Kaela (she/her) is an objects conservator with broad experience across archaeological, historical, and fine art collections, with a particular interest in modern and contemporary art and design. She is passionate about outreach and expanding the reach of conservation. Kaela is currently an Assistant Objects Conservator at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

Kaela is active in the American Institute for Conservation (AIC), most recently serving as Chair of the Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (ECPN) and Communications Chair for the Contemporary Art Network (CAN!). She holds an M.A. and C.A.S. in Art Conservation from SUNY Buffalo State University, specializing 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 completed post-graduate fellowships at the Harvard Art Museums’ Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies and Glenstone Museum in Potomac, MD. She has held positions in private practice and museums around the United States, including the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Seattle’s Museum of History and Industry. Her experience includes working with artists and fabricators, caring for complex modern and contemporary works (including plastics, painted surfaces, assemblage, and large-scale installations), as well as scientific analysis and supporting exhibitions, loans, and courier travel.

Outside of the museum, Kaela enjoys trying to watch all the Oscar-nominated films each year with her partner, baking comforting treats for friends and coworkers, reading mysteries curled up with her cat Nani, and listening to comedy podcasts on her commute to work.