Building Digital Resilience: Digital Protection Strategies for Archivists

Please join the Diversity Committee for a virtual panel on digital resilience. Rights we have taken for granted, such as privacy and intellectual freedom, seem more precarious in the current environment. Our profession’s ability to use primary sources to present an expansive view of history and safeguarding stories of underrepresented communities can feel like a risk, when previously we didn’t think twice about these activities. In a shifting digital and political environment, how do we safely advocate for archives, archivists, and the communities we serve?  

Brian Evans, Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering and President of the American Association of University Professors-Texas and Jessica Walton of the CyberPeace Institute will join us to speak about building digital resilience - how to assess risk at both the personal and professional level, what proactive strategies we can use to protect ourselves, how to adapt to the ever-changing digital environment, and more. 

This session will not be recorded. 

Dr. Brian L. Evans is a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He also serves as the President of the Texas Conference of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), a faculty-led group defending the rights to teach, research, and speak freely. Texas AAUP provides guidance to navigate state and federal laws, and advocate for academic freedom, tenure, and shared governance. Members benefit from peer solidarity, legislative advocacy, and legal representation.  He is speaking for himself as a private citizen.

Jessica M. Walton (she/her) is the U.S. Regional Officer at the CyberPeace Institute, a Geneva-based nonprofit providing free cybersecurity services to nonprofits globally. She co-chairs the Cyber Resilience Corps, a consortium of U.S.-based cyber volunteering groups. Her work focuses on the intersection of cybersecurity, international affairs, and human rights, with an emphasis on protecting vulnerable communities online.