Jackie first learned about art conservation while working as a freelance art preparator and taking continuing education classes in anthropology. She studied fine art and worked in the film industry before deciding to pursue a career path in art conservation, during which she discovered a love of chemistry and applied science. After preprogram experiences at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and the Getty Center, she attended the Winterthur/University of Delaware program in art conservation and received her graduate degree in 2018. Before joining The Huntington, she was a postgraduate fellow at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) and held graduate internships at the Morgan Library & Museum, the Tate, and the American Philosophical Society (APS).