Kara Kovalev, Collections Registrar, Orange County Regional History Center
HOW LONG WITH ORANGE COUNTY REGIONAL HISTORY CENTER: Since September 2022.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES OF HIS ROLE: Record keeping and paperwork—processes donations and enters them into the history center’s database. Coordinates loans for collection pieces. Helps to curate exhibits.
HOW HE GOT INVOLVED IN HIS FIELD: Kovalev has a master’s in art history with a focus in museum studies and started working in museums in 2017.
Working in the museum world is a nirvana for Kara Kovalev.
“I love being able to share history with other people,” she says. “A common thought is that people are bored by history. I think it depends on how you present it to people. You have to find something that they can connect to (to) make it exciting for them.”
Such as her enthusiasm for the world of Tupperware©.
“At work I’m somewhat of an authority on Tupperware,” she says. “I’ve become obsessed with it. People hear ‘Tupperware’, and they say ‘OK, whatever.’ But once I talk about Brownie Wise [who spearheaded Tupperware Home Parties] and her impact on business, they realize it’s not just a plastic container, there’s much more to it.”
Kovalev adores pieces from Tupperware’s Millionaire Line, the first line of Tupperware released. She doesn’t have to go far to get a look: Tupperware recently gave a large donation to the history center, which includes some of those Millionaire Line pieces.
The history center has such a large collection—tens of thousands of pieces—that it can’t all be stored on site. Once an item is catalogued and packed, many pieces go to its warehouse.
In her role with the curatorial team, Kovalev had a significant part in bringing the current “Orlando Collected” exhibit to life. It’s on display at the history center through January 11, 2026.
“Orlando Collected” was over a year in the making due to the scope of the exhibit. Smaller lobby exhibits and rotating exhibits at the adjacent Orlando Public Library can be pulled together in a few months.
The current library exhibit, which was rotated in August 2025, is a display of items from the history center’s medical collection featuring old medical tools and medications.
“History is so important,” says Kovalev. “It needs to be preserved. It needs to be shared. Just being able to be a small blip in history and making an impact in history has always been appealing to me.”
