Alex Blades is a stone conservator with a decade of experience in working on masonry buildings, sculptures, and monuments as both a hands-on practitioner and consultant. She has had extensive experience working in both Canada and the U.K. on high-value heritage assets and structures across public and private sectors. Some notable projects include Lincoln Cathedral Connected, The Leaves of Southwell Minster Project, Sainte Marie among the Hurons masonry ruins, The Saskatchewan Legislative Building Rehabilitation, and the West and Centre Block Parliamentary Precinct projects. She graduated with a BA in History from Carleton University in 2008, followed by a Diploma in Heritage Conservation from Willowbank School of the Restoration Arts in 2015, and an MSc in Historic Building Conservation from the University of Portsmouth in 2018, where her research focused on the use of hot mixed lime mortars in Canada. Alex has been formally teaching at Willowbank since 2022.