West Lake Art Conservation Center staff. Left to right: Geneva Iklé, Raphael Shea, Nathan Sutton, Martha Dickey, Joey Foster Ellis, Chiara Kuhns, Karen Frances Eng. Photo: Kevin Rivoli, The Citizen
Joey Foster Ellis, Executive Director
A native of the Finger Lakes region, Joey brings a dynamic blend of cross-cultural academic training, hands-on conservation experience, and creative leadership to WLACC. He earned a BFA in sculpture from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, an MSc in conservation science and cultural heritage studies from University College of London in Qatar, and began his PhD in Sanskrit at Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu, where his research focuses on the Brahmi script and material meaning. His conservation work spans continents—from archaeological fieldwork in Qatar to the care of contemporary installations by artists such as Mona Hatoum and Damien Hirst.
Before joining WLACC, Joey served as Principal of The British College in Kathmandu and sat on the board of Fulbright Nepal. He is also a TED Fellow, and his artwork is included in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution—a testament to a career grounded in both critical inquiry and public engagement.
As Executive Director, he oversees WLACC’s strategic direction, public programming, and institutional partnerships, while also supporting the conservation team’s day-to-day operations. Joey is committed to positioning WLACC as a cultural and educational hub rooted in community.
Karen Frances Eng, Associate Executive Director
Karen joined WLACC in 2025 to support its transformation into a nonprofit conservation and cultural center. She brings extensive experience in media and publishing, having worked as a writer and editor for such global organizations as Wired, TED, and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Her work has focused on amplifying ideas and individuals across disciplines through writing, editing, photography, video, and strategic storytelling.
In parallel, Karen is a digital artist whose work includes international collaborations and large-scale multimedia public artworks—many created in partnership with Cambridge, UK–based arts nonprofit Collusion—that explore memory, movement, and human-machine interaction. Her practice includes blockchain-based projects that investigate technology as material, decentralized authorship, and digital provenance.
Karen also co-founded The Platform, a nonprofit, cooperative publishing initiative exploring decentralized models for cultural production, distribution, and archiving. At WLACC, she leads the modernization and consolidation of digital and operational systems, helping to connect the Center’s client, project, and financial data for greater clarity and scalability. She supports nonprofit compliance and governance development, coordinates market and sector research to strengthen WLACC’s position within the regional arts ecosystem, and raises the Center’s public profile through communications, outreach, and strategic development initiatives.
Chiara Kuhns, Senior Paintings Conservator, Head of Paintings Lab, MAC, PAIC
Chiara is an artist, an art historian, and a paintings and fresco conservator. She is an ardent advocate of the arts and believes in the importance of exposing, educating and preserving the primary sources of our world’s history. Born in Florence, Italy, Chiara has taken advantage of the resources that this mecca of the art world has to offer. In Florence, she received a BA in Art History and completed a dual masters degree in Museology and Conservation of Paintings and Frescoes.
In 2002 Chiara taught a course on “The History and Art History of Florence” at Gonzaga University in Florence. Chiara has served on conservation teams in Florence, New York City, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. In 1999 she joined the team at West Lake Conservators in Skaneateles. She has been a dynamic member of West Lake Conservators, assisting with the organization and hosting of workshops. She is a liaison to our colleagues in Italy and our resident expert on Italian Renaissance and European paintings. Chiara is a Professional Associate of the American Institute for Conservation. She has been with West Lake for almost 26 years.
Geneva Iklé, Paper Conservator
Geneva earned a Master of Art Conservation (MAC 2016) degree from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, with a specialization in Works on Paper. Geneva has long been interested in photographs, so while at Queen’s she was able to get hands-on experience with photograph conservation in addition to conservation of works on paper. During her studies, she completed internships at the National Archives and Records Administration and at the Library of Congress.
After graduating from Queen’s, Geneva briefly started her own private practice in Wilmington, North Carolina, before being hired at ECS Conservation in Greensboro, North Carolina, as a paper conservator.
Geneva has experience treating a wide variety of objects including documents, art on paper, maps, posters, and photographic materials. She is also an Associate Member of the American Institute for Conservation. Geneva joined West Lake Conservators in Fall 2022.
Nathan Sutton, Paintings Conservator
Nathan holds an MA and CAS in Art Conservation from SUNY Buffalo State University, specializing in Paintings Conservation. His interests include the care and treatment of easel paintings, murals, and frames, with particular expertise in late 19th- and early 20th-century American and European painting traditions.
Nathan began as an apprentice in painting conservation with West Lake Conservators from 2002 to 2005 where he was initially mentored by his mother, father and aunt, who comprised the original leadership of West Lake Conservators. He then completed undergraduate degrees at the University at Buffalo in Studio Art and Art History from late 2005 until 2007, while also working as a preparator at the Buffalo AKG Art Gallery.
At Buffalo State, Nathan completed internships with Whitten and Proctor Fine Arts and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, and for six years following his graduate studies, Nathan operated and co-owned Sutton Greene Art Conservation, providing painting conservation to museums, universities, religious institutions, and private collectors. This diverse range directly informs his current work.
Raphael Shea, Paintings Conservator
Raphael rejoined West Lake Conservators not long after completing his Master of Art Conservation (MAC 2019) degree from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, with a specialization in Paintings. Before graduate school, Raphael spent two years pre-program working at West Lake with focused training in both paper and paintings conservation. While at Queen’s, Raphael studied under Assistant Professor and current Program Director Patricia Smithen (Queen’s MAC 1993), formally the Head of Conservation at Tate Modern in London, England. As part of his studies, Raphael interned at the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, in 2018, and in 2019, he completed concurrent internships at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and at the Gianfranco Pocobene Studio, both in Boston. Post-graduation, Raphael worked for Hartmann Fine Arts Conservations Services, in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, a private conservation lab specializing in paintings of all types – from easel paintings, to murals, to painted artifacts – before returning to West Lake.
Raphael brings a varied and unique skill set to West Lake, informed through a prior career in toy design, book illustration, and hand-crafted carpentry. Part of what excites Raphael about the conservation field is meeting the complex problem-solving challenges so many treatments demand, with no two quite alike. Raphael enjoys applying the insights, hand skills, and strategic planning gained through his conservation training with his prior professional experiences to more carefully conserve historic and contemporary paintings, thus safely preserving these painted artifacts and better allowing the original artist’s intent to be more fully showcased.
Martha Dickey, Operations Manager
Martha holds a Bachelor of Science in Education and Mathematics from SUNY Plattsburgh and brings decades of practical experience across small business, healthcare, tech, and nonprofit roles to her position at WLACC. A native to the Fingerlakes, she has managed everything from chiropractic offices to library systems and church finances, always with a focus on streamlining operations and building supportive work environments. In 2017–2018, she worked with the original West Lake Conservators, where she first connected with the mission of cultural preservation.
She is known for her flexibility, collaborative spirit, and the heart she brings to mission-driven work. Martha helps keep WLACC’s daily operations running smoothly, with a steady presence and a practical mindset. She values balance, connection, and contributing to something meaningful—especially in a place that honors community and care.
