Cheers to 25 Years! A Tribute to Teresa Brinati

In September 2013 Teresa Brinati achieved a milestone: twenty-five years as SAA’s publishing director. Teresa is talented, passionate about SAA (and many other things), enthusiastic, funny, a triathlete—truly a force of nature! She dwells in possibility.

A number of SAA members shared their memories of Teresa in the September/October 2013 issue of Archival Outlook. Please use the comment section below to congratulate Teresa or to share your memories. Here's to a successful twenty-five years, and many more to come!

Mark Greene, SAA President, 2007–2008:

My memories of Teresa are her cheerful willingness to help me with any (sometimes mundane, sometimes emergency) requests, her seemingly constant energy, and the warm smile she always has greeted me with at meetings and conferences. I can’t believe she’s been working anywhere for twenty-five years, given the strict child labor laws in this country!

Kathy Marquis:

In 2009 we ran an archival haiku contest, in conjunction with an Annual Meeting session on archival humor. Teresa agreed to be one of our august judges. We all rated the poems on our own, then gathered in Frank Boles’s presidential suite to hash out the final winners. The haikus were all very clever, and the company was pretty darn silly. But what put it over the top was Teresa’s contribution of a bottle of limoncello. I think our decisions were well made—and they certainly were made with a lot of glee!

Mary Jo Pugh, Editor, The American Archivist, 2006–2011:

Teresa and I were introduced at the SAA Editorial Board meeting in Atlanta on September 29, 1988, and we had breakfast the following day. She was so bright, engaging, and funny—and also proved to be utterly competent. I fell in love.

She has been my lifeline for decades of writing and editing. I first worked with her as editor of the Archival Fundamentals Series (1988–1992) and author of Providing Reference Services for that series. She helped me revise and publish the second edition of the book, published in 2005. From 2006 to 2011, she was the managing editor as I was the editor of The American Archivist. Behind the scenes, Teresa makes the SAA publishing program work as if it is a thing that runs by itself. After the editors and authors give her content, she works her magic with graphic designers, typesetters, printers, mailing houses, and other vendors—and she manages marketing and publicity. She was also instrumental in implementing the Editorial Board’s plans to get The American Archivist online. Teresa is a charged particle, energetic, optimistic, creative, original, intelligent, and supportive. To quote E.B. White, “It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer.”

Peter Wosh, Publications Editor, 2007–2013:

Teresa and I both root for historically hopeless baseball teams (the Chicago Cubs and the New York Mets, respectively). Neither ball club has won much of anything in the twenty-five years that Teresa has worked for SAA, and our annual optimistic outlook in March always seems to dissolve during the dreary dog days of August. Though we may have bonded over our teams’ futility between the foul lines, it quickly became obvious to me that the archival community hit a collective grand slam when Teresa became director of publishing for SAA. Cool under pressure, she always keeps her eye on the ball. Though a stickler for details, she never lets minutiae prevent her from shrewdly surveying the entire playing field. She enjoys working with diverse personalities, nurturing everyone’s individual talents to advance the publications team’s collective goals. And she has a great competitive streak. She sported a nasty black eye during a Publications Board meeting a few years ago after a losing battle with a line drive forced her to the emergency department. Characteristically she played through it and never spent any time on the DL. If (God forbid) she ever leaves SAA, Teresa would do quite well in another profession entirely. It seems to me she is the perfect manager that the Chicago Cubs have never had but desperately need. Forget Ryne Sandberg; my money is on Brinati. Book your World Series tickets now!

Richard Cox, Editor, The American Archivist, 1991–1995; Publications Editor, 2002–2006:

I was on the SAA Council when Teresa joined the SAA’s staff. During the past twenty-five years I’ve worked with her on a number of projects and tasks, most notably The American Archivist and SAA’s non-serial publications program. I’ve always been impressed by her professionalism, knowledge, meticulous attention to detail, and good sense of humor in even the most difficult times. There is only one distressing aspect to this: While I have turned from silver to gray haired, seen more wrinkles appear, and felt my energy ebbing away, Teresa looks the same today as she did in the late 1980s. Her enthusiasm and energy seem unabated, and she seems to be well preserved—a good attribute for one working within the company of archivists.

Dennis Meissner, Publications Board Chair, 2003–2007:

At one particular Publications Board meeting, a rep from a prominent East Coast publishing house graced us with a visit to talk about “partnering” on a few titles. As the pitch unfolded it became obvious that “partnering” was a happy euphemism for something else. The carpetbagger made a regrettable misstep toward the end of his presentation, averring that the proposed arrangement was a pathway toward stabilizing and professionalizing an also-ran press like SAA’s. At that moment I noticed a hard, shiny glint in Teresa’s eyes, followed almost immediately by something that stumped me—a soft, tranquil, and euphoric look. And then I realized that she was simply giving unvoiced thanks for the innocent victim that had been delivered unto her, as momentary exercise for her teeth and claws. After another fifteen minutes of lively discussion, the rep was escorted out of the meeting by Teresa, who cheerfully showed him the way to the street. I was happy and privileged to witness the swordsmanship of a master.

Joan Krizack, Publications Board Member, 2004–2011:

Breakfasts in New Brunswick, clandestine cocktails, Santa Monica Pier carousel ride, Publications Board summits—always upbeat and with a great sense of humor, Teresa made what could have been dull meetings entertaining. What a delight it has been to know and work with Teresa over the last (can it really be?) twenty-five years. Cin, cin, Teresa!

Philip B. Eppard, Editor, The American Archivist, 1996–2005:

When I would visit the SAA office, I was always amazed at how tidy Teresa’s office was—so unlike the office of a typical archivist. It was strong evidence of her organizational skills, so essential when juggling multiple publishing projects. Teresa took maternity leave while I was editing The American Archivist, and the job of interacting with the printer fell to my editorial assistant. Teresa provided such detailed, step-by-step instructions that there was no chance that there could be a mishap in the production process. Nevertheless, we were very happy when Teresa returned to work! And I’m not at all surprised that her son Luca has been an enthusiastic worker in the SAA Bookstore at the annual meeting.

Gregory S. Hunter, Chair, Publications Board, 1997–2000; Editor, The American Archivist, 2012–:

Editors and authors have come and gone during Teresa’s twenty-five years on the SAA staff, but she has been the constant in SAA’s publications program. She has been the person balancing editorial vision with budget realities, all the while maintaining the friendship and respect of her colleagues. SAA members may not appreciate the personal sacrifice involved. Whenever the Publications Board or Editorial Board meet in Chicago, Teresa spends long days with us, including accompanying us to dinner. While we usually are pleasant dinner companions, I know that Teresa has had personal commitments that probably should have taken precedence. Thank you, Teresa, for the many times that you have put SAA and its members first!

Christopher Prom, Publications Editor, 2013– :

During the time in my career when I was working on a key publication, I decided rather late in the game—at the layout proof stage—that the articleI was working on needed some serious corrections. I dutifully submitted the edited proofs with all sorts of corrections and annotations, fully expecting that Teresa would “push back” at the changes. Even though what I was asking required a lot of work on her part, and even though she was under her own set of pressures, she never complained. She’s no pushover, but she sees the best in people and really wants others to succeed. Throughout my involvement with SAA, I’ve seen again and again that Teresa goes the extra mile for the Society and its members.