Election information

Thank you to all of our excellent candidates for standing in the 2023 Archival History Section election. Please take some time to review th following candidate bios and statements and get to know them. 

The ballots themselves will be managed by SAA staff. Keep an eye on your inbox for the official ballots to all sections. 

You will be voting for: 

·       

One Vice Chair (for a one-year term, who will move to Chair next year)

·       

Three (3) Steering Committee members, for one-year terms

For Vice-Chair (in the ballot to be mailed to you, you will vote for one):

Natalie Worsham

Independent Archivist

New Orleans, LA

Natalie Worsham’s bio and statement:

Bio: Natalie Worsham began as an intern with the Archival History Section in August 2018. After her year-long internship was finished, she decided to continue to volunteer as a co-editor. Natalie lives in New Orleans and graduated with the dual degree Master of Library and Information Science with a Graduate Certificate in Archival Studies from Louisiana State University in December 2019. She was involved with the SAA student chapter at LSU. She holds a master’s degree in history from Southeastern Louisiana University (2014). She volunteers at The Historic New Orleans Collection as a cataloguer in the Williams Research Center. She has served as a Steering Committee Member with the Archival History Section since 2022. Working with Archival History News, since 2019, she again hopes to gain further insight into the archival profession and help others too as they combine her two loves of history and archives.

Statement: "I am running as a member of the steering committee in order to stay involved with the Archival History Section. In my experience with the section first as intern, then co-editor, and now editor of the newsletter, I have always enjoyed working with the committee. Making connections with others passionate about archival history and learning more about the discipline is important to me."

Steering Committee Members (in the ballot to be mailed to you, you will vote for three): 

Trevor Alford

Curator of Twenty-First Century Mormonism and Western Americana

Brigham Young University

Provo, Utah

Trevor Alford ’s bio and statement: 

Bio: Trevor Alford has curated 21st-century Mormonism and Western Americana at the L. Tom Perry Special Collections since 2012. He is responsible for building the BYU web archive and collecting modern imprints, art, and media, for documenting Mormonism’s historical and cultural expression. Before BYU, he served as a Processing Archivist at Utah State University and as Head of Special Collections at James Madison University. Trevor received undergraduate degrees from Utah State University in History and Religious Studies in 2007 and his MLIS from San Jose State University in 2009. Research interests are in the culture, expression, identity, and portrayal of Mormonism. 

Statement: “There is no greater profession in the world than being an archivist. To be a part of the historical process by preserving culture, knowledge, and experience is an honor that I do not take lightly. I love what I do and the community that helps me continually improve. That is why I am seeking this role, to help document the good work and history we, as archivists, engage in. Previously I have served SAA through the Web Archiving Section and on awards committees. Understanding our past is vital to ensuring our future, and I am excited for the opportunity to play a role in documenting and communicating archival history.” 

Caitlin Oiye Coon

Archives Director

Densho Digital Repository

Seattle, WA

Caitlin Oiye Coon’s bio and statement:

Bio: Caitlin Oiye Coon is the Archives Director at Densho, a community-based archives dedicated to preserving the stories of the Japanese American incarceration during World War II. She graduated from the University of Washington with a BA in History. She also holds an MA in History/Archives and Records Management from Western Washington University and an MLIS from San Jose State University. She has over 15 years of experience as an archivist, with a specific interest in community-based archives and the impact of technology in the archival profession. At Densho, she currently manages an archives program and oversees a team dedicated to preservation and access to historical materials and oral histories through digital technologies.

Statement: “I would be honored to serve on SAA’s Archival History Section Steering Committee. Working in a non-traditional and technology focused community-based archives I am often immersed in future trends in the archival profession. When thinking about the future I am always aware of the past. I believe that we need to have an understanding and appreciation of our history in order to keep our work relevant and focused in changing times.”

Sebastian Modrow

Assistant Professor

Syracuse University School of Information Studies

Syracuse, NY

Sebastian Modrow’s bio and statement: 

Bio: As an assistant professor at Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies, a former archivist and curator of rare books and manuscripts with a background in history and Classics, Sebastian Modrow calls archival history a focus not only of the courses he teaches on Special collections, Libraries, Archives, and Museums, but also of his research. He earned a MLIS from Syracuse University, a Master’s equivalent in History and Latin from the University of Greifswald, Germany, and a doctorate in ancient history from the University of Rostock, Germany.

His research explores the intersection of history, heritage, and memory studies within the realms of libraries and archives. Engaging with topics such as literacy, information access, and power in pre-modern societies, he is interested in identity narratives and the othering of whole populations during acts of colonization (ancient and modern). His current book project is Archives and Record Keeping in the Roman Republic.

Statement: “In an era of contested information, the role and importance of archives as long-term record keepers can hardly be overstated. But record keeping itself has a history, the historic record itself is curated, and broad access to this record is not a natural law but a social achievement. The history of archives must be researched, understood, and made as widely available as record access itself. It is for this reason that I would like to re-join the steering committee of SAA’s Archival History Section and support their efforts to educate the profession and the general public about archival history.”