2026 Steering Committee Candidates

Thank you to all of our excellent candidates for standing in the 2026 Archival History Section election. Please take some time to review their candidate statements and get to know them so you can make an informed choice. 

You will be voting for:

• One Vice Chair/Chair-Elect for a one year term and then a one year term as Chair
• Three Steering Committee Members for a one year term
• One Student/Early Career Member for a one year term

Ballots will be managed by SAA staff through Survey Monkey. Ballots open on June 1st and close June 15th.

Vice Chair/Chair-Elect Candidate

The following candidate is running for the Vice Chair/Chair-Elect position:

Patrick McGee

 Patrick McGee (he/him) is an archivist and researcher pursuing an MLS in Information Studies and an MA in History. His research involves the intellectual history of fascism, archival theory in the late 20^th century, and issues of modern and postmodern aesthetics.

 I am running to be Vice Chair of the Archival History Steering Committee. As an archivist and researcher, I believe it is imperative that this section of the SAA fosters dialogue on the methods for the writing of archival history and encourages greater interdisciplinary work. I was lucky to serve as a Steering Committee Member last year, assisting in the coordination of committee proceedings, as well as voting for the recipient of the AHS Archival History Article Award. I so appreciated having the opportunity to facilitate the discourse of archival history through these forms of public engagement and hope to continue to contribute more to the committee's efforts. I would like to participate in the writing group that the current committee has formed and find ways to encourage more archivists and scholars to join this brainstorming session. 

Steering Committee Member Candidates

The following candidates are running for the Steering Committee. (The names below are placed in alphabetical order.)

Madelaine Davis

 Bio: Madelaine Davis is an MLIS candidate at Louisiana State University specializing in archival studies, with research focused on intangible cultural heritage, sensory memory, and the ethics of AI-generated description. She is currently conducting research on olfactory memory and participatory archival practice. She serves as Marketing Liaison for ALA CORE and as Newsletter Editor for the SAA Museum Archives Section, and volunteers weekly at the Bullock Texas State History Museum. She has spent the past year serving as the Early Career Member of the Archival History Section steering committee.

 Statement: Serving on the AHS steering committee this past year has deepened my investment in this community. I've valued being part of the article awards process, engaging with the section's programming, and watching how the section works to keep archival history visible and relevant within the broader profession. As a Member-at-Large, I hope to build on that involvement — contributing to outreach, programming, and the collaborative work that makes this section a meaningful home for archivists at all career stages. I bring experience in marketing and communications, active engagement across SAA and ALA, and a genuine enthusiasm for the history and future of our field.

Sharalyn D. Howcroft

 Bio: MA in Library and Information Science with an archival studies concentration, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; Certified Archivist, Academy of Certified Archivists, 2015-present; Exam development committee, Academy of Certified Archivists, 2019-present; Digital Archives Specialist, Society of American Archivists, 2021-present; Project Archivist, The Joseph Smith Papers, 2018-present; Tier 2 Preservation Committee, Church History Library, 2024-present; Founding Documents Committee, Church History Library, 2026-present; Archives Subcommittee Chair, Pleasant Grove Historic Preservation Commission, Pleasant Grove City (Utah), 2025-present; Archival History Section Steering Committee, Society of American Archivists, 2025-present.

 Statement: I am interested in the member-at-large position for the Archival History Section Steering Committee of the Society of American Archivists. Archival history is key to understanding institutional memory and how collections are preserved and identified by their custodians. Beginning in 2025, I served on the Archival History Section committee with other professionals who, like me, have a passion for archives and archives history, and wanted to give back to our profession in meaningful ways. As a committee, we selected two outstanding guest lecturers and bestowed an award for the best archival history article. I’m grateful for the opportunity I’ve had to learn and serve on the Archival History Section committee this term; my only regret is the term of service went by so quickly! This is my bid to once again join the committee.

Brian Jirout

 My name is Brian Jirout and as of January 2026, I am an archivist in the Murray and Hong Special Collections and University Archives at Michigan State University Libraries. I have previously been Archivist at SUNY Cortland and a corporate archivist and historian at the Boeing Company. I completed my MLIS at Simmons University and a PhD in History of Science at Georgia Institute of Technology.

 My interest in archival history began over a decade ago during my dissertation research when I began researching the history of NASA’s earth observation data archive and assessed accessibility issues and uses of its archival data during the Cold War. Since joining the profession in 2019, I am passionate about archival history because archives do not simply preserve history, but they are active participants in it. Subscribing to the ideas that archives are not neutral and that archival silences are often intentional, archival history is foundational and necessary for practitioners to grow archival literacy in their communities and understand their collections more deeply. Archival history informs our collection guidelines, primary source teaching, provenance, among many others and provides a space to better situate our institutions as information authorities to serve our communities accurately and honestly. I hope to serve with the Steering Committee to connect with others with this interest and foster further scholarship and scholarly activities.

Student/Early Career Member Candidate

The following candidate is running for the Student/Early Career Member position: 

Krystal Baker

My name is Krystal Baker, and I am interested in becoming the Early Career Member on the Archival History Section Steering Committee. I am currently developing the first archival program at CB&I (Chicago Bridge & Iron), where I focus on creating workflows for the organization, preservation, and accessibility of records and artifacts that document the company’s 140‑year history and its prominent role in industrialization and the global energy infrastructure.  This work has deepened my interest in how archival history is shaped and interpreted within corporate contexts.

My background as a History major at UCLA informs my archival practice and continued interest in the historical development of archival institutions and methods. I further refined this interest through my MLIS at Dominican University, where I developed strong foundations in archival organization and stewardship. Having held leadership roles in student organizations throughout my academic career, I value collaboration and professional service. As an Early Career Member, I hope to support initiatives that strengthen engagement with archival history across cultural, educational, and corporate archives.