Kaela (she/her) is an objects conservator passionate about outreach and expanding the field of conservation. Kaela is currently the Objects Conservation Fellow at the Harvard Art Museums Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies. She has held several positions within the American Institute for Conservation (AIC), including the Contemporary Art Network (CAN!) Communications Chair (2023-2025) and the Chair (2024-2025), Vice Chair (2023-2024), and Outreach Co-Officer (2021-2023) of the Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (ECPN).

Kaela holds an M.A. and C.A.S in Art Conservation from SUNY Buffalo State University with a specialization in objects and a B.A. in Art Conservation from Scripps College. She completed her year-long graduate internship in the Sculpture Conservation Department at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Kaela has held conservation positions with private practices including Aneta Zebala Paintings Conservation (Santa Monica, CA), Memoria Technica (Seattle, WA), Page Conservation (Washington, DC), and Modern Art Conservation (New York, NY). She completed a two-year conservation fellowship at Glenstone Museum in Potomac, MD and has held positions in institutions around the United States including the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and Seattle’s Museum of History and Industry.

Kaela and her cat Nani currently call Boston home. Outside of the museum, she enjoys trying to watch all the Oscar nominated movies, baking comforting treats, reading mysteries, and listening to comedy podcasts.