2026 Election: Candidate Statements

Thank you to all of our excellent candidates for standing in the 2026 Collection Management 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
• One Steering Committee member
• One Web Liaison

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

Vice Chair/Chair-Elect Candidate

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

Dave Lewis Head, Processing Unit for Archival Description, Recorded Sound Section, National Audio-Visual Conservation Center

Candidate Statement:

Before pivoting to archives, I trained as an ethnographer, working my way through school in ethnographic audiovisual archival student jobs. While it's been years since I've done formal fieldwork, the abiding values of community and collaboration that were central to my ethnographic work have bled into my professional life as an archivist. All three of my professional positions have heavily involved prioritization and physical control of large backlogs (compared to collection size), writing or revising collection management policies and procedures, and participating in or initiating system transitions for archival description and management. Balancing institutional and user needs in collection decisions, as well as the needs and rights of communities of origin, simply does not get easier. What continues to help me, though, is tapping into work and professional communities for advice, discussion, and shared resources. I'm excited to be able to give back to the archival community through creation and maintenance of shared collection management resources and conversations, as well as beginning to think through how archival practices like shared stewardship and community-based practice impact and shape our shared collection management practice.

Background:

Dave Lewis has been the Head of Archival Processing in the Recorded Sound Section of the Library of Congress's National Audio-Visual Conservation Center since 2023. Prior to that, he held positions at Bowling Green State University (Ohio) and the Birthplace of Country Music Museum (Bristol, VA/TN). He earned his M.L.I.S. from the University of Pittsburg and his Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from Indiana University. Dave is an active member of several professional organizations, serving on the Membership Committee (2021-2024) and Conference Grants Committee (member 2015-16, chair 2019-2024), and the Local Arrangements Committee for MARAC 2026. His research interests include archival processing and description, ethnographic approaches to archival practice, and audiovisual archives.

Steering Committee Member Candidate

Matthew Gorzalski University Archivist, Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Candidate Statement:

I served on the Collection Management Section Steering Committee from 2024-2026, and I am excited to run for another term. Specifically, I look forward to continuing the Section's work on revising the 2019 standard Guidelines for Standardized Holdings Counts and Measures for Archival Repositories and Special Collections Libraries. Participating in standard revision is a new process for me and I look forward to the opportunity to continue. Collection management--and all its component tasks--is the core of my role as University Archivist. At my institution, I serve as the primary knowledge source for our collection management system (ArchivEra). I also led the initiative that will soon result in adopting our first professional electronic records management system. Recently, we've emphasized planning and strategy for complying with American with Disabilities Act Title II requirements, as well as exploring ways to responsibly use artificial intelligence in our workflows. I greatly enjoy sharing knowledge with colleagues and staying active in the profession. Leadership in SAA allows me to meet other archivists, learn from them, and give back to the Society.

Background:

Matthew Gorzalski has been the University Archivist at Southern Illinois University Carbondale since 2012. He earned his MLIS from the University of Pittsburg in 2008. He has served in various positions in the Society of American Archivist and the Midwest Archives Conference. Highlights include Collection Management Section Steering Committee (2024-2026) and CMS Chair (2015-2016), SAA Membership Committee Chair (2017-2018), Midwest Archives Conference Nominating Committee Chair (2024-2025), and MAC Program Committees (2015, 2022, 2023). He has published in American Archivist, Archival Issues, and other journals. He was awarded SAA's Emerging Leadership Award in 2016.

Web Liaison Candidate

Hilary Streifer Archivist/Librarian Allen Lastinger Center for Florida History, University of North Florida

Candidate Statement:

I am excited to run for re-election for the position of Web Liaison for the Collection Management Section. I have decided to run for re-election so that I can continue to contribute to the work for the Collections Management Section as the section begins the process of reviewing/revising the Guidelines for the Standardized Holdings Counts and Measures for Archival Repositories and Special Collections Libraries. Over the course of my career, I have been responsible for all aspects of collections management, from acquisitions decisions, arrangement, description, preservation, grant project management, weeding, space management, and implementation of ArchivesSpace. In my current position, at the University of North Florida, I oversee all aspects of collections management, from acquisitions to access for a new collecting unit. As an archivist for over ten years, I have relied on the resources and knowledge shared in the various SAA sections, and I would be honored to continue to participate in the Collections Management Section's leadership.

Background:

Hilary Streifer is the inaugural Allen Lastinger Center for Florida History Librarian at the University of North Florida, where she oversees all aspects of collection building, management, and access for the newly established special collections unit. Before joining UNF in May 2024, she was at the Peabody Essex Museum's Phillips Library, in Massachusetts, for almost ten years. At the Phillips Library she oversaw all activities relating to the library's manuscript collections, from accessioning, processing, description, and collections management. She holds a Masters in history from Villanova University, and Masters in Library and Information Science from Simmons University, and Digital Archives Specialist certificate from the Society of American Archivists.