Sarah Kleiner is the Founder and Lead Consultant for the Living Histories Expansion Project (LH//EP), based in San Francisco, CA. The firm focuses on shifting the practice of art conservation to include anti-racism at the foundation—along with the traditional triad of art history, studio art, and science. LH//EP upholds the value that the care and preservation of art cannot be separated from the care and preservation of people. Sarah co-creates professional development opportunities to empower future conservation leaders to navigate uncertainty, set equity at the foundation of their work, and reach their full potential while building generative networks. Her penultimate goal is to build a leadership training program for mid-career conservators dedicated to professional development, social change, and sustainability.

Sarah is a classically trained conservator with over 20 years experience working within leading cultural heritage institutions such as the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Seattle Art Museum. Her formal education is a combination of art and science. She earned a B.A. in Studio Art from Colorado College, and an M.S. specializing in paintings conservation from the Winterthur/ University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation. Since 2020, Sarah has been studying anti-racist facilitation, including completing a year-long leadership training program through On the Verge. That experience is dedicated to developing non-traditional leaders to address the most pressing and critical educational, social, health and economic inequities in our community – by being known and knowing others.