We’re Museums Alaska

Sarah Owens moved to Alaska in 2013 to take up the position of Conservator at the Anchorage Museum. She has been fortunate to travel around the state, providing assistance in her specialist area of textile conservation and working with many Alaska artists to better understand materials used in the manufacture of a variety of objects. Sarah completed a fellowship in conservation at the National Museum of the American Indian (2011-2013), during this time she first came to Alaska which cemented the dream of living here. She has held textile conservation positions at National Museums Scotland, Historic Royal Palaces, Scottish Conservation Studio, and Metropolitan Museum of Art. Sarah earned her B.A. in Textiles/Fashion from the University of Southampton and an M.A. from the Textile Conservation Centre, University of Southampton (United Kingdom).

Patty has a lifelong love of museums and cultural organization. She believes that museums and galleries are much more than places to store relics and artifacts. Museums serve as vital community resources that provide gathering places where thoughtful exhibits and educational opportunities co-exist, bringing communities together to learn, to play, and to delight in. With a BA Art History from Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington and a MA in Arts Administration from Goucher College, Baltimore, Maryland, Relay has 24 years of experience working in Museums. Since moving to Alaska in 2010, Patty has not served as the Executive Director at the Valdez Museum & Historical Archive and now the Pratt Museum in Homer. Simultaneously, Patty championed museums through her efforts advocating on the State and National level. Building relationships with elected officials is so essential. It has been my pleasure to serve on the Museums Alaska Board of Directors for the past three years. I look forward to three more years as we advance important legislation in Juneau to finally bring the Matching Grant bill to fruition.

Christine Carpenter is passionate about museums. As a designer, artist, and project manager, Christine uses her skills to work collaboratively with museums to find opportunities and limit challenges. After completing her MFA in Museum Exhibition Planning & Design, she relocated to Juneau to work with ExhibitAK, an exhibit design firm. She still works with ExhibitAK while also maintaining her own company, Liaise Studio: a planning, design, and art firm. Christine uses design and art as a tool to communicate, distill, and better understand the world around us. In collaboration with the communities she serves, she has designed exhibits, websites, interpretive panels, and master plans all over the state. After more than 10 years of working with museums across Alaska, Christine is in a unique position to serve on the Museums Alaska board: she understands the broad needs and opportunities facing Alaskan museums. She would be honored to continue to support museums in this new capacity.

Cindi’s focus on arts and culture, tourism and economic development, and philanthropy have led to travels throughout Alaska for work and pleasure. She has served as board member and presenter for the Petersburg Arts Council, founding member and first Chair of the Petersburg Community Foundation, past board member and then Director of the Clausen Memorial Museum, was a member of the Alaska Folk Festival board, and as a board member for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southeast Alaska, helping foster connections to our communities, their inhabitants and their stories. Cindi shares her love of the arts across miles, with young and old alike. As a mixed media artist with a special interest in printmaking, she has curated and participated in group and solo exhibitions from Ketchikan to Fairbanks, most recently serving an instructor for Artfest 2023 in Yakutat. Her artwork and photography appears in various Alaskan publications, collections, websites and installations.

Nadia Jackinsky-Sethi is an art historian and museum consultant based in Homer, Alaska. She currently serves as a program director for the Journey to What Matters: Increased Alaska Native Art & Culture program at The CIRI Foundation. A Ninilchik Tribal member, Nadia is passionate about increasing opportunities for Alaska Native involvement in museum work and correcting information in museum records. She also loves visiting historical collections of Alaska Native art and helping to connect collections with community. Nadia has a PhD in art history from the University of Washington.

Heather Pennington is the Refinery Accounting Manager for the Marathon Refinery in Kenai. Originally from Ohio, Heather recently transferred to Alaska with her husband, Emmett, son Myles and 3 dogs in January 2024. Heather has been a regular advocate for museums, having participated in Museum Advocacy Day hosted by the American Alliance of Museums for 3 years. She’s previously held positions on the Massillon Museum board including Chairwoman and Treasurer over the course of 8 years with the board. Heather has also held board positions with the Canton Ballet and Child, Adolescent Behavioral Health, and the Soroptimist International of the Americans Canton, Ohio Club and Anchorage, Alaska Club. Heather holds a bachelor’s degree in Managerial and Financial Accounting from the University of Findlay and an MBA from Walsh University. Heather currently lives in Kenai with her family and dogs; and is passionate about art, history, and new experiences.

Betany Porter is a Curator at the Alaska Botanical Garden and Educator at Rilke Schule a German immersion school in Anchorage. She received her MFA in Painting and Drawing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and her Post Baccalaureate from the Oregon College of Art and Craft. She also earned a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, a Single Subject Teaching Credential in Studio Art from San Diego State University, and a BA in Painting from Principia College. She has over eight years museum experience and twenty plus years in art education.

She worked as Art Bank Manager at the Alaska State Council on the Arts in 2018. She was the Curator of Art and Contemporary Culture for the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center. She curated the inaugural exhibition Art of the North for their New Wing, utilizing over 250 works from the museum’s permanent collection. She is interested in serving on the Museums Alaska Board because she is passionate about the museum experience in Alaska. She is dedicated to what museums can do for the preservation of culture, history, art and science, and is also fascinated by how museums share that knowledge and information with patrons, staff and future generations.