2025 Election: PLASC Candidate Statements & Ballot - VOTE!

It’s time to Vote! Please take a moment to vote for the 2025-2026 PLASC section Steering Committee!

Ballot link: https://mysaa.archivists.org/myballots

Ballots will remain open for 3 weeks, closing on Tuesday, July 15th. 

You will be voting for:

- One Co-Chair, for a two year term

- One Secretary, for a one year term

2025 - 2026 Cadidates

Nazelie Doghramadjian 

Secretary

PhD Candidate, University of Michigan School of Information 

Bio 

Nazelie Doghramadjian is a doctoral candidate at the University of Michigan School of Information. She holds a B.A. in Humanities from Villanova University. Before starting graduate school, Nazelie worked for a variety of non-profit organizations including Data & Society Research Institute, Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance, and A Better Tech NYU. Her research is currently focused on archival silences, personal recordkeeping practices, and archival stewardship in the Armenian American community. 

Candidate Statement 

My name is Nazelie Doghramadjian and I am running for Secretary for the Society of American Archivists Public Library Archives and Special Collection Section. I am interested in this position because of my previous administrative experience as well as my current archival research, and the direction toward special collections and finding aids that it has pointed me in. As the Executive Assistant at Data & Society, I kept meeting minutes, managed the time and schedules for the senior leadership team, and engaged in board administration through assembling board books, archiving and making accessible meeting minutes, bylaws, and resolutions. I participated in the administrative functioning of nonprofits, and also gained confidence interacting with and leading meetings for those in more senior positions. I especially hope to engage in this type of work as the Secretary for PLASC.  

In my current work as a doctoral student, I focus on the stewardship practices of community archivists and practitioners alike, and work specifically with a community member in 

metro-Detroit assembling a family archive and preparing it for institutional donation. As part of the agreement with the institution in question, both the community member and I have the agency to arrange, describe, and create a finding aid for the collection. This experience has opened up my world of special collections and institutional archives work, and I have been eager to learn more about special collections in academic and public libraries and archives. It is through this experience with PLASC that I hope to offer meaningful contribution to the great work of the section and learn more about public library archives alongside dedicated archivists, scholars, and practitioners in the space.  

Thank you for your time in considering my application, and I look forward to getting involved with such an exciting section within SAA! 

Lauren LeDesma

Co-Chair

Bio: Lauren LeDesma is the Local Archivist in the Archival Services and Digital Initiatives department of Georgia Public Library Service. In this position, she is responsible for supporting the numerous archival collections in public libraries, local governments, and smaller USG institutions without full-time archival staff around the state. Lauren previously served as the Records Manager/Assistant Archivist for the Archdiocese of Atlanta, identifying and analyzing all records created by Archdiocesan employees and providing recommendations for improved record-keeping practices. Before her work in Atlanta, Lauren worked at the Archdiocese of New Orleans as a Processing Archivist/Records Analyst, where she assisted in processing collections, provided records management guidance to closing diocesan schools, and helped to create procedures and provide training for users of records management software. Before entering the world of diocesan archives, Lauren worked in University Special Collections at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Lauren holds a BA in History, an MA in Public History, a Graduate Certificate in Historic Preservation, and a Graduate Certificate in Records and Information Management. She is also a Certified Archivist and a Certified Records Analyst.

Candidate statement: While I am not new to the world of Archives, my current position as the Local Archivist at GPLS is the first in which I am interacting with public library special collections on a professional level. I have the immense pleasure of assisting library staff in ensuring that their historical collections are kept within the communities from which they were created and in a space that cares deeply about providing free access to that information. I am interested in the Co-Chair position on the PLASC Steering Committee, in part, to meet others in the SAA Community who share in the work of encouraging and advocating for archival knowledge and preservation in public library spaces. I am also interested in being a part of a group that discusses and shares information on issues unique to public libraries and their archives and special collections, especially during today’s controversial political climate. 

I have previous experience as a Secretary for the Greater New Orleans Archivists group and as the Listserv Manager/Webmaster for the Association of Catholic Diocesan Archivists

Introducing At-Large Committee Member

Dr. Mott Linn, CA

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION: 

Employment: Chief Archivist; National Security Research Center, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM: 2019 – 2021; Head of Collections Management; Clark University, Worcester, MA: 2008 – 2019; Coordinator of Archives and Special Collections; Clark University: 1998 – 2008; Senior Archivist/Librarian; PTFS, Inc., Bethesda, MD: 1997 – 1998; Manager of Video Library; National Hockey League, New York, NY: 1993 – 1997; Archivist; Philadelphia Flyers, Philadelphia, PA: 1986 – 1993

Professional: Academy of Certified Archivists: Member 1991 – Present; President: 2014 – 2017; Treasurer: 2008 – 2012 The Academy of Certified Archivists’ 2018 Distinguished Service Award honoree.  Society of American Archivists: Member 1996 – Present; Chaired of the Archives Management Section: 2010 – 2014 and 2021 – 2022; Served on the Archives Management Section Steering Committee: 2014 – 2016 and 2019 – 2020; Served on the College and University Section Steering Committee: 2002 – 2005.  Friends of the Burke County Public Library: Member 2024 – Present; Member of the Board of Directors: 2024 - Present

CANDIDATE STATEMENT

After deciding to retire early from a career in archival management, I became a director of a public library’s Friends group and I give advice to that library’s local history room.  Also, as somebody who does some family history research, I have experience using archives in public libraries.

I want to use my experience of leading other sections and professional organizations to help this section flourish.  I want to learn from you about your needs and work on how to best fulfill those.