JULIE A REILLY
Executive Director
space
Julie is an objects conservator and conservation administrator having filled leadership positions for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, the Ford Conservation Center, the Intermuseum Conservation Center, KANEKO, and Omaha by Design. She holds an MA in Anthropology with Anthropological Conservation from George Washington University and is a graduate of the Getty Museum Leadership Institute. Julie worked as conservator at the Smithsonian American History Museum, the National Park Service Applied Archeology Center, and the Winterthur Museum where she was Head of Objects Conservation and Adjunct Associate Professor for the Winterthur University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation. She also served as Adjunct Professor in the University of Nebraska’s Museum Studies program. Julie is currently a Fellow Member of the American Institute for Conservation and an associate editor for the JAIC.
TERRY HASKINS
Director of Finance
placeholder
Terry has been at the Williams Art Conservation Center since 1993. Prior to beginning to work at the center, she earned an associate degree in business administration from Berkshire Community College and a certificate in accounting from the former North Adams State College, now known as Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. In 2020, Terry, along with Maggie Barkovic, facilitated the extensive proposal and application process for a grant from the Mellon Foundation that supported growth initiatives at both the Williamstown and Atlanta locations. As a lifelong resident of the area with strong family ties to the Berkshires, Terry is a volunteer with various other non-profit organizations in the community.
ROB CONZETT
Director of Operations
placeholder
Rob joined the team at the Williamstown Art Conservation Center in 2005 after moving to the area from North Carolina. Prior to coming up north, he began his career working for a professional house painting company in 1985. After only five years, Rob purchased the business and proceeded to run the company, handling the administrative affairs while managing client relations and his painting crew throughout day to day activity. From there, he transitioned to working directly in customer service for multiple years. Since stepping into an operations role at the WACC, Rob has monitored the art inventory system, acted as liaison for the lab and its technical support and security teams, and worked with clients to facilitate the shipment and delivery of artwork.
KAREN PARRINO
Office Assistant
placeholder
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.
WILLIAMSTOWN STAFF
PAUL NICHOLS
Conservation Technician
space
space
Paul earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts from University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. He then worked as a carpenter and woodworker, working independently and as a construction supervisor. Paul transitioned into designing and building exhibits at the Berkshire Museum before beginning his tenure at the Williamstown Art Conservation Center in 2018. Paul brings his experience with woodworking and design to the lab where he supports each department, handling incoming and outgoing artwork for transport and installation, as well as additionally providing technical assistance.
MATT HAMILTON
Imaging Specialist
Conservation Technician
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.
HELENE GILETTE-WOODARD
Head of Objects Department
spacespace
Helene is a Senior Conservator of Objects with over 25 years of experience. Since graduating with her Masters of Art degree in Art Conservation from the State University College, Buffalo/Cooperstown, N.Y., she has worked at a variety of museums, including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the National Museum of American History and the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA). While at the IMA, she has participated in two museum expansions, designing an object conservation laboratory, and the conservation and installation of a number of large exhibitions and gallery renovations. She was the owner of Heartland Art Conservation LLC, a private practice in central Indiana, working with small museums and private collectors. She has done extensive conservation work on a wide range of cultural and chronological works of art; American and European Sculpture and Decorative Arts, African, South Pacific and Native American artifacts, Asian art, Archaeological artifacts, Contemporary art and sculpture, and outdoor sculpture.
MARIE STEWART
Assoc. Objects Conservator
space
Marie completed her conservation training at the Winterthur/ University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation in 2010. Prior to her graduate training, she received a BA in Art History and Chemistry from Wheaton College in Massachusetts. She has held internships at the Isabella Stewart Gardner
Museum, the Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies at the Harvard University Art Museums, the Asian Art Museum, and the Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art (Brisbane, Australia). Marie worked as an Andrew W. Mellon Fellow at the National Gallery of Art, in Washington, D.C., where she gained experience researching and treating polychromed and gilded sculptures, small bronze statuettes, and modern and contemporary outdoor sculpture. Prior to joining WACC, Marie worked for several years at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, concentrating on the treatment of Ancient Greek, Roman, and Byzantine art, in preparation for a major renovation of the MFA’s Ancient galleries. Marie joined the Williamstown Art Conservation Center in 2022 as an Associate Conservator of Objects.
CHRISTINE PUZA
Head of Scientific Analysis
Head of Wooden Objects + Furniture
space
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.
KATE BREITENSTEIN
Pre-Program Intern
Head of Wooden Objects + Furniture
spacespace
Kate received a Bachelor of Science in Geoarchaeology with a minor in Fine Arts from Murray State University in 2015. She has held conservation internships at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, National Parks Service, Harvard’s Peabody Museum, Indiana Historical Society, Cambridge Arts Council, and in a private painting practice before arriving at the Williamstown Art Conservation Center. She is a member of the American Institute for Conservation and has plans to obtain a masters in objects conservation.
MAGGIE BARKOVIC
Head of Paintings Department
Maggie has a BA in Chemistry from Virginia Polytechnic Institute (2008) and an MA in Art History (2012) from George Mason University. She completed her training and graduate degree in the Conservation of Easel Paintings at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London (2016). With an interest in modern + contemporary paintings, she has presented research on treating water-stained acrylic paintings for the American Institute for Conservation and International Academic Programs. She has held internships in both paintings conservation and conservation science at the Barnes Foundation, Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute, the Phillips Collection, Technische Universiteit Delft, and Atelier Marjan de Visser in the Netherlands. She is the Editor and Art Director for WACC’s publication, Art Conservator. She is a member of the American Institute for Conservation
MONTSERRAT LE MENSE
Senior Paintings Conservator
for Intern Training
space
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.
STEPHANIE GOLD
Pre-Program Intern
space
spac
Stephanie received her BA from Boston University with majors in both Chemistry and History of Art and Architecture with a minor in Visual Arts. She has previously completed a summer internship at UConn Health, working with the art curator, cataloging and inventorying the Health Center’s collection of over 1500 works of original art and assisting in the Hartford Medical Society Historical Library. Recently, she has been transcribing for the Smithsonian Transcription Center as a Smithsonian Digital Volunteer and has a studio practice painting watercolor house portraits. She has a certification by the American Chemical Society and is a member of AIC. Stephanie plans to obtain a masters in art conservation.
space
space
LUCIA BAY
Assoc. Paintings Conservator
space
space
Lucia studied fine art at Pratt Institute and the University of California Los Angeles, where she received a BA in art (2007). She completed her training and graduate degree in the Conservation of Easel Paintings at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London (2016). She was an assistant project conservator of paintings, and then the Joan & John Thalheimer Associate Conservator of Paintings at the Philadelphia Museum of Art before starting at WACC in 2022. She had internships in painting conservation at the Art Institute of Chicago and in paper conservation at the Getty Research Institute, and was a technician in paper conservation at the Margaret Herrick Library. She is passionate about outreach and accessibility and is a founder and editor for the Materia Journal for Technical Art History – a peer reviewed, open access journal. She is a member of the American Institute for Conservation.
REBECCA JOHNSTON
Head of Paper Department
space
space
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.
BROOK PRESTOWITZ
Assoc. Paper Conservator
space
space
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.
JAMIE CASSAVOY
Operations Manager
Atlanta
space
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
Atlanta
space
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.
KATYA BIRUKOVA
Assoc. Paintings Conservator
Atlanta
space
Katya studied the preservation of cultural heritage at the Saint Petersburg Stieglitz State Academy (2007-2015) and received a master’s degree in painting conservation. During her studies Katya also completed coursework in gilded objects conservation. Katya’s final graduation work was published in the anniversary edition publication, “Academy of Stieglitz, the Best Graduation Projects for 140 Years” (2015). Katya has held internships at the State Hermitage Museum and at the Arefinskaya Troitskaya Church. Katya has museum and private sector experience in painting conservation. She has been a Project Conservator on several major projects including the treatment of mural and ceiling paintings at the Yusupov Palace and the treatment of gilded ceiling friezes at the Sheremetevsky Palace, Museum of Music, both in Saint Petersburg, Russia. In addition, Katya served as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Art Conservation at The Saint Petersburg Stieglitz State Academy.
AMANDA KASMAN
Asst. Paintings Conservator
Atlanta
space
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.
.
LINDSAY RYDER
Asst. Objects Conservator
Atlanta
space
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.
.