Our People
RLA is a woman-founded firm whose strength comes from the collaboration of our team of allied professionals. Our conservators hold degrees from accredited conservation training programs in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, and Cuba.* Because we employ our own skilled artisans and construction technicians, we maintain exceptional levels of quality control over our work. An equal opportunity employer that actively promotes diversity in hiring, we pride ourselves on being a place where people like to work. Our team is able to communicate in English, Spanish, French, Arabic and Haitian Creole.
* There are few training programs in Cuba that actually train conservators rather than restoration technicians. We are happy to provide all of our staff’s credentials upon request.
ROSA LOWINGER
Founder and Co-Chief Conservator has over 30 years of experience as a conservator of sculpture, contemporary art and historic buildings. She holds an M.A. in art history and conservation from New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts, and is a Fellow of the American Institute for Conservation, the Association for Preservation Technology, the American Academy in Rome and the International Center for Conservation in Rome (ICCROM). Rosa’s long and varied career has included fellowships at the University of Pennsylvania’s archeological museum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and field conservator positions for the joint University of Pennsylvania-Tel Aviv University Expedition to the Coastal Plain of Israel. She was the founder of the Los Angeles firm Sculpture Conservation Studio and served as its director of conservation from 1988-2008. Rosa lectures frequently on public art and conservation of modern finishes. A lively public speaker on topics for the general public, she was a featured speaker at the 2018 Miami Beach Art Deco weekend and the 2016 AIA meeting in Havana, Cuba. She co-curated the 2013 exhibits Concrete Paradise: Miami Marine Stadium at the Coral Gables Museum, and Promising Paradise: Cuban Allure, American Seduction at the Wolfsonian in 2016, and is the author of articles in Preservation, ArtNews, the Cuban Art News, WNYC.com, and is most well-known for the 2006 non-fiction book Tropicana Nights: The Life and Times of the Legendary Cuban Nightclub. Her memoir Dwell Time: A Memoir of Art, Exhile, and Repair was released in October 2023.
CHRISTINA VARVI
President, Partner, and Co-Chief Conservator holds a M.S. in Historic Preservation with a concentration in Materials Conservation from Columbia University’s GSAPP. She is a Fellow of the American Institute for Conservation and Recognized Professional of the Association for Preservation Technology. A specialist in architectural and public art conservation, Christina is RLA’s lead professional for all projects west of the Mississippi River, including Hawaii and Alaska. She is a specialist in modern architectural materials, such as linoleum and synthetic finishes, outdoor sculpture planning, treatment, and surveys, as well as large-scale mosaics conservation and architecture surveys, testing, and specification development. Her work on mosaic conservation, published with Rosa Lowinger, can be found in the Journal of the International Institute for Conservation and she has lectured at a week-long workshop in the Netherlands in 2023 with the Getty Conservation Institute on the care and treatment of outdoor painted sculpture. She has also lectured extensively at national and regional conferences on emergency preparedness and is a certified National Heritage Responder and certified CAP assessor through the American Institute for Conservation. Christina has also presented papers for organizations including APT, AIC, AFA, ICCM, IIC, PAX, WAAC, PRP3, FAPAP, CPF, and the GCI. She is currently on the executive board of Western Chapter APT and has lectured on conservation at the University of Southern California, University of Washington, and University of Miami. Christina is a certified Jahn® mortar installer, certified aerial scissor lift operator, and OSHA 30-hour safety certified for the construction industry.
NELSON HALLONQUIST
nhallonquist@rlaconservation.com
Director of Operations and Partner holds a B.A. in Sociology from the University of Central Florida. Prior to joining RLA, Nelson worked with fine art objects as a museum-quality art preparator. With RLA since 2015, Nelson is the firm’s lead sculpture painter and patina specialist as well as being versed in the maintenance and treatment of bronze, stainless steel, painted mild steel, ceramic, electronic media, stone, concrete, fiberglass, wood, glass, and plaster, among other materials. In addition to treatments/maintenances, Nelson performs condition assessments and documentation, both written and photographic. Prior to joining RLA, Nelson worked with fine art objects as a museum-quality art preparator. From 2007 – 2012, Nelson was the director and lead preparator for a contemporary art gallery where he oversaw the coordination and installation of approximately ten (10) exhibitions annually as well as participation in numerous international art fairs, including Art Basel Miami Beach. From 2012 – 2014, Nelson was part of a team of preparators at Curatorial Assistance in Pasadena, CA, and completed projects for multiple private clients and public institutions, such as The Huntington Library, Japanese American National Museum, Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Museum, and Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Nelson is a certified Jahn® mortar installer and certified in the use of aerial platform lifts.
BENJAMIN BRANDFON
benbrandfon@rlaconservation.com
CFO and Partner holds a 2010 B.A. from California State University at Northridge. Ben has been with RLA since 2008 and worked in the field as a conservation technician before becoming chief financial officer. In addition to financial matters, Ben handles insurance matters, HR, certifications and licensing, as well as the retirement and tax planning division of RLA.
CAROLINE DICKENSHEETS
Miami Managing Conservator and Professional Associate of the AIC, holds an M.S. in Historic Preservation with a focus in Architectural Conservation from the University of Pennsylvania Weitzman School of Design. She received her bachelor’s degree in Architecture and Art History from Wellesley College in addition to being a cross-registered student at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning. During her graduate studies, she focused on the preservation of earthen architecture in the American West through the Vanishing Treasures Program of the National Park Service and the Center for Architectural Conservation at the University of Pennsylvania. She has presented on this work at national conferences in addition to having the Association of Preservation Technology International publish her research in 2021. With RLA since 2019, Caroline directs all architectural projects in addition to managing large outdoor sculpture conservation work for the Miami Studio. Those projects include conservation oversight of various contractors, facade and collections surveys, materials testing and specification development, as well as treatment implementation. Caroline works with both private clients and public institutions in addition to local, state, and federal government entities. She is a specialist in oolitic limestone (coral stone) and the conservation of materials in subtropical marine environments and has lectured at local and national conferences about her work at Vizcaya addressing deterioration of this particular limestone at a site prone to natural disasters as well as caring for public art collections throughout Florida. She is a certified Cathedral Stone Jahn® mortar installer and OSHA 30-hr certified for the construction industry.
Sonia Jerez Fraj
Conservator, holds an MS in Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage from the University Paris 1 Sorbonne, in Paris, with a specialty in the conservation of objects. In 2016, she obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage from the School of Conservation of Barcelona (ESCRBCC). Working in conservation for the past six (6) years, Sonia is familiar with treating plaster, stone, terracotta, and polychrome wood. Prior to joining RLA, she spent two years working at Atelier d’Autan, in Toulouse, France performing conservation of interior decorative painted surfaces. Since joining RLA in early 2021, Sonia has led multiple conservation projects at the San Gabriel Mission and at the China Alley Preservation Society, especially focusing on soot damage mitigation and treatment of fire-damaged historic interior finishes. She has also performed general maintenance and treatment of modern/contemporary public artworks for public and private clients, including top museums in Southern California. Sonia is OSHA 30-hour safety certified for the construction industry and is certified in the use of aerial platform lifts.
Elena Bowen
Conservator, holds a 2020 M.A. in the Conservation of Archaeological and Ethnographic Materials from the UCLA/Getty Conservation Program. She received her bachelor’s degree in Studio Art from Wellesley College. At RLA, Elena manages public sculpture collections at several prominent universities in south Florida and serves as lead conservator managing the museum quality collections for a number of private clients. This has included the treatment of works by Fernando Botero, Fernand Leger, Robert Indiana, Yayoi Kusama, Beverly Pepper, Antony Gormley, Ugo Rondinone, Harry Bertoia, Damian Hirst, Donald Judd, and Duane Hanson. She has also worked on a number of National Parks projects in the southeast and Caribbean including collections surveys as well as treatments. In collaboration with Rosa Lowinger and Christina Varvi, she has conducted several Collections Assessment for Preservation (CAP) surveys for the American Institute of Conservation. Prior to joining RLA in 2021, she completed pre-program internships at Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, Caryatid Conservation, and the Penn Museum. She completed graduate internships at the Fowler Museum at UCLA, the Hirschhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, and the Carlos Museum at Emory University. She has also worked on archaeological sites in Peru and Greece and has experience working with Native and local communities as well as with artist foundations. She is a certified operator of aerial and scissor lifts and OSHA 30-hr certified for the construction industry.
LYDIA GARCIA PUENTE
laofficeassistant@rlaconservation.com
Accounting Administrator with RLA since 2018, holds an associate degree in accounting. Prior to joining RLA, Lyli spent 17 years working as an administrator, payroll manager, human resources assistant, and bookkeeper in the hospitality industry. Lyli’s responsibilities include all administrative duties related to accounting for the company, including financial reporting, payroll, accounts payables and receivables and regular bookkeeping. She also maintains certifications and insurance compliance, assists with in-take and release of artworks as well as processing of contracts and development of RFPs and RFQs.
PAT OBLAK
miamimanager@rlaconservation.com;
Miami Studio Manager, attended John Carol University. With RLA since 2017, Pat comes from a retail management background and spent 30 years with Pearl Paint in South Florida. Pat’s responsibilities include all administrative duties for the Miami office and assisting in the preparation of client proposals and RFP’s, new business intake, procurement, and logistics. She is also involved in the preparation of Miami client billing and collections.
