GET TO KNOW US

When we’re not knee deep in program planning, the Mellon Opportunity staff gets up to some other real neat things. This month we’re spotlighting two of our staff members, Bianca García and Lisa Imamura, so you have a chance to get to know us a little better and see what other side quests we are involved in.

BIANCA

~ Associate Director ~

Bianca working on one of Mark Rothko’s Black Form Paintings from the Rothko Chapel in Houston, TX.

Hi, I’m Bianca, Associate Director of the Mellon program, and I’ve been with the program since 2018, when I joined as Program Manager. I tend to wear a few different hats across the field, which is one of the things I enjoy most about my work. My days can involve conservation treatment, program development, mentorship, publishing, and strategic planning, and I love working with people at different career stages and from different corners of the cultural heritage community.

In my role with the Mellon program, I’ve worked on everything from workshop development and internship placements to strategic planning and participant mentorship. More recently, our work has focused on evaluation and impact assessment as we think about the program’s next chapter and how it can continue to support future generations of conservators. I’m especially interested in questions of representation and access in the field, and what it looks like to support people throughout their professional journeys.

Bianca and Nicole(Mellon Opportunity Director), plus BACC colleagues Elizabeth Salmon and Kendra Story, in Santa Barbara.

Outside of the Mellon program, my full-time role is as Programs Manager and Associate Paintings Conservator at the Balboa Art Conservation Center (BACC), where I’ve been based in San Diego for the past ten years. I’m originally from Puerto Rico, and one of the things I love most about living in Southern California (besides the beautiful landscapes and year-round sunshine) is how connected I still feel to my language and Latinx communities. I split my time between hands-on conservation and leading the organization’s programs department, where I develop initiatives that support BACC’s mission to advance the study and preservation of cultural heritage for all communities. My work includes developing programs and partnerships, teaching workshops, and working directly with collections caretakers, artists, students, and emerging professionals throughout California and beyond.

Bianca teaching BACC collections care workshop.

Recently, I’ve been focused on launching several new initiatives, including the California Inclusive Preservation Program (CIPP) and the Emerging Collections Care Cohort (ECCC). Through these programs, I have the opportunity to teach alongside fellow BACC staff and guest conservators, including my Mellon Program colleague Nicole Passerotti! Alongside my programmatic work, I continue to stay active in treatment and have spent the past year assisting Whitten & Proctor Fine Art Conservation with the conservation treatment of paintings from the Rothko Chapel following Hurricane Beryl.

Bianca and Nicole teaching BACC workshop in Santa Barbara.

One of my favorite parts of both my Mellon and BACC work is staying connected with participants over time. I’ve worked with emerging professionals at different stages of their careers, and it’s incredibly rewarding to see where they go next. Some participants I first met through the Mellon program have later come to BACC for internships and training opportunities, which makes for some especially meaningful full-circle moments. Watching people build their networks, grow in confidence, and pursue career paths that align with their interests is one of the most rewarding aspects of what I do.

I’m also a founding member of Materia and serve on the journal’s editorial team. A small group of conservation and art history colleagues launched the journal during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it’s been incredibly rewarding to watch it grow. Much of my role involves working closely with authors as they develop their papers, helping refine ideas, strengthen arguments, and shape the overall narrative of a project. I love creating space for new perspectives and encouraging conversations across disciplines, especially when they challenge traditional boundaries in technical art history and material studies. I’m currently co-leading our upcoming issue, América, which focuses on Latin American Viceregal art, while also helping guide the journal’s long-term strategic planning.

Materia team at 2025 AIC Annual Meeting.

LISA

~ Research Associate ~

We celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Southland Oral History Project with talks, recollections, and a huge cake. Image credit: Heritage South/Janet Hodgetts

Greetings from autumnal Invercargill! At the moment, I am planning my travel to Wellington for the NZCCM (New Zealand Conservators of Cultural Materials Pū Manaaki Kahurangi) conference in September. 2026 is NZCCM’s 40th birthday, and we will celebrate in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, hosted by National Library Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa. This year’s theme is Titiro Whakamuri: Retrospection and Change.

More locally, as August nears I am winding down my term as a trustee for Heritage South, a charitable trust serving heritage organizations in the Murihiku Southland region of Aotearoa. Heritage South promotes Southland Heritage Month every March. We had a great month this year with plenty of socializing, food, and heritage talks, tours, workshops, demonstrations, and open days. This year’s opening event celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Southland Oral History Project. Working in with that theme, I helped SOHP Coordinator Rosie Stather set up a couple of reflection stations around Invercargill Public Library where people shared memories on provided postcards throughout the month. Rosie curated some audio clips of oral history interviews from the collection and throwback photos of the region to enliven the space and help jog the imagination.

Community members are invited to write their memories of events in Murihiku on postcards to be displayed throughout Heritage Month. Image credit: Heritage South/Janet Hodgetts