Valencia L. Johnson, Candidate for Nominating Committee

Valencia L. Johnson

Project Archivist for Student Life,
Princeton University

“I believe one way to foster an ecosystem of ideas and innovation is to share power with those who are critically and ethically questioning SAA’s procedures and, more importantly, silences. ”

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

• Project Archivist for Student Life, Princeton University, 2018–present.
• Digital Project Archivist, Princeton University, 2017–2018.
• John Foster and Janet Avery Dulles Archival Fellow, Princeton University, 2017.

EDUCATION

• MA, Museum Studies, Baylor University.
• BA, History and American Studies, University of Kansas.

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

• Society of American Archivists: Women’s Collections Section, Co-Chair/Chair (2018–2020); Current section memberships: Archivists and Archives of Color; College and University Archives; Diverse Sexuality and Gender; Issues and Advocacy; Women Archivists.
• Project STAND: Archiving Student Activism Toolkit Committee, Co-Chair (2019).
• Archives for Black Lives in Philadelphia: Anti-Racist Description Working Group (2017–2019).
• Academy of Certified Archivists: Member (2017–present).
• Social Networks in Archival Context: Policy and Editorial Working Group, Member (2018–2019).

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS AND AWARDS

• “Anti-Racist Description Guidelines,” Archives for Black Lives in Philadelphia Anti-Racist Description Working Group, Archives for Blacks Lives in Philadelphia (2019).
• “Archiving Student Activism Toolkit,” Project STAND (2019).

SELECTED PRESENTATIONS

• Conference on Inclusion and Diversity in Library and Information Science: “ARCH Program: An Intentional Approach to Inclusion and Diversity in the Archives Profession” with Sophia Sotilleo (2018).
• Digital Library Federation Forum: “Stop, Collaborate, and Listen! Reaching Across Programs to Preserve Student Digital Content” with Elvia Arroyo-Ramírez, Annalise Berdini, and Christiana Dobrzynski (2019).
• Rare Books and Manuscript Section: “Fight the Power: Amplifying student histories and decentering the archivist” with Annalise Berdini and Amanda Ferrara (2020).

QUESTION POSED BY NOMINATING COMMITTEE

The work of the Nominating Committee is critical to the success of SAA as an organization. Describe how you would identify and recruit potential candidates who represent a variety of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives and who demonstrate commitment to SAA’s Strategic Goals.

CANDIDATE’S RESPONSE

While preparing my statement I reviewed SAA’s core organizational values and the following stood out to me: “fostering an open and inclusive culture of creativity, collaboration, and experimentation across the association.” I believe one way to foster an ecosystem of ideas and innovation is to share power with those who are critically and ethically questioning SAA’s procedures and, more importantly, silences.

Within these silences, marginalized archivists experience being misunderstood, othering, and a lack of support within our national association. They in turn seek out and/or create that support network elsewhere. I would try to directly connect with these archivists who have a vision of how SAA and our profession can improve in terms of member support, diversity, and advocacy for the value of our labor. I hope to amplify and bring forth the work of these archivists to the Nominating Committee and the Council.

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