Jelain Chubb, Candidate for Council

Professional Experience: State Archivist and Director, Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission, 2010–present. State Coordinator, Texas Historical Records Advisory Board, 2010–present. State Archivist, Ohio Historical Society, 2006–2009. Deputy Coordinator, Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board, 2006–2009. Administrative Archivist, Local Records Preservation Program, Missouri State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State, 1998–2006. Local Records Archivist, Kansas State Historical Society, 1994–1998.

Education: MA, Applied History with specialization in Archival Administration, University of South Carolina, 1993. MLIS, University of South Carolina, 1993; BA, History, College of Charleston, 1989.

Professional Activities: Society of American Archivists, 1991–present: Annual Meeting Task Force, Content Subcommittee, 2011–2013; 2010 Joint SAA/CoSA/NAGARA Meeting Program Committee, Co-chair; 2009 Annual Meeting Program Committee, Ex-officio member; Awards Committee, Distinguished Service Award, 2005–2008, Chair, 2007–2008; American Archives Month Task Force, 2006–2008; Government Records Section, Steering Committee, 2000–2002, Vice-chair, 2000–2001, Chair, 2001–2002. Council of State Archivists, 2006–present: Advocacy Committee, 2014–present; Replevin Task Force, 2013–2014. National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators, 1998–present: Local Arrangements Committee, 2015 Annual Meeting, Chair; Preserving the American Historical Records (PAHR) Act Task Force, NAGARA representative, 2008–2012; Board of Directors, 2005–2009; Membership Committee, 2004–2007, Chair; Local Arrangements Committee, 2007 Annual Meeting, Chair 2005-2006; Membership Task Force, 2001–2004, Chair; Annual Meeting Program Committee, 2010, Co-chair; Annual Meeting Program Committee, 2009. Society of Southwest Archivists, 2010–present: Local Arrangements Committee, Sponsorship Subcommittee, 2012 Annual meeting. Midwest Archives Conference, 1994–2010: Local Arrangements Committee, 1995 fall meeting. Academy of Certified Archivists, 1999–present. Kansas City Area Archivists, 1994–2006: Secretary, 1997–1999; Membership Committee, 1994–1997, Chair, 1995–1997.

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Question posed by Nominating Committee: How would you utilize your skills and experience to help make SAA thrive in an environment that expects more communication, collaboration, and demonstrated action?

In my capacity as a state archivist I make decisions every day about how to meet current challenges and help ensure my division’s ongoing success. One of my strengths is developing well-thought-out long-range plans for my program areas. As a member of Council I would work to ensure that SAA’s strategic plan is relevant and robust, addressing the needs and desires of members while positioning the organization for future growth. I would also use my experience as both a resource allocator and a resource “finder” to make informed recommendations about how to best expend and grow the Society’s revenue.

In 2010 I had the privilege of serving as the co-chair of the program committee for the second joint meeting of CoSA, NAGARA and SAA. I saw the challenges and the rewards of bringing three closely allied organizations together for an exchange of ideas and networking. Five years later, I think SAA is well positioned to explore new opportunities for collaboration with other allied organizations such as the Association for Documentary Editing, American Historical Association, and American Museums Association—the membership of each of which relies heavily on archival records for its work—that can help increase awareness and appreciation of archives and archivists.

One lesson I’ve learned along the way is that effective communication with the internal and external stakeholders is essential to achieving any success. And sometimes the information or perspective that most impacts the decision making process comes from an unexpected source. I would like to work with SAA to engage more members in constructive and ongoing dialog about their needs, desires, and vision for SAA’s future. I would also hope that through this dialog and subsequent actions by Council, members will feel valued by and see increased value in SAA. And that should be the measure by which we gauge our true success as an organization.

Lastly, I have long and varied experience advocating for archives. As a local records archivist, I worked to convince officials to understand the value of and care for records in their offices. In Ohio and Texas I developed budget strategies and communications plans that helped convince state legislators to provide increased funding and staff positions for the state archives. Nationally, I served on SAA’s American Archives Month committee, as NAGARA’s representative on the PAHR Task Force, which included leading efforts to gain support for PAHR legislation from key members of Ohio’s congressional delegation, and currently serve as a member of CoSA’s Advocacy Committee. This experience led to my role as a co-presenter for SAA’s Advocacy, Archives and Archivists workshop and has better prepared me to lead SAA as a member of Council. 

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