2017 Elections

Issues and Advocacy Section 2017 Ballot

Vice-Chair (vote for one)

Courtney Dean

Biographical Information:

Courtney Dean is the Processing Archivist for the Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT) in UCLA Library Special Collections, where she provides hands-on training in archival methodology to graduate students from a variety of academic disciplines. In 2014 she co-founded the Los Angeles Archivists Collective (LAAC), a community-driven local professional organization with a focus on students and new professionals, and serves on the LAAC Steering Committee and Press and Publications Subcommittee. Dean is an active member of the Society of California Archivists and Society of American Archivists, and is a current member of the Issues and Advocacy General News Media Research Team. She earned her MLIS from UCLA in 2013.

Statement of Interest:

I have been following the activities of the I&A Section with great interest, particularly the Advocacy Toolkit, the various blog series, and the research teams, of which I’ve had the pleasure of serving on this year. I would be honored to serve on the Steering Committee of such an active SAA Section and I am enthused by the role I might play in expanding archival advocacy tools and resources. In my work with the Los Angeles Archivists Collective we have experimented with a number of advocacy and outreach programming including an activist archivist zine, a summer conversation series highlighting issues affecting archives and archivists, and social media and publishing platforms. While I immensely enjoy working within my local archival community, I have become increasingly interested in participating in the discourse at the national level, particularly given a current political climate in which our cultural heritage federal agencies are at risk. Now more than ever it is vital that we engage in advocacy work.

Sara DeCaro

Biographical Information:

I have been the university archivist/museum director at Baker since September 2015. I recently volunteered to do legislator research for I&A.

Statement of Interest:

I believe the work I&A does is important and useful, and I feel very strongly about participating in advocacy for archives in any way possible. I would bring enthusiasm and determination to this position.

Steering Committee Member (Two-Year Term) (vote for two)

Lisa Calahan

Biographical Information:

I am the Head of Archival Processing at the University of Minnesota (2014-Present) and previously worked for the Black Metropolis Research Consortium at the University of Chicago (2009-2014).  I hold MLIS from Dominican University and a Master’s degree in Public History from Loyola University, Chicago.

I’ve been a member of SAA since 2009 and am currently the outgoing chair for the Lesbian and Gay Archives Section. In addition to my Section leadership role, I also serve as Ex Officio member for the Diversity Committee and as a member of the National History Day Toolkit Committee for the RAO Section. My previous SAA involvement included a one term on the Cultural Heritage Working Group (2010), and as a volunteer for the Archivists and Archives of Color Section Awards and Nominations (2012-2013) as the Internship Committees (2014). Locally, I am a member of the Twin Cities Archives Round Table (TCART).

Statement of Interest:

Working in archives has taught me that there is no room for dichotomous thinking in collecting.  I strive to create and support environments that reflect open and fluid dialogs with diverse communities, and am interested in reexamining contested spaces to ensure that the power of history remains within the communities we serve.  I am committed to I&A’s core values by supporting and strengthening our voice within SAA. 

Thank you for considering me as a nominee. I look forward to the opportunity to serve the Section membership as I&A Steering Committee Member.

Steve Duckworth

Biographical Information:

I am currently the University Archivist at Oregon Health & Science University. Previously, I was the Processing Archivist for the University of Florida (UF) and an Archivist for the National Park Service in Anchorage, AK. I have also worked as an Archival Processor on a PACSCL Hidden Collections project in Philadelphia, PA; a Records Management Assistant at Drexel University; and a volunteer Archival Processor at the John J. Wilcox, Jr. LGBT Archives in Philadelphia. I am now volunteering with the archives of the Cascade AIDS Project here in Portland. In all of my positions, I have worked to create better practices and description to bring archival documents to light and to specifically highlight people and subjects that have often been overlooked or obscured by archives and archivists in the past. Additionally, for the past two years, I have served on SAA’s Diversity Committee and have been a member of I&A’s On-Call Research Teams. I have co-written articles on web archiving and gun tracing records, and am currently working on an article with colleagues from UF on the confluence of archives and museums.

Statement of Interest:
As a relatively new professional, I have been amazed at the many intersections between archives, information services, and the workings of history, society, and politics. I have also been invigorated by what seems to be a growing movement by members of SAA to look outside of our repositories and work towards the greater good for people and records of all sorts. The activities and initiatives of the I&A Section have sparked my passion for engaging in activities that raise awareness about archives and their importance, work to right the wrongs of archivists past, and speak out against current actions that would hinder the historical record in the future. I see this Section taking on a number of initiatives and working to engage members on multiple levels, and I want to be a more integral part of that. Additionally, many SAA Sections are doing great work that often shares purposes with I&A and by working together, we can create a stronger organization. As a Steering Committee member, I will work to keep this energy and output flowing, and will continually seek new ways of engaging all voices along the archival spectrum.