The Conservancy is excited to introduce our global community to one of our newest team members, Kaila Temple!

As our Curatorial & Outreach Associate, Kaila plays an important role in supporting the Conservancy’s mission by assisting with cataloguing and preserving of our curatorial collection, developing new digital exhibitions and assisting with the planning for our future shipboard museum. 

Kaila comes to the Conservancy having recently completed her Master of Arts degree in American Material Culture from the University of Delaware, where she focused on dress and the eighteenth-century Atlantic world.

We are so excited to have Kaila on our team! 

HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED WITH THE SS UNITED STATES CONSERVANCY?

I first encountered the SS United States, like many people in the Philadelphia area, during a trip to Ikea. You get a great view of the ship from the cafe, and ever since moving to the area in 2019 I’ve been curious about the ship and its future. My background is in material culture and decorative arts, and I became increasingly interested in ocean liners after seeing an exhibit at the Peabody Essex Museum in 2018, and a unit on ocean liners and design in a graduate course on the history of American interiors.

WHAT IS YOUR ROLE AS THE CONSERVANCY'S CURATORIAL ASSOCIATE?

As Curatorial Associate, I’ll be working on creating social media content drawing from the collections, helping Preservation & Outreach Associate Alaina Noland catalog the collections, and developing new digital exhibits that will engage and educate supporters.

IN YOUR WORK WITH THE CONSERVANCY THUS FAR, WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF?
Most recently, Alaina and I toured the ship and explored some areas, such as the refrigerators and the medical bay, to gather images and video for future content. We found some great materials that we’re excited to share!

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING TO ACCOMPLISH WITH THE CONSERVANCY IN THE FUTURE?
I’m looking forward to getting to work on the Conservancy’s next digital exhibition to be unveiled in 2023. We’re exploring some exciting options, with dining or fashion being the frontrunners. I’ve got lots of ideas for content pulling from our collections and archives, such as vintage recipe testing, taking a close look at the ship’s interiors, and maybe even staging a place setting with objects from our collection.