Dear fellow WCG members,
Welcome to the Washington Conservation Guilds 60th season!
I am honored to be writing my first Letter from the President to you all. First and foremost, I would like to extend a heartfelt thank-you to Keara Teeter for the hard work and dedication she put into her WCG leadership. I had the pleasure of working closely with her this past season and noticed how gracefully she handled the twists and turns thrown at her. Her tenure is going to be an extremely tough act to follow but I look forward to the challenge!
By way of introduction, I have bounced in and out of the DC area since 2018, first as an undergraduate conservation intern, then as a home-base while attending grad school in England, before finally settling here as a conservator in 2023. My first encounter with WCG was as a Three-Ring Circus presenter in January 2024. I fell in love with WCG for the networking and educational opportunities it provided, especially to an emerging professional. I joined the Board as a Director in 2024 before being invited to run for Vice President for the 2025/2026 season. It is beyond exciting to be able to give back to this wonderful and welcoming organization as President.
The WCG Board has been working hard over the past month to prepare our programming for the upcoming season (did I mention it’s our 60th?!). Our programs continue to be generously subsidized through the WCG sponsorship program. We’ve got a great lineup of lectures, tours, and events coming your way including but not limited to: a talk on the preservation of the Northwestern Terra Cotta collection at The National Building Museum, a talk on the sculptural cleaning of protest-related graffiti from former NPS conservator Courtney Magill, and a member workshop on how to build visual didactics for presentations, social media, and community outreach. Check out the Meeting Schedule page on our website for the most up-to-date information.
I would like to give a friendly reminder that WCG offers complimentary membership to emerging professionals for their first season. Membership is also free to any emerging professionals serving on the Board (see end of letter for currently vacant positions). In addition, we will be releasing our call for applicants for the Williston Award in the coming weeks so keep an eye on your inbox for that announcement. Benefits of receiving this award include free WCG membership, reimbursement for one year of membership to AIC, reduced registration costs for WCG workshops, as well as the opportunity to present to our membership at our April Emerging Professionals Talks. Supervisors, please help us spread the word about this award and encourage your interns and fellows to apply!
In other exciting news, this season’s Community Partnership Project is just around the corner. After many months of planning, we are excited to announce a joint endeavor with the Army Historical Foundation to put on a public-facing presentation on preservation, followed by a 90-minute conservation clinic. We will be recruiting volunteers from our membership to speak to the general public in 1-on-1 sessions about how to care for their military memorabilia (note: patrons to this event are not allowed to bring weapons). This event will be held at the National Museum of the United States Army on October 31st, 2026 from 10:30 am – 12:30 pm so mark your calendars!
Another upcoming event to note is the inaugural Cultural Heritage Emergency Summit happening at the Smithsonian Arts & Industries building on November 9th and 10th. This conference is not part of WCG programming but it is certainly relevant to our membership. Registration will open towards the end of the month so if you are interested in learning more about emergency planning and response, come join like-minded peers for two days of talks, workshops, and museum and conservation lab tours.
WCG is always looking for fresh ideas on lecture topics, tours, workshops, venues, etc. If you have any ideas, or just want to say hi, drop me an email at president@washingtonconservationguild.org. If you’re really interested in sharing your thoughts and skills with the Board, we’d love to have you join us! We are currently looking to fill the following positions:
- Emerging Professional Committee member
- Logistics team member
- DEAI Action Committee member
If you or someone you know is interested in learning more about these roles, please reach out to nominating@washingtonconservationguild.org.
Before I sign off, I would like to announce that this season’s kick-off event will be happening on Saturday, September 12th at Peirce Mill in Rock Creek Park (official announcement and RSVP forthcoming). This will be a members-only tour so be sure to visit the website to join or renew your membership (if you need to check your membership status, you can contact membership@washingtonconservationguild.org). Until then, I hope you enjoy the rest of your summer, and I look forward to seeing both new and familiar faces at Peirce Mill.
Sincerely,
Sara Becker (she/her)
President, Washington Conservation Guild
Post-Graduate Fellow in Book & Paper Conservation, National Park Service, Harpers Ferry Center
