Denise “Dee” Gallo, Provincial Archivist of the Daughters of Charity in Emmitsburg, Maryland, is the 2016 recipient of the Sister M. Claude Lane, O.P., Memorial Award given by the Society of American Archivists in conjunction with the Society of Southwest Archivists.
Created in 1974, the award honors an archivist who has made a significant contribution to the field of religious archives. Gallo has provided exceptional leadership to the archivists affiliated with the Sisters of Charity Federation. In 2013, Gallo convened a meeting of the thirteen federation archivists, sparking a commitment to collaboration. Gallo has also begun to create a Variorum edition of versions of the American translations of the Rule of St. Vincent de Paul as adopted by the federation congregations. This project will enable interpretation and understanding of the common roots of the Federation congregations. Gallo served as president of the Archivists of Congregations of Women Religious and is incoming chair of SAA’s Archivists of Religious Collections Section.
One supporter wrote, “Without Gallo’s guiding leadership, we are not certain that there would be a Charity Federation Archivists consortium today, much less a consortium that has demonstrated the value of archival collaboration to both the archivists of the federation community and the Sisters of Charity Federation.” Another supporter noted, “Dee possesses the aplomb necessary to lead when the way forward is not always clear . . . Her kindness and lively sense of humor are also greatly appreciated by her colleagues.”