Spotlight Award: Heidi Steed

Heidi Steed, local government records specialist for the State of Utah Division of Archives and Records Service, is the 2024 recipient of the Spotlight Award from the Society of American Archivists (SAA). Established in 2005, the award recognizes contributions of individuals who work for the good of the profession and archival collections and whose work may not typically receive public recognition.

A graduate of the University of Utah, Steed has worked with the Utah Division of Archives and Records Service since 2017. She is passionate about community and exemplifies excellence in service, leadership, and commitment to supporting archives throughout Utah. Her supporters cite her outstanding organization and graphic design skills, ability to streamline processes, and service to her community in archives and beyond.

Steed was instrumental in planning the successful 2021 Best Practices Exchange Conference when COVID-19 forced a pivot to a virtual meeting. Her team’s territory includes all of Utah’s 29 counties and 254 municipalities; it is a large state with a small population, and the state archives handles a comprehensive range of practices that are generally handled by regions or counties in larger states. As Steed’s nominator writes, “She has worked hard to develop trust in the state of Utah's archival services among local governments...and performs extraordinary acts of service...literally going the extra miles to meet with people in person.”

Steed has researched and written local history stories based on Utah’s government records, including stories that highlight marginalized communities. She has created training curricula, guides, a flowchart illustrating the request process outlined in GRAMA (Utah’s sunshine law), and an Oregon Trail video game-themed blog post on how to start the records management journey. As a liaison between the State Archives and local governments, she undertook a General Records Retention Schedule Improvement project which aims to provide a more logical classification of records and a more intuitive approach for records managers. In policy discussions, she ensures that the needs of local governments are heard.

A team leader notes that Steed is “an ongoing advocate of practical iterative improvement in the way the Archives operates.” Her nominator agrees: “Heidi regularly undertakes these unglamorous and painstakingly meticulous policy projects because these invisible, behind-the-scenes improvements make the work for records officers across the state tremendously easier.”

Established in 2015, past recipients of the Spotlight Award include Georgina Tom (‘Iolani School), Lee Price (fundraising professional for cultural institutions), and Michelle Ganz (McDonough Innovation).