Hello, AHN community! After the AIC Annual Meeting in May, where AHN hosted two specialty sessions, our officers are starting a new, two-year term. We have a few updates to announce:
- Our first Chair, Gina Watkinson, has stepped down and now moves into the position of Chair Emerita. She has been integral in the process of upgrading the previous Archaeological Discussion Group into the Network we have today. We salute Gina for her hard work and look forward to her continued contributions to AHN!
- Meg Wang, our first Secretary/Treasurer, has also stepped down. Thank you, Meg, for your time and contribution to the Network!
- Skyler Jenkins, formerly our Vice Chair, has moved into the role of AHN Chair. Alexis North, previously our Program Chair, is now the AHN Vice Chair. Morgan Burgess has now moved from Assistant Program Chair to Program Chair.
- We are excited to welcome a new our new Assistant Program Chair, Alyssa Rina:
Alyssa Rina (she/her) is a Tucson-based Objects Conservator and serves as the Assistant Program Chair for the Archaeological Heritage Network (AHN). Her role includes assisting with AHN programming for the Annual Meeting. She is also the current Object Specialty Group liaison to the Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (OSG/ECPN). After graduating from the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation in 2023, Alyssa joined the Western Archeological and Conservation Center (WACC). At WACC, Alyssa contributes to the preservation of National Parks Service collections. She has previously held positions or internships at the Penn Museum; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Buffalo Bill Center; the American Museum of Natural History, the Alaska State Museum; and the Arizona State Museum to name a few.
Up-to-date bios for the rest of our officers can be found below:
Chair: Skyler Jenkins
“I'm Skyler Jenkins (she/her), current Chair of the Archaeological Heritage Network (AHN). My role as Chair is to oversee and coordinate all activities of AHN. I am currently an Assistant Objects Conservator at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) and have held positions and internships at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Penn Museum, Benaki Museum, J. Paul Getty Museum, and the Arizona State Museum. I have also worked on site in Arizona, Virginia, Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Cyprus.”
Vice Chair: Alexis North
"I am excited to be moving into the Vice Chair position, after two years of helping to select papers and moderate sessions as Program Chair. I am a Project Conservator at the Penn Museum in Philadelphia, currently working on the Museum's renovation of their Ancient Egypt and Nubia galleries. I graduated from the UCLA/Getty Conservation Program, and have worked at the Brooklyn Museum, the Michael C. Carlos Museum, and The Smithsonian National Museum of African Art. I have also worked as both an archaeologist and conservator at archaeological sites in Kenya, Greece, and Turkey."
Editor: Julie Unruh
“I'm Julie Unruh (she/her), AHN Editor. I coordinate, edit, and occasionally develop AHN's written content, including wiki content and publications. I've worked as an archaeological field conservator for nearly 30 years.”
Program Chair: Morgan Burgess
Morgan graduated with her Masters from the UCLA/Getty program for Conservation of Cultural Heritage in 2018. She completed a Samuel H. Kress fellowship at the National Museum of American History and an Andrew W. Mellon fellowship at the National Museum of the American Indian. While in DC, she volunteered as a regional liaison for the Emerging Conservators Professional Network (ECPN) and as an interns and fellows coordinator for the Washington Conservation Guild (WCG). Morgan previously worked in private practice in Austin, Texas and has recently started a term position as a project conservator at the Penn Museum in Philadelphia.
Communications Officer: Laurie King
“My name is Laurie King (she/her), and I am the AHN Communication Officer. As Communication Officer, I distribute information and communicate with the AHN members through emails, AHN Facebook, blog posts, AIC News, and other AIC platforms. Currently, I am working with Melina Edic (Network Officer) to bring you information on Archaeological Conservation on more platforms! I work as an Archaeological Conservator on the USS Monitor Project at The Mariners' Museum and Park. My work focuses mainly on maritime and waterlogged artifacts, ranging from ship engines and cannons to buttons and pocket knives.”
Network Officer, Social Media: Melina Edic
“My name is Melina Edic (she/her) and I am the Social Media Network Officer for the Archaeological Heritage Network. My role involves monitoring and creating content for the AHN Facebook account and the AHN Community blog. I will begin my graduate education at the UCLA/Getty Conservation of Cultural Heritage Program this September, as I pursue a career in archaeological conservation."