Brittany Newberry, Candidate for Council

"We cannot continue to do everything as it has always been done. Going in a circle solves nothing, so as a member of council I would ask questions, listen respectively, and share new ideas to better serve the members of the organization and the overall community."

BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT

Brittany Newberry is the Music & Popular Culture Archivist at Georgia State University. Prior to working at Georgia State, she worked as a Processing Archivist at the Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library. In her current role, Brittany serves as the curator of the music and popular culture collections held in GSU's Special Collections & Archives. She acquires and preserves materials documenting 20th century and 21st century American music and culture, makes them available for research, and provides outreach to university, scholarly, and local communities. Brittany is an active member of the Society of American Archivists and the Society of Georgia Archivists. She has served SAA in a variety of capacities: Archivists and Archives of Color Steering Committee Member (2018 – 2022), Diversity Committee Ex-Officio Member (2022 – 2023), Membership Committee Member (2018 – 2023), Membership Committee Chair (2022 – 2023), Career Development Subcommittee Chair (2019 – 2020), Nominating Committee Member (2022 – 2023). Additionally, Brittany is a member of the 2024 Archives Leadership Institute cohort. During her career, she has presented on various conference panels and has given several presentations on different projects, such as her work on virtual archives and donor relations. Brittany actively researches and pursues professional interests in African American archives, social justice and archival activism, student-centered archives, and donor relations.

DIVERSITY STATEMENT

(Each candidate prepared a diversity statement according to SAA guidelines.)

Diversity, equity, and inclusion means acknowledging that white supremacy exists and doing nothing contributes to oppression and barriers to progress. It means to acknowledge and seek ways to dismantle the barriers in an organization. DEI is an active approach to understanding the needs and concerns of all those represented in an organization like SAA. As an archives professional, I have my own perspectives and practices with DEI work. I am a Black, disabled woman. My lived experiences have contributed to my perspectives and the work that I do. I consider my background and experiences when engaging with coworkers, colleagues, and patrons. Through my interactions with others, I must be aware of my own biases and how to address those. I realize that through my work I can advocate for others and help to move the profession forward. I have received opportunities that help me to advocate for DEI in the profession, such as my work hiring students for the archives, mentoring current LIS students, participating on committees and boards. Through my positions and my volunteering with organizations like SAA, I seek to find ways to address inequity and reach a diverse profession. We must have thoughtful considerations of our own biases. To practice DEI is to practice cultural humility. It means to acknowledge that we will not know everything about other cultures and communities, but we can actively be learning and growing as we move forward with our careers and personal lives. We need to challenge ourselves to learn about the backgrounds and perspectives of others. And not just simply expect someone to represent an entire community. I understand that I am only one perspective and true DEI must seek to get various perspectives and not rely on norms. SAA Council is front and center to the organization and the work that it does. I have seen in current and past strategic plans a focus on DEI. But how do we make sure this goes from talk to action? In my experience, representation matters. But that is not just limited to having people in leadership positions. Council needs to find ways to make sure voices are being heard and concrete steps are being taken. As a member of council, I would work to identify how we can turn thoughts into actions. As a council, it is imperative that we work to make structural changes.

QUESTION POSED BY NOMINATING COMMITTEE>

How would you manage competing priorities for financial stability and meeting membership needs? What specific measures do you plan to pursue to guide the Society in alignment with its mission and strategic goals? What qualities and values would you bring to this role to ensure equitable and responsive governance of the Society?

CANDIDATE'S RESPONSE

We work in a profession that can help shape the future in our preservation of the past. As an organization, SAA is central to this work and ensuring that members and the archives community have the resources necessary to do this work. The work of SAA Council is crucial to the operations of SAA. Through the council, SAA continues to thrive but only if it stays relevant and a leader in the profession.As I reviewed the current strategic plan, I took note of several not yet started initiatives that are critical to advancing the profession. Specifically, the following: "Diversify the profession by recruiting diverse archival workers, including those with diverse backgrounds/education, and recruiting diverse students into the profession," and "Develop service-oriented competency training (for archivists) that focuses on the need for archivists to cultivate non-custodial, reciprocal relationships with their community." My experiences with work on cultural humility, donor relations, serving on committees, and hiring of students would contribute well to these DEIA initiatives. Additionally, these as well as others should be ones that are not just a part of the current strategic plan but continuing practices of SAA.As a member of council, I would like to prioritize the following initiatives: Evaluate current strategic plan initiatives; identify outstanding DEIA initiatives and how to move forward with this work Work with Council and SAA leadership to create a new strategic plan for the upcoming years that addresses the current and future needs of the profession Outside of the annual meeting – hold discussion forums and focus groups to hear from members and how we may address their needs Acknowledge burn out, emotional labor, and the toll that this work takes on the volunteers; find ways to address the mental health needs of our members Identify avenues to seek input and recruit new volunteers to hear from more members and new voices to the profession Address our communication methods; how are members communicating with one another, email, social media, in-person, etc.? Are we using outdated methods? SAA needs people on Council who are thoughtful, detail-oriented, and community minded. But also, people who are not afraid to question the status quo. We cannot continue to do everything as it has always been done. Going in a circle solves nothing, so as a member of council I would ask questions, listen respectively, and share new ideas to better serve the members of the organization and the overall community. I'm eager to support the work of Council and SAA leadership. This organization is sustained by the work of volunteers and I hope to continue to aid my colleagues and this community.

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