What do you do?

I conserve physical objects and consult on preservation goals with archivists, collection managers, and curators at the Archives and throughout the larger Smithsonian archival and museum community by running the Smithsonian Center for Archives Conservation, a service and teaching laboratory of Smithsonian Institution Archives Collections Care team.

Favorite spot in DC to recommend to visitors

In the early evening, the Bishop’s Garden at the National Cathedral, or a twilight walk through the National Zoo. Both come quietly alive at twilight for an impromptu seated picnic, and are a lovely, restful alternative in which to wait out the evening rush hour.

Collection Favorites

I was asked by the National Museum of African American History and Culture about the long-term stability of an unusual acquisition: Presidential candidate Barack Obama’s dry-erase boards from the Virginia campaign office. You can read more about it in my blog post about the challenges of figuring out how such an ephemeral object might be preserved.