Cynthia Kapteyn was introduced to conservation through basic book and paper repair courses with a book conservator. She decided to pursue it as a career, graduating in 2018 from Camberwell College of Arts at the University of the Arts London with a master's in the conservation of books and archives. Prior to her position at The Huntington as a project conservator for digitization projects, she completed a fellowship and contract position as an assistant conservator at Iowa State University, and she was an intern at the Victoria and Albert Museum, The London Library, and the Bodleian Library.