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The Archivists and Archives of Color Section Steering Committee is excited to announce the excellent slate of candidates running in this year’s election. Please review their bios and statements before casting your votes.
You will be voting for:
SAA staff administer ballots through Survey Monkey and will email you the ballot when voting opens.
Arthur Carlson
Director of ARC Operations, Revs Institute
Bio: Arthur Carlson is archivist and historian who oversees the Revs Institute Archives and Research Center (ARC) in Fort Myers, Florida. His work focuses on applying emerging technologies and best practices to enhance access and discovery of the rich archival resources held at Revs to create the most useful automotive research resource available in the world. He has published and presented on a wide range of archival topics including digital preservation, sports history, and documenting popular culture.
Statement: I am passionate about increasing representation and access to archival collections and fostering meaningful opportunities for individuals working in this and related fields. Having served on the AAC Steering Committee for the past two years, I have had the priviledge of making important connections that have helped further those causes while also learning how critically important a supportive network is to the viability of institutions and their staff that preserve the knowledge and memory of underserved communities. I hope that as co-chair, I can use my experiences to help AAC members discover, support, and celebrate that work.
Lauren Cooper
Digital Scholarship Librarian/Managing Director, Penn State University
Bio: Lauren Cooper (Akimel O’odham, Muscogee, she/her) is a tenure-track Digital Scholarship Librarian, and the Managing Director for the Center for Black Digital Research (CBDR) at The Pennsylvania State University. As the CBDR Librarian, she works with students, colleagues, and partners to research, develop, and implement digital scholarship and publishing projects. As Managing Director, she drives the implementation of the Center’s strategic goals, managing the delivery on Center partnerships and collaborations, participating in grant writing and management, and overseeing that the organizational, financial, and technological infrastructures meet the immediate and long-term needs. Community building and engagement across and between different audiences is critical to the Center’s collective and collaborative framework for scholarly production. With the Center directors, Lauren works to establish and maintain trust, understanding, and reciprocity with external institutional partners and community members associated with digital projects, ensuring the ethical curation and stewardship of digital projects, especially with communities historically excluded, silenced, or underrepresented in academia.
Statement: I have served one term (2024-2026) as the AAC Newsletter Editor, revamping a position that had been dormant for several years and committed to a regular publication schedule to revitalize interest and impact. During this time, in the first 6 months, the AAC Steering Committee experienced attrition of members. In October 2025, I stepped into the role of Co-chair for 2025-2026 to help keep cohesion amongst the remaining three of us, fostering collaboration, prioritizing tasks, and documenting our challenges. I am running for co-chair to ensure continuity for a newly formed Steering Committee and, hopefully, foster engagement amongst the membership. However, as I have learned, it will take more than the Steering Committee to create a community of sharing and conversation. As we all grapple with the state of the world as well as the state of the archives field, I hope we can find common space to learn from each other and feel that we are not alone.
Victoria Contreras
Head of Archives, Archives of the Big Bend, Sul Ross State University
Bio: Victoria Contreras specializes in community archives and is dedicated to preserving and promoting the history and culture of West Texas and Sul Ross State University. Originally from El Paso, Victoria received her training and earned a Master of Science in Information Management and Preservation from the University of Glasgow, and has worked with diverse collections across Texas and abroad. Her commitment to honesty and equity inspires her to discover, preserve, and advocate for the missing voices and connections in our cultural heritage.
Statement: Shortly after moving to the area and starting in my current role, I noticed a glaring absence of materials by or about the Hispanic communities in our region, despite historically making up 40-60% of the population. A closer inspection into our collections and accession dates revealed that the few materials we did have from that part of our community were almost all acquired as part of a targeted effort by a former part-time staff member, who was also active within the local Hispanic community. This made me wonder if such blatant omissions would even be noticed, let alone acted upon, by archivists or archives staff outside of the BIPOC community. As the first BIPOC (Chicana) head archivist at my institution, this added a new layer of responsibility to my role that I had not anticipated or prepared for. It opened my eyes to experiences associated with racial erasure, misrepresentation, and violence that I had not encountered in my degree program or professional readings. It served as the catalyst for my personal research on the effects of representation in archival and library collections and staff. I wish to serve as a SAA Archivists and Archives of Color Section Steering Committee Member to widen my perspective and take a step forward from passive research to active advocacy for members of our archival community dealing with such issues. Additionally, I would love the opportunity to be in community with other peers with similar experiences. Prior to joining SAA, I had never met another Latine or Hispanic archivist, so I have treasured every opportunity to network and simply be with other BIPOC in our field.
Jinene A. Foye
Project Archivist, USC Columbia
Bio: I am a project archivist with experience working in special collections, where my work focuses on processing, preserving, and providing access to archival materials in both physical and digital formats. My professional interests include digital preservation, archival description, and equitable access to historical collections, particularly within project‑based and time‑limited archival environments. I am currently pursuing a Master of Library and Information Science degree, where my coursework complements my professional practice by strengthening my understanding of information organization, metadata standards, and user‑centered access. I am especially interested in how archivists balance long‑term preservation responsibilities with the need to make collections usable and discoverable for diverse audiences.
Statement: I am a project archivist working in special collections with experience organizing, preserving, and providing access to archival materials in both physical and digital formats. My professional and academic background has shaped a deep commitment to stewardship, equity of access, and thoughtful information organization, particularly in project‑based and collaborative environments. I am motivated to serve because I value contributing my skills and perspective in ways that support shared goals, strengthen institutional memory, and foster inclusive access to information. Serving offers an opportunity to engage more fully with the professional community, apply my experience beyond my immediate role, and support initiatives that benefit both current users and future researchers.
No candidates.