Courtney Chartier, Candidate for Nominating Committee

Professional Experience: Assistant Head, Archives Research Center, Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library, 2010‒present.

Education: MS, Information Studies, University of Texas at Austin, 2006; MA, Southern Studies, University of Mississippi, 2003; BA, American Studies, University of Texas at Austin, 2001.

Professional Activities: Society of American Archivists: Member, Annual Meeting Taskforce, 2011‒present; Co-Chair, Archivists and Archives of Color Roundtable, 2010‒present, Member, Awards Committee, 2010‒present, Steering Committee, Issues and Advocacy Roundtable, 2009‒2010; Society of Georgia Archivists: Chair, Outreach Committee, 2010‒present, Member, Program Committee, 2011, Chair, Scholarship Committee, 2009, SGA Mentor, 2011‒2012; Academy of Certified Archivists: Member, Petition Review Team, 2012, Member, Outreach Committee, 2010‒present.

Publications: “Picture Me Rollin’: Hip Hop and the Tupac Amaru Shakur Collection at the Atlanta University Center,” Archival Outlook, December 2011. “Digitizing the Morehouse College Martin Luther King, Jr. Collection,” The Primary Source, 2010.

Conference Presentations: “Picture Me Rollin’,” SAA Annual Meeting, 2011; “’Holla If You Hear Me’: Privacy in the Tupac Shakur Collection,” Society of Georgia Archivists Annual Meeting, 2010; “A Unique Process: Technology and the Morehouse College Martin Luther King, Jr. Collection Project Findings,” Historically Black Colleges and Universities Library Alliance (HBCULA) Annual Membership Meeting, with Andrea Jackson and Loretta Parham, 2010; “Working for Freedom: Documenting the Civil Rights Movement,” SAA Annual Meeting, with Cheryl Oestreicher, Sarah Quigley, and Chris Harter, 2010

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Question posed by the Nominating Committee: An essential component of the nomination and election process is identification of new leaders within SAA who embody the diversity of the archives profession. Describe what you believe to be the core responsibility of the members of the Nominating Committee, and outline your ideas for identifying the next generation of SAA leaders to ensure that new or distinctive voices and perspectives contribute to the future of the profession.

I see the core responsibility of SAA as service to its members and the profession, and because of that I see the core responsibility of the Nominating Committee as identifying members who have the most to offer their colleagues in service to them.

As a part of that responsibility to service, the members of the Nominating Committee should be aware of and committed to furthering diversity, and in fostering a culture of advocacy, in SAA leadership. Our leaders should represent our diversity in all dimensions (socio-culturally, geographically, professionally), and should be committed to SAA’s goal of promoting the profession.

I think it’s also essential for the Nominating Committee to make the leadership needs of SAA more transparent to the portions of the membership that include the young, the new, and those who may have never been really engaged by their membership. New members especially may not always be aware of leadership opportunities, or, even if they are, may not be aware of how they can contribute as a leader. I believe that fuller participation in SAA is the key for members better understand the workings of, and to receive maximum benefits from this organization.