Ballots Open for IAAS Member-at-Large Special Election on September 29

2025 IAAS Special Election: Slate of Candidates

The ballot will open on Monday, September 29, and remain open for 2 weeks, closing on Monday, October 13, 2025.

Please find the 2025 IAAS Special Election Candidate Statements below:

 Open Position: Member-at-Large

(3-year term ending on 9/1/2028)

CANDIDATES (3 TOTAL):

1. Elaine Slayton Akin

Biographical Statement:

Elaine Slayton Akin holds a master's in art history from the University of Memphis and has been the Archivist of Riverside Avondale Preservation (RAP) in Jacksonville, Florida, since March 2024. She currently serves as an Early Career Member of SAA's International Archival Affairs Section (IAAS) Steering Committee and assists in the Committee's communications efforts. She is also a member of the Society of Florida Archivists and presented "Writing to Repair in Community: Responsibly Describing Early 20th-Century 'Oriental' Material Culture in the Buckland Family Archives" at the SFA annual meeting this past May, as well as a member of the Society of Georgia Archivists and was in the Class of 2025 Georgia Archives Institute in Atlanta. Prior to RAP, Elaine largely worked in development in arts and culture institutions in Nashville, Tennessee. Outside of work, Elaine enjoys traveling with her spouse Tim and pup Enzo and soaking up a region's history wherever she visits. 

Candidate Statement:

Elaine is passionate about shedding light on the old standards of historic preservation that are no longer working to be inclusive and respectful of all people and revising "best practices" in a collaborative manner so that authority in the field is dispersed among diverse perspectives. Accordingly, she was originally drawn to joining the IAAS Steering Committee as an Early Career Member to be more involved in presenting how other countries approach archiving and what we in the US can learn and incorporate into our work. She has long-term interest in and commitment to IAAS, whether as a Committee member or regular Section member, and hopes to continue her work if possible, in developing and improving communications to the broader IAAS and SAA so as to grow the Section as well as to make the section’s content as easily accessible as possible.

2. Sarah E. Ponichtera

Biographical Statement:

I am currently working as the Assistant Dean for Special Collections and the Gallery at Seton Hall University, where I manage a unit of both archivists and museum professionals. In this role I have had the opportunity to work with faculty and administration on multiple international projects. Previously I worked as the Project Manager of the Vilna Collections Project at the YIVO Institute, a project which sought to digitally reunite an archival collection fragmented by war between New York and the National Library of Lithuania. In my spare time I do some translation work, for which I received an NEA grant in 2016. Translation has been an instructive experience for my work as a leader - I often think of my work as translating one set of professional requirements into someone else's language so that different parties can understand one another and work together.

My current professional interests center on my most recent international archives project - together with a professor at Seton Hall, I surveyed the national archives of the Sahrawi people, a people living in exile in refugee camps in Algeria. This project was supported by the Modern Endangered Archives Program. I plan to publish about this experience in an upcoming special issue of Comma dedicated to endangered archives. I currently serve as an elected Director for the SAA Foundation Board. 

Candidate Statement:

I am eager to serve as Member-at-Large to contribute my experience and enthusiasm to the IAAS. As Assistant Dean for Special Collections and the Gallery at Seton Hall University, I regularly serve as a spokesperson and interpreter for the work of archival and museum professionals.  In addition, I have led several initiatives to build awareness of our work in the unit, developing our social media presence and campus outreach to increase engagement with our community. These experiences set me up to be a capable advocate for the section’s work.

My interest in international archives was sparked by co-leading a project funded by the Modern Endangered Archives Institute to survey and prepare for the preservation of the records of the Sahrawi government in exile in Algeria. This experience deepened my commitment to safeguarding vulnerable archives and highlighted the importance of international cooperation in archival practice. My prior leadership roles within SAA, MARAC, and the Foundation for the Society of American Archivists have also prepared me to participate constructively in a role such as this.

I would be honored to support this section’s mission and build on the fantastic work that you are doing to build connections between archival professionals around the world. 

3. Sandra Varry

Biographical Statement:

Sandra Varry is the Head of the Special Collections Research Center at the NC State University Libraries. She holds an MFA, an MLIS, and has been a member of SAA since 2008, and a member of the Academy of Certified Archivists since 2013. She participates on committees in the Society of North Carolina Archivists, Society of American Archivists, including past Chair of the Visual Materials Section. She is an active member of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Section of the Association of College & Research Libraries/ALA and belongs to the International Council on Archives. In her previous role at Florida State University she was Heritage & University Archivist and a past President of the Society of Florida Archivists. She is an alumna of the Archives Leadership Institute, 2015. Her personal research revolves around institutional archives and records management, photographic history and archives, and developing experiential learning opportunities for staff at students at her home institutions and as part of professional organization.

Candidate Statement:

As a member of SAA since 2008, I have participated in many sections and meetings, and felt the organization and its membership a base of support in my career. My strengths in professional practice are coordinating, facilitating, and creatively supporting others, as well as developing policy and standards for institutions and organizations. My most recent work included updating the Guidelines for College & University Archives for SAA with a team of members, and as a member of the Programming Committee for the 2025 RBMS Annual Meeting. I would leverage these strengths to continue the exceptional programming the section has developed, and work with the steering committee to implement long and short-term goals. I would continue to find ways to engage a world wide audience in topics of importance including standards, open source applications for archivists, and ways to create community across borders, cultural differences, and politics to the benefit of archives, archivists, and their communities.