Meet the Staff

Michael Baran joined the department in 1998 after graduating from Hobart and William Smith Colleges with a BA in art history. He assisted in the redesign and reinstallation of the Greek, Cypriot, Etruscan, and Roman galleries. He has also assisted with several publications and object acquisitions, and plays an integral role in the department's daily operations. He can be reached by email.

Alexis Belis joined the department in 2020. She received her PhD in Classical Archaeology from Princeton University, and has studied at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens. She has also worked on several archaeological field projects in Cyprus and Greece, most recently at the Sanctuary of Zeus on Mt. Lykaion in Arcadia. She is the author of Roman Mosaics in the J. Paul Getty Museum (2016) and "An Urartian Belt in the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Origins of the Parthian Shot," Getty Research Journal 12 (2020).

Katherine Daniels joined the Department of Greek and Roman Art in fall 2015. She has returned to The Met after having worked in the Department of Asian Art and the Department of Islamic Art from 1992 to 2000. Katherine is an artist whose work can be seen on her personal website.

Cecilia Flores joined the Department of Greek and Roman Art in 2022. She graduated from Humboldt State University with a B.A. in Psychology and Minor in Studio Art Photography. As an Associate Administrator she oversees Incoming and Outgoing Loans, Purchases, and Gifts to the Department.

Seán Hemingway has a particular specialty in Greek and Roman bronzes. A seasoned archaeologist, Seán has excavated prehistoric, classical, and Roman sites in Greece and Spain. He received his doctorate from Bryn Mawr College, studied at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens as a Fulbright Scholar, and has been a visiting curator at the American Academy in Rome. He is the author of numerous scholarly publications, including The Horse and Jockey from Artemision: A Bronze Equestrian Monument of the Hellenistic Period, a book on Hellenistic bronze sculpture, and the novel The Tomb of Alexander.

Debbie T. Kuo joined the department in 2001, where her primary role is the fiscal management of the department's operating, donor fund, and exhibition budgets. She organizes special events and lectures, and oversees the department's curatorial friend's group, Philodoroi. Debbie received her BA in art history and business administration from Marywood University. She is also a jewelry designer who finds inspiration throughout the Museum.

Garrett Lemons joined the department in 2023. He started his career as an art handler when he moved to New York from eastern Tennessee in January 2021, after 10 years working as a cook and touring in bands.  In his spare time, he enjoys writing and recording songs, photography, and reading.

Sarah Lepinski joined the department in 2020. An experienced archaeologist, she has conducted research projects and excavations in Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, and Israel and has held fellowships at the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the American School of Classical Studies in Athens. Her scholarship encompasses ancient polychromy and Roman painting. She co-curated Chroma: Ancient Sculpture in Color (2022) and is the project manager for the renovation and reinstallation of the Cyprus galleries. She received her doctorate in classical archaeology from Bryn Mawr College.

Joseph Alexander (Sandy) MacGillivray specializes in Aegean Bronze Age archaeology with a particular focus on Minoan Crete and the Cyclades. He read Classics and Archaeology at McGill University in his native Montréal, Canada, and received his doctorate from Edinburgh University. He was Knossos Curator and Assistant Director of the British School at Athens, under whose auspices he excavated at Sparta, Knossos, and the Minoan city at Palaikastro in eastern Crete before becoming Associate Professor of Art History and Archaeology at Columbia University. The author of numerous works on Aegean archaeology, he has appeared as expert lecturer in several documentaries and films, and has led many archaeological tours in Greece.

Lenka Maskova joined the Department of Greek and Roman Art in 2019 after working in the Department of Egyptian Art since 2017. As a departmental technician, she cares for the art in the galleries and storage. Her past experiences include art handling at Marian Goodman Gallery and serving as an Assistant Professor at LaGuardia Community College. She received her terminal degree MFA from New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture. She is continuing her studio practice as a sculptor and dedicates her time to her two amazing daughters.

Joan R. Mertens joined the staff of the department in 1972. She became curator in 1981, and served as an administrator from 1983 to 1990. For the comprehensive gallery reinstallation (1990s–2007) and subsequently, her work has focused on the collection of Greek vases and Cypriot art.

Jennifer Soupios has been a member of the department since 1996. She assisted in the permanent reinstallation of the Greek and Roman galleries as the principal technician, coordinating objects conservation, photography, and installation. As Senior Collections Manager, she is responsible for the care and organization of the department's permanent galleries and storerooms as well as the collections database. She received her BA in history from Stockton University.

Sarah J. Szeliga has been supervising The Onassis Library for Hellenic and Roman Art since 2013. She maintains library and archival resources, and provides reference support to staff and visitors.

Delphine Tonglet is a Belgian art historian and archaeologist specialized in the study of ancient Greece and Etruria. She received both her MA (2009) and PhD (2014) degrees at the Université libre de Bruxelles and developed an international career through her participation to archaeological excavations―mostly at Itanos in Crete and in Tuscany and Latium (Italy)―and thanks to numerous research stays and scholarships at the University of Pisa, the Academia Belgica in Rome, the University of Bologna and the Metropolitan Museum of New York (Andrew W. Mellon Senior Fellowship 2015–2016). 

Her favorite research themes deal with intercultural exchanges between Etruria, the Greeks, and other Mediterranean actors, through the study of material culture.