CPS Leadership Election 2025 Candidates

Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect

Lori Schwartz

Hagel and Technical Services Archivist, University of Nebraska at Omaha

I have worked at the University of Nebraska at Omaha's Archives and Special Collections for ten years. I was first hired to manage the U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel Archives. In 2021, I picked up additional responsibilities of directing arrangement and description for the rest of the department's manuscript collections. Prior to 2015, I was Special Projects Archivist at South Carolina Political Collections where I worked with a number of congressional collections. I earned my MA in Public History and MLIS from the University of South Carolina. I have served in leadership for the Association of Centers for the Study of Congress and served on SAA's Committee on Public Policy and the Advisory Committee on the Records of Congress.

I first served on the CPS Steering Committee about 15 years ago (!) and have enjoyed the last year of serving on the Steering Committee once again. I'm throwing my hat in the ring for vice-chair/chair-elect to continue learning amazing things from my political archivist colleagues, to help bring more archivists into our community, and to support the exchange of information among us as we plan activities for our membership.

Steering Committee Members (2)

J.A. Pryse

Senior Archivist III, Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center, Instructor, School of Library and Information Studies, University of Oklahoma

I am a digital archivist with 14 years of experience in congressional and cultural heritage repositories. I currently serve as Senior Archivist III and Curator at the Carl Albert Congressional Research Archives and as an Instructor of Information Science at the University of Oklahoma. I hold an M.L.I.S. in Digital Content Management, an M.S. in Museum Science, and am completing a Ph.D. in Information Science with a focus on Archival Informatics.

My work focuses on large-scale congressional collections, including the stewardship of over 175 TB of digital assets. I led the design of our Archival Content Management framework. As Co-PI on the NEH-funded American Congress Digital Archives Portal and NSF-funded research on political campaign media, I bring experience in AI-assisted processing, linked access, and outreach.

I serve on the NAGARA Executive Board and contribute to national conversations on digital preservation and access. My goals include advancing integrated workflows, promoting standardized transfer protocols, and expanding collaborative infrastructure for congressional archives.

Katie Jakovich

Senior Archivist, History Associates Incorporated

I have worked at History Associates Incorporated (HAI) since 2021. As Senior Archivist and Congressional Lead, I have worked with seven congressional offices on Capitol Hill as the members either retired, transferred from the House to the Senate, or wanted to get their files in better order. I also spent two and a half years as part of a team of archivists processing the papers of a former Senator. 

My work includes consulting with offices and repositories on deeds of gift, packing and inventorying documents and memorabilia, creating detailed accession records for the repository to reference upon receipt, and providing digital archiving and records management services. The experience of being embedded within active offices gives me rare insight into these collections, as I witness regularly how offices operate in real time. 

As a member of the Steering Committee since 2023, I can continue to bring my unique perspective on congressional papers and my experience with outreach and engagement to help grow CPS’ impact and reach within SAA. Those of us who work with congressional collections face distinct challenges given the size, breadth, and inherent complexity of these collections. CPS members are accustomed to navigating turbulent political waters, and we have lessons we can share with the larger archival community in increasingly uncertain and contentious times.

I earned my MSIS, with a focus on Archiving and Preservation, from the University of Texas at Austin and my BA in History from Rhodes College. I worked in libraries and archives for the entirety of my time both at Rhodes and UT Austin, gaining experience with processing, appraisal, and outreach. My time at HAI furthers my exposure to the many aspects of archival work and experience with the dilemmas that come with being a consultant.