Julie Barten, Conservator of Collections and Exhibitions
Julie Barten joined the Guggenheim in 1994. Since then, she has worked on several conservation projects, including the treatment and research of both modern and contemporary paintings in the collection, including substantial work on Minimalist works in the Panza Collection by artists such as Robert Ryman and Brice Marden. She also has had extensive involvement in numerous exhibitions organized by the museum, helping to ensure that both loaned and collection works are safely and appropriately transported and installed. Julie received a BA in art history from Yale University and an MA in art history and Certificate in Conservation from New York University, Institute of Fine Arts.

Esther Chao, Assistant Conservator for Loans and Exhibitions
Esther Chao started in the Guggenheim Conservation Department in 2006. She has worked on the treatment of the museum's large contemporary art installations in preparation for their exhibition, as well as researched and prepared modern and time-based pieces for loan. Prior to joining the Guggenheim, she worked extensively with ethnographic and archaeological materials. Most recently, she was involved in the documentation and treatment of Cry Dragon/Cry Wolf: The Ark of Genghis Khan, which included more than 90 sheepskin floats, for the recent Cai Guo-Qiang retrospective and traveled for the exhibition to Beijing and Bilbao as the conservation liaison. Esther received BAs in art history and anthropology from the University of Arizona and an MA in art history and Certificate in Conservation from New York University, Institute of Fine Arts.

Gillian McMillan, Senior Conservator, Collections
Gillian McMillan has been a Guggenheim conservator since 1984. She has conducted numerous technical and scientific examinations and has led the conservation and restoration of many paintings of the early modern period from the Solomon R. Guggenheim Founding Collection and the Thannhauser Collection, including signature works by Paul Cézanne, Vincent van Gogh, Edouard Manet, Pablo Picasso, and Vasily Kandinsky. Gillian holds a postgraduate diploma in the Conservation of Easel Paintings from Gateshead Technical College in the United Kingdom. She interned at the Intermuseum Conservation Association, Oberlin College, Ohio, in 1981–82 on an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Scholarship.

Nathan Otterson, Conservator, Sculpture
Nathan Otterson has been a Guggenheim conservator since 2005. He has undertaken the examination, scientific documentation, and treatment of the Guggenheim Museum’s modern and contemporary sculpture collection, and most recently of works by Matthew Barney, Joseph Beuys, and Alexander Calder. He oversees complex installation projects and exhibitions, which include objects in a wide range of materials and working methods. He received his MA and Certificate of Advanced Study in art conservation from the State University of New York, College at Buffalo, New York, and his BA in studio art (painting) from Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota.

Joanna Phillips, Associate Conservator of Contemporary Art
Joanna Phillips holds a Master of Paintings Conservation from the Hochschule der Kuenste in Dresden, Germany, and has focused on Contemporary Art Conservation during her last five years at the Swiss Institute for Art Research in Zurich. She has specialized in technology-based and variable-media artworks, with a concentration on video-art preservation. Joanna has published and lectured on this topic internationally, and works closely with several other departments to define a standard procedure and vocabulary for the preservation of the Guggenheim Museum's media collection.

Carol Stringari, Chief Conservator
Carol Stringari has been with the Guggenheim since 1992. She oversees the treatment and care of the permanent collection, exhibitions, and loans. Her specialties include modern and contemporary painting conservation, research on contemporary materials, installations, new media, and conceptual art. She has overseen such conservation projects as the Variable Media Initiative, the experimental research on laser cleaning of a monochromatic painting by Ad Reinhardt, and the Panza Collection works. A contributor to numerous publications, she was also the co-curator of Seeing Double: Emulation in Theory and Practice at the Guggenheim in March 2004, and curated Imageless: The Scientific Analysis and Experimental Treatment of an Ad Reinhardt Black Painting. Carol received a BA in art history from University of Pennsylvania and an MS in art conservation from University of Delaware/Winterthur Museum Program.

Jeffrey Warda, Associate Conservator, Paper
Jeffrey Warda joined the Guggenheim Conservation Department in 2006. Since then he has been involved in the care and treatment of collection works on paper and photographs. Jeffrey was the chair of both the Electronic Media Specialty Group (2006–08) and the Digital Photographic Documentation Task Force (2007–08) of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (AIC). He was editor and co-author of The AIC Guide to Digital Photography and Conservation Documentation, published by AIC in 2008. He received his MA and Certificate of Advanced Study in art conservation from the State University of New York, College at Buffalo, and holds a BA in art history from Bard College.