Thank you to all the excellent candidates for standing in the 2026-2027 Audio and Moving Image Section election. Please take some time to review candidate bios and statements.

Open positions:

• Vice Chair/Chair-Elect
• Member-At-Large, Steering Committee

*The Steering Committee requires a minimum of two members.

Ballots will be managed by SAA staff through Survey Monkey; keep an eye on your inbox for when the ballot opens!

Candidate statements and Bios

Vice Chair/Chair-Elect Candidates

Vice Chair/Chair-Elect (2-year commitment, as Vice-Chair and then Chair)

Linda Smith (she/They)

Multimedia Archivist, Diocese of the Armenian Church/Arab.AMP

Linda is a May 2026 graduate of the Moving Image Archiving and Preservation graduate program at New York University. In their time there, they interned at the Shigeko Kubota Video Art Foundation, ENTRE Film Center & Regional Archive, and the American Folk Art Museum, and worked for the Digital Preservation Outreach and Education Network and in the media preservation lab of NYU's Bobst Library. She received her MLS in 2022 and has worked in public and academic libraries, archives, and museum archives. Linda has long enjoyed learning from the materials they get to interact with, finding ways to share them with new users, and teaching/empowering community members to steward their archival materials.

Over the course of two years, I have gained an extensive background and set of experiences working with various audiovisual materials in archival collections. During that time, I have had many chances to share my research and findings in conference settings, and it has always been great to connect with folks working with similar materials or who want to learn what it's like. In cultural heritage work (and perhaps especially audio and moving image work), it's important to connect, for learning opportunities, to grow in your understanding and appreciation of the work, and as a reminder that we're not alone in what can be isolating work. If given the chance to serve as a member-at-large in this committee, I would be excited to meet my fellow section leads and come up with ways to connect with current members and grow our influence. I would appreciate the chance to find ways to engage with community members and learn from each other, through talks, events, and the like. I know that this community has helped me a lot as I supplement my education with real-world experience, and I would love to give back in my own way.

Steering Committee Member Candidates

Member-At-Large, Steering Committee (1-year commitment), more than two members can hold seats.

Michael Gates 

Audiovisual Digitization Lab Manager, Harold B. Lee Library of Brigham Young University

(Current Steering member)

Michael Gates is the Audiovisual Digitization Lab Manager at the BYU Library in Provo, Utah.  He is responsible for coordinating the digitization of motion picture film, and analog video and audio media.  Prior to BYU, Michael spent 2 years in micrographics digitization, and 8 years in audio visual digitization, and AV born digital validation and normalization.  He holds a master's degree in Sound Recording technology from the University of Massachusetts.  

Being a member at large for the AMI section fits well with my desire to be of help wherever I can.  My role in AV digitization throughout the years has been a position of service; to provide quality digital representations of the media we hold for preservation and for patron access far into the future.  As a member of this section, it would be my privilege to serve the larger community, share my knowledge and help others make connections that will help elevate the work of preserving our audiovisual heritage.

Catherine Phan (she/Her/Hers)

Digital and Media Archivist, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Cat Phan is the Digital and Media Archivist at the University Archives at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, managing the digital archiving program and the image and audiovisual media collections. Cat’s professional interests revolve around community archives, digital archives planning and policy formation, equitable access and inclusive representation, and undergraduate research support. She strives to prioritize a values and people-centered approach to her work.

I am searching for ways to become more actively engaged with SAA and joining the Audio & Moving Image section seems like a perfect fit to both use my knowledge, skills, and expertise with audio and moving image materials to collaborate with and learn from others with similar interests and contribute to the wider profession.

Matthew Wilcox

Audiovisual Archivist, Michigan State University Libraries

(current Steering member)

Matthew Wilcox is the Audiovisual Archivist at Michigan State University Libraries.  He serves as a member of the Media Preservation Unit (part of the Conservation & Preservation Unit), and is responsible for the in-house preservation, digitization, and improved accessibility of audio and moving image collections in units at the MSU Libraries, including University Archives, Murray & Hong Special Collections, the Vincent Voice Library, and the Turfgrass Information Center.  Matthew also manages the setup and maintenance of audiovisual playback and scanning equipment in the MSU Libraries' Media Preservation Lab and he provides condition assessments and repairs of time-based audiovisual materials in the lab.

In 2025, Matthew's main focus will be assisting with the preservation and digitization of educational television films and kinescopes from the early years of WKAR-TV, the second-oldest continually operating public television station in the country (the station first aired on January 15, 1954).  He gave a presentation on this topic entitled "Walls of the Classroom Disappear: Early Educational Television 16mm Films" at the Association of Moving Image Archivists' (AMIA) 2024 conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  Matthew received his master's in library and information science in 2014 at Wayne State University, with a concentration on Archives and Digital Content Management.

Elizabeth Wood (She/Her)

Archivist, AIP Niels Bohr Library & Archives

I am an archivist with the AIP Niels Bohr Library & Archives, where I am primarily responsible for the audiovisual and photograph collections, including accessions, processing, cataloging, and digitization. As part of a small team, I also write for the Ex Libris Universum blog and conduct other outreach and reference activities. Prior to joining AIP, I was a Digital Asset Specialist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Archives for two years. I hold a bachelor’s degree in music with a focus on recording technology from James Madison University, a master's degree in ethnomusicology from the University of California, Riverside, and a master’s degree in library and information science from the University of California, Los Angeles. I am interested in issues of community archiving, reparative description, and digital collections, especially as they relate to AV materials.

I consider myself a late-early career archivist (established but still new), and as I get settled into my career, I want to get more involved in professional groups to meet like-minded folks and contribute to our profession. I have been impressed by the AMI events I have attended over the past couple of years and want to be part of the effort to plan and organize future events, as well as push the group to expand into new activities. For example, I really enjoy the new coffee chat series, and I would be interested in starting a quarterly reading group to stay up to date on the latest developments in the field, especially as we grapple with the effects of AI and the continued degralescence of the materials we deal with. I am also interested in building out the group microsite and doing more to actively share resources and projects between members.