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The 2019 election for the Human Rights Archives section of the Society of American Archivists has the following candidates running for the following positions:
Ballots will be managed by SAA and distributed in late June to all SAA registered members. Results will be announced in July via SAA listservs, the HRA blog, and Twitter social media account.
Ryan Hendrickson
Bio: I'm the Assistant Director for Manuscripts at the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University, where I've worked since 2000. I have a MLS from Simmons University and a MA in History from Boston University. I also have taught an introduction to archives course at Simmons University as an adjunct professor for about eight years.
Candidate Statement: I personally feel that the work this section does is of the utmost importance to the SAA and the field as a whole -- and will have the most enduring impact. I have some experience processing and cataloging the papers of civil and human rights figures at my repository, including Martin Luther King, Jr. and Elie Wiesel; this gives me some perspective on these issues. I also hope that I can make some contribution to the ongoing work of making human rights collections richer, more available, and more valued within the field as a whole.
April Anderson-Zorn
Bio: April K. Anderson-Zorn is the University Archivist for Illinois State University. Anderson-Zorn earned an MLIS from Florida State University and MA in history (public history track) from the University of Central Florida. She is a certified archivist and holds a DAS certificate.
Candidate Statement: In the course of my career, I’ve had the pleasure to work with and grow archival collections for a number of community and affinity groups who are dedicated to human rights and public service. While many of these connections have turned into friendships, they have also provided me the opportunity to advance awareness of efforts through the advocacy and promotion of their collected materials. I also currently serve as the co-chair for our campus LGBT/Queer Studies and Services Institute, where I’ve had the pleasure of working with dedicated individuals to advance equal opportunity and support for our LGBTQ+ campus and community members. In that role, I also work to preserve the Institute’s 20+ year history. This service allows me to do dual-duty: advance the work of a cause I believe in while documenting the Institute’s efforts and legacy. Serving as a steering committee member for the Human Rights Archives Section would not only allow me to help the Section further its mission and goals but allow me the opportunity to expand my service work from campus to our profession.
Daniel McCormack
Bio: Daniel McCormack has served as the archivist/records manager for the Town of Burlington (Massachusetts), since 2002. He is primarily responsible for the town’s public health, personnel, and municipal business records. Prior to serving in Burlington he was a reference librarian at the Brockton (MA) Public Library and a journalist. A member of SAA since 1999, he previously served as the Chair of Privacy and Confidentiality Section. Currently he is a Steering Committee member of the Human Rights Archives Section and a member of the National Disaster Recovery Fund for Archives Grant Review Committee. He is a member of the Massachusetts Historical Records Advisory Board.
Candidate Statement: I am seeking re-election to SAA’s Human Rights Section’s Steering Committee. I have been a member of the Steering Committee of the Section for the past three years. Going forward I wish to continue and grow the work we have commenced to create a greater presence and appreciation of human rights issues within archives and among archivists. I ask for your support. Human rights concerns transcend the divisions we experience in our lives and within the field. We need to be cognizant of the universal elements of the archival experience. The Human Rights Section continues to take the broadest view of our role as stewards of data and guardian of the rights of individuals to recorded information. We address matters of cultural heritage preservation, intellectual freedom and censorship, to name only a few considerations. We serve a unifying role in addressing the direct impact of archives on the lives of individuals and groups. I believe we must grow that role.
The Human Rights Section needs to support archivists working with collections of at-risk and marginalized groups. I will continue to advocate for a larger archival role in preserving the records of peoples being threatened. At all times, I want to see the Section provide a voice to those whose history is kept silent or disregarded. The officers and Steering Committee of the Section seek to bring a greater consciousness of the role of human rights concerns within archives. We have collaborated with other sections on these transcendent issues and I plan to continue that work in the coming year. Individually, our Sections have great strengths and knowledge. Our efforts must bring them together on behalf of the entire profession.
Erin Mahaney
Bio: Erin Mahaney served as the University Archivist for the Harry P. Weber University Archives and Special Collections at Florida Institute of Technology for 6 years. Erin has a BA in History from New College of Florida, MA in Public History with a focus on Archival Administration from North Carolina State University, and a graduate certificate in Gender Studies from the University of Central Florida. She is a Certified Archivist and has worked in academic libraries, non-profit organizations, public libraries, and K-12 history education. In the past, Erin has been active on the Executive Board of the Society of Florida Archivists (SFA) as Director, Vice-President, President, and Immediate Past President as well as serving in various capacities on SFA’s committees, including Awards, Annual Meeting, American Archives Month, and Nominating. She is currently the chair for the committee on archives & history for the Florida Academy of Sciences, and recently served 2 years on the working group for the Sunshine State Digital Network (SSDN) and 2 years on the steering committee for the Human Rights Archives Section of the Society of American Archivists.
Candidate Statement: The role of documentation and documentary heritage is essential when meeting challenges to human rights in societies around the world. For every challenge, there are opportunities to support, contribute to, and implement transitional justice initiatives. Archives, regardless of the collections they hold, can play an essential role in human rights work through documentation, awareness, advocacy, and outreach. Regardless of where we work or what kind of collections we have, there is always an opportunity to support human rights through bearing witness, providing and demanding accountability, and ensuring the stories told include all voices, not just the dominant discourse. The work of this section strives to support human rights initiatives within the archival field and beyond; I believe this kind of work is crucial at all times, not just in times of crisis and change. It has been a privilege to serve on this section in the past, and if elected, I will bring my passion for human rights and archival work to the Steering Committee.
Mark Matienzo
Bio: Mark A. Matienzo is the Assistant Director for Digital Strategy and Access for Stanford University Libraries, managing the digital library discovery, access, and delivery portfolio for Stanford Libraries. Prior to joining Stanford, Mark worked as an archivist, technologist, and strategist specializing in born-digital materials and metadata management, at institutions including the Digital Public Library of America, Yale University Library, The New York Public Library, and the American Institute of Physics. Mark received a MSI from the University of Michigan School of Information and a BA in Philosophy from the College of Wooster, and was the 2012 recipient of the Mark A. Greene Emerging Leader Award from the Society of American Archivists.
Candidate Statement: I've enjoyed serving as a member of the HRA Section for the last year, and I look forward to the opportunity to serve the Section for another term. For my next term, I'd like to focus on additional collaboration with other SAA sections on programming and other activities to reflect a deeper shared connection to human rights as a core focus for all archival endeavors.
Susan K. Rishworth, MA, MLS, CA
Bio: As Africana Bibliographer at Michigan State University, 1968-70, undertook book buying trip to Africa on behalf of Midwestern Universities Consortium on International Activities; Library of Congress African Section, 1972-73; Interim Library Director, University of Maryland University College, 1984; Library Director, Southeastern Univ., Wash.DC; 1985-90; History Librarian/Archivist, American College of Ob/Gyns. 1991-2000. Archivist ACS, 2001-2013; Co-facilitate online Intro to Archives course through Wilmette Institute, 2006- present.
Candidate Statement: I'm interested in participating in the SAA Section on Human Rights because of my interest in human rights issues particularly relating to Indigenous Peoples and African Americans. I'd like to be of service with my skills and experience as an archivist by promoting the field of archives to young people as a field with a lot of power, in that he archivist makes decisions about what will be saved and preserved. In this era of truth telling about our nation's history, archivists will be the ones acquiring and preserving documentation of history that can no longer be hidden.