2025 Election: Candidate Statements

2025 Election: Candidate Statements

Thank you to all of our excellent candidates for standing in the 2025 Description 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 (1) Vice Chair/Chair-Elect, for a term of three (3) consecutive years: one (1) year as Vice Chair/Chair-Elect, one (1) year as Chair, and one (1) year as Past Chair.
• One (1) Steering Committee Member-at-Large, for a term of two (2) years.

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:

Corey Cherrington 

Job Title and Institution: Assistant Archivist, Gates Archive

Bio:

I am an Assistant Archivist at the Gates Archive (GA) on the Collection Development and Description (CDD) team. My primary responsibilities include archival processing, writing accessible archival descriptions for physical and digital collection items, and contributing to initiatives focused on inclusive vocabularies and description. I have held this position since January 2025. Prior to my current role, I worked for two years as a contract Assistant Archivist at GA, following a year-long internship with the organization. I hold a Master of Library and Information Science degree from the University of Washington and a Master of Arts degree from Columbia University in European History, Politics, and Society. I have also published papers on history, information science, and related topics. Since beginning my archival career, I have served as a Member-at-Large for the Description Section of the Society of American Archivists (SAA) for the past two years, as an editor for Descriptive Notes (the Description Section’s blog), and as Secretary for both the Northwest Archivists and the Seattle Area Archivists.

On a personal note, I am an enrolled member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, am from Northern California, am a burrito enthusiast, and adore dogs.

Statement of Interest:

Having served on the Description Section Steering Committee for the past two years as a Member-at-Large, I have been proud to contribute to the Section’s efforts to further accessible and inclusive description practices, explore emerging technologies in descriptive work, and strengthen collaborations with other sections of SAA. One of my proudest accomplishments during this time was planning and hosting a panel discussion on artificial intelligence (AI) and archival description with two fellow committee members; the event drew over 285 attendees and engaged critical conversations about the future of description.

If selected as Vice Chair / Chair elect, I would expand on these initiatives by pursuing new opportunities for collaboration across SAA, prioritizing inclusive descriptive practices in event planning, and helping our community engage thoughtfully with emerging technologies such as AI. It has been a privilege to serve on this committee for the past two years, and I would be honored to continue contributing to our community’s growth and innovation in this new role. 

Steering Committee Member-at-Large Candidates

The following candidates are running for the section steering committee:

Jessica Quagliaroli  

Job Title and Institution: Processing Archivist, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University 

Bio: 

Jessica Quagliaroli is a Processing Archivist at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. In her role, she is responsible for the arrangement and description of analog and born-digital archival collections. She develops processing plans, carries out complex processing projects, writes finding aids, and serves on Yale library committees that develop communities of practice for archivists across Yale special collections. She previously served as the co-chair of the Design Records Section (DRS) from 2018-2020 and the Reference, Access, and Outreach Teaching with Primary Sources Subcommittee (RAO-TPS) from 2021-2024. Her work for the DRS and RAO-TPS focused on bringing together section members to share skills, successes, and challenges and to create resources that support the work of archivists. Jessica has worked as an archivist since 2010 and held positions at the Architect of the Capitol, Yale University Library Manuscripts and Archives, and the Yale Center for British Art. She holds an MLS from Indiana University. 

Statement of Interest:

A throughline of my career as an archivist has been a focus on description as a point of access. I have worked with a wide range of formats (government and organizational records, architectural and project records, materials in multiple languages, visual materials, audiovisual formats, and born-digital records) and collections of varying size and complexity. I approach description holistically in relation to other activities like reference, instruction, and outreach, and consider how description can facilitate researcher access, use, and activation of materials. I am interested in the Member-at-Large position because it offers the opportunity to work with colleagues across the profession to develop projects and resources that support our work. During my time as co-chair of other SAA sections, I held reading groups and skill shares to encourage member participation and foster communities of practice. I would welcome the opportunity to draw upon this experience to support collaboration between the Description Section with other sections. I also have experience working on descriptive guidelines for specialized formats that were formally accepted into the Documentation Portal, and I would be glad to contribute to the Portal's ongoing development. I am excited by the chance to meaningfully contribute to the section and to the profession by serving as Member-at-Large on the Description Section Steering Committee.

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