Cristela Garcia-Spitz, Candidate for Nominating Committee

Professional Experience: Digital Library Development Program Project Manager, University of California, San Diego, 2009–Present. EAD Conversion Project Manager, Mudd Manuscript Library, Princeton University, 2006–2009. Library/Archive Research Assistant, Software Engineering Institute Library, Carnegie Mellon University, 2004–2006. Archive Consultant, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh, 2005–2006. Archive Assistant, Newcomb College Center for Research on Women, Tulane University, 1997–2003 (on interim).

Education: MLIS, University of Pittsburgh, 2005. BA in Anthropology with a minor in Spanish, Tulane University, 2001.

Professional Activities: Society of American Archivists: Metadata and Digital Object Roundtable (MDOR) Steering Committee, 2011–present; CURATECamp Facilitator, 2012 and 2013; Lightening talk, A Time for Resistance: Chicano Activism in San Diego and the American Southwest, 1964–2006; Latin American and Caribbean Cultural Heritage Archives (LACCHA) Roundtable, 2013; SAA Mentorship Program, 2011–present; SAA Host Committee, 2012; SAA Annual Meeting Program Committee, 2011. Society of California Archivists: Presenter, Who, What, Where: Gathering and Interpreting User Data, 2013; Panelist, Shifting Gears to Improve Access: Applying MPLP to Digitization in California, 2010. Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference: MARAC Program Committee, Spring 2009. Digital Library Federation: DLF Project Managers Group, 2009–present; Panelist, Hunting for Best Practices in Digital Library Assessment, 2013; DLF Program Planning Committee, 2013. Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Rare Books and Manuscripts Section (RBMS): RBMS Preconference Host Committee, 2012. Association of Research Libraries: ARL Career Enhancement Program (CEP) Supervisor, 2010 and 2011.

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Question posed by Nominating Committee: Define your vision of diverse leadership for SAA and describe how you would select candidates to make this vision a reality.

Diverse leadership brings fresh perspectives, creative thinking, innovation, and a wide range of knowledge, skills, and experiences to an organization. When selecting nominations for leadership positions, we want to highlight the broad range of SAA members by finding representation from multiple viewpoints of distinct archival specializations, cultural backgrounds, geographic regions, types of institutions, and at different points in their careers.

One way to do this is to have members of the Nominating Committee reach out to identify qualified candidates they have encountered throughout their professional careers and seek out ways to engage or re-engage members through their networks. I have been active and engaged in SAA from the time it was in New Orleans in 2005 until the recent meeting there in 2013. The valuable interactions with members are one of the main motivations for attending SAA year after year. I strive to meet new people as well as keep connections with colleagues I have met over the years. I started from the perspective of student, and I continue to interact with recent graduates through participation as a mentor in the SAA Mentorship Program. I have lived and worked in different parts of the country, and one of the benefits of a cross-country move is getting to know archivists at the regional-level from a wide variety of institutions. Participation in planning committees and roundtables has also given me a broader perspective on the various communities within SAA.

As stated on the SAA Nominating Committee website, all of the SAA elected positions require energy and a willingness to work, and I am enthusiastic about being a part of the process by serving as a member of the Nominating Committee.