of painted surfaces.
JOCELYN HILLIER
Post-Graduate Fellow, Paintings
Jocelyn earned her Bachelor of Arts with honors in Art History and a Masters of Art Conservation from Queens University (Kingston, ON). During her studies at, she was part of an international, interdisciplinary research project “Rembrandt? Co-operative technical examinations of Rembrandt Tronies” in collaboration with the Agnes Etherington Art centre (Kingston, ON), the Ashmolean Museum (Oxford,UK), and the Mauritshuis (den Haag, NL). She completed internships at Gianfranco Pocobene Studio and the Saint Louis Art Museum. Jocelyn recently finished a combined placement through the Fulbright/American friends of the Mauritshuis Award, as a research fellow at the University of Amsterdam and as an intern the conservation studios of the Mauritshuis.
BROOK PRESTOWITZ
Senior Paper Conservator
Brook Prestowitz joined the Williamstown Art Conservation Center in 2017 as the Assistant Conservator of Paper. Prestowitz earned a Bachelor of the Arts in Art Conservation at the University of Delaware in 2009. She received a Masters of the Arts in Conservation of Fine Arts, Works of Art on Paper from Northumbria University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK, in 2015. During this time she held a work placement at the British Museum’s Hirayama Studio for Conservation of Asian Pictorial Art. Prior to joining WACC, Prestowitz was the Samuel H. Kress and the National Endowment for the Arts paper conservation fellow at the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts in Philadelphia, PA, from 2015-2017. She is a Professional Associate of the American Institute for Conservation.
MADELINE BALLOU
Pre-Program Intern
Paper
Madeline earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting with a minor in Art History from Pacific Lutheran University. Since leaving the Pacific Northwest in 2022, she has worked for private practice conservators, local picture frame shops, and institutions like Historic New England. Prior to joining WACC, she was a collection care specialist of Asian Art at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Her experience ranges from creating enclosures, hinging artwork, mat cutting, collection storage, exhibition preparation, and cleaning historic objects. She plans to obtain her master’s in art and artifact conservation in the coming years.
PETER MAHONEY
Conservation Laboratory Technician
Peter earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Massachusetts College of Art & Design in 2009. Since then, he has worked in the fine arts/museum exhibitions field as an installer and fabricator where he has honed his skill set in a variety of media and materials. Before coming to the Williamstown Art Conservation Center, Peter worked at Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA) and the Museum of Science Boston, where he worked on large installations and with artists to help fabricate unique artworks, as well as displays. At the Center, Peter works with all departments to create mounts, crating, displays, as well as framing and matting for works on paper, and outdoor sculpture conservation.
MATT HAMILTON
Conservation Imaging Specialist
Matt graduated with his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1995 and Master of Fine Arts from SUNY Albany in 2001. Throughout his time studying at SUNY Albany, he acted as a teaching assistant for art history and photography classes and went on to instruct a beginning drawing class. After completing graduate school, Matt began his tenure at the Williamstown Art Conservation Center in the objects lab, working as a technician. He then transitioned into the imaging department in 2004 and ever since, he has conducted all photography and x-ray services throughout the lab, additionally working as a conservation technician and assisting with art transportation and installations whenever needed.
JAMIE CASSAVOY
Operations Manager
Jamie graduated from Boston College with a BA in Communications with a double minor in Marketing and French in 1991 and completed an MFA at Rochester Institute of Technology, School for American Craft in 1996. Jamie worked as a modelmaker in the jewelry industry before opening her business, Cassavoy & Co., in 2000. In addition to designing and producing a high-end line of limited-production handmade jewelry, she conducted much of the customer service, marketing, and branding tasks for her business until 2017, when she closed her doors. Jamie’s role as Operations Manager at the Atlanta center allows her to utilize the skills developed through business ownership: she provides top-level client services, and operational planning, and handles day-to-day center operations. She still designs jewelry, fabricates with metal, and generally loves making art.
SNOW FAIN
Senior Paper Conservator
Snow has a M. A. degree in conservation of fine art with a concentration in easel paintings from Northumbria University in 2013. She also received a M.A. degree in conservation of books and library materials in 2015 from West Dean College with the University of Sussex. During her graduate studies, Snow interned for Heugh-Edmondson Conservation Services in Kansas City and the Newberry Library in Chicago. After graduating, she worked as an assistant paintings conservator for Page Conservation for an on-site project to conserve the murals in the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul from the fall of 2015 to 2016. She was a Cathleen A. Baker Fellow in Book Conservation at the University of Michigan during the summer of 2017. Snow worked as Lead Conservator for the Local Records Preservation Program for the Missouri State Archives from the fall of 2017-2019 before joining the team at AACC.
AMANDA KASMAN
Associate Paintings Conservator
Amanda graduated with a specialization in paintings conservation from the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation in August of 2021. During her studies, she completed internships at the Yale University Art Gallery, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Dallas Museum of Art, and Winterthur Museum. The breadth of Amanda’s conservation experience ranges from pre-Roman statuary in Sardinia to 20th century American dollhouse miniatures to 19th-century Thai Buddhist panel paintings.One of the focuses of Amanda’s research has been the treatment of paintings by African American artists and artworks depicting the horrors of American slavery. The African American artists she has studied extensively include Charles Dawson and William Henry Johnson. Amanda has also participated in and presented a talk on the early stages of a public outreach initiative intended to introduce students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to the field of conservation. Amanda remains dedicated to her desire to mentor and advise aspiring conservators.
CHEYENNE CARAWAY
Assistant Objects Conservator
Cheyenne is originally from southern Oklahoma. She holds a B.A. in Studio Art and Anthropology from Fort Lewis College and an M.A. from the UCLA/Getty Program in the Conservation of Cultural Heritage. Her journey in conservation has taken her across the country—from early roles as a museum contractor and collections manager for the Southern Ute Tribe, to pre-program internships at the National Museum of the American Indian, the American Museum of Natural History, and the J. Paul Getty Museum. While at UCLA, Cheyenne continued to grow her expertise through internships with institutions, one of which was the Atlanta Art Conservation Center. She’s excited to bring her passion for preserving cultural heritage to her new role.
KATHRYN PENEYRA
Assistant Objects Conservator
Kathryn grew up in North Carolina and is thrilled to be back in the southeast as a part of the Atlanta team. She graduated from the UCLA/ Getty Conservation of Cultural Heritage master’s program in 2025 and has a BA in Chemistry from Carleton College. While at UCLA, she worked on a variety of conservation projects ranging from archaeological to contemporary, interning at Kaman-Kalehöyük, the Anchorage Museum, the Kelsey Museum, and Denver Museum of Nature and Science.
CAROLINE PRINZIVALLI
Conservation Lab Technician
Caroline has always been inspired by art. Growing up in Corning, NY, a city renowned for its glass art, she was surrounded by art, which became key to shaping her future. Her interest in art history led her to pursue a BA in Art History from Georgia State University, which she completed in 1995. After graduation, she worked for five years at The Spruill Center for the Arts, a local community art center, where she served as a registration assistant and gallery coordinator. This experience prepared her for her next job as a preparator at The High Museum of Art. Caroline quickly worked her way up to become Senior Preparator and Lighting Specialist, responsible for managing exhibitions and the museum collection for over 23 years. With her expertise in art handling, installation, and carpentry, Caroline now brings her wealth of experience to the Atlanta Art Conservation Center.
ANDREW HEALY
Conservation Lab Technician
Andrew graduated from Rhode Island School of Design with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2015. He has worked in libraries, galleries, and for artists in Rhode Island and New York. Prior to joining the Atlanta Art Conservation Center, he worked as a conservation technician in a private practice while living in Gloucester, Massachusetts. He is a member of the American Institute for Conservation.