2019 Candidates for Records Management Section Steering Committee

Thank you to all our excellent nominees for the 2019 Records Management Section steering committee 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 Vice Chair/Chair-Elect, who will then serve one year as Chair and one year as Immediate Past Chair; and
  • Two Steering Committee members (three-year terms).

We will include with the ballot survey questions to enable the section membership to help shape the priorities of the steering committee in the coming year.

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:

Jessika Drmacich

Records Manager/Digital Resources Archivist, Williams College

Biography: Jessika Drmacich is the Records Manager/Digital Resources Archivist at Williams College in Williamstown, MA (2011-present). Previously, she held the position of Archivist at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA (2009-2011) and before that was the Assistant Archivist at Rolling Stone Magazine & Wenner Media (2005-2009). She is a 2006 graduate of the New York University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences MA program in Archives and History. She additionally holds an advanced graduate certificate in Archives from the same program. At Williams, Drmacich authored a Board of Trustees approved records management policy and established an official records management program for the College. Responsible for the identification, transfer, storage, and management of records at Williams, she creates retention schedules, workflows, procedures, and trainings for management of e-records. She also leads metadata projects, personal archiving consultation, records storage, and digital preservation.

Statement of interest: I would love to serve as Vice-Chair of the Records Management Section to better empower information professionals (and non-information professionals). I consider myself an activist records manager and archivist who wholeheartedly desires to bring as many voices as I can to the table. I attempt to do this on daily basis at Williams College with staff, faculty, student groups, and the community. Relationship building is absolutely central to my work. With my experience navigating through records policy/record holders at a small liberal arts college, I hope to continue to add to discussions with the wonderful professional community of RMS. If I am lucky enough to serve as Vice-Chair, I plan to bring experience, the ability to listen, and a great enthusiasm for the field itself.

Steering Committee Member Candidates

The following 3 candidates (presented alphabetically) are running for the 2 open positions on the section steering committee:

David Brown

Archivist and Head of the Office of Records Management Services at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

Biography: David has served as the first Archivist and Head of the Office of Records Management Services at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) since 2007. At the SEC, he provides leadership and guidance on records and information management and is responsible for ensuring that the SEC follows applicable federal laws regarding records creation, maintenance, and disposition. Additionally, he is responsible for the archival preservation of long term (de facto) permanent textual and electronic records to ensure their continued accessibility to support the work of SEC staff, other government entities, while simultaneously overseeing and providing public reference activities. Prior to that, David worked at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) for nearly fifteen years. At NARA he held multiple roles, including serving on assignment at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), where he offered his expertise in the development of NATO’s Archives Program, and as special assistant to the Ninth Archivist of the United States, from 2005 to 2007. He is a Certified Archivist, and a member of the Society of American Archivists, the International Council on Archives, and ARMA International.

Statement of interest: As both an Archivist and a Records Manager, I am concerned that the archival profession too often views records management as at best a small sub-component of archives, and at worst, a lesser discipline. The reality, of course, is that there are no archives without holdings and without trained archivists focused on the front lines of archival acquisition—records management—there is a significant danger that those future archival holdings will be lost long before there is the opportunity to fully appraise them and prepare them for acquisition into an archives. Further, a lack of understanding of the value and proactive skill-sets required to be adept records managers creates a blind spot for the professional archivist as they endeavor to become fully realized professionals. This is especially true in the era of digital information. A records manager can use the trained senses, values, and mind of an archivist, as well as, their ability to understand and speak to the needs of records creators to ensure that all records regardless of their media are created, used, and organized in a manner that helps them do their daily work while ensuring that requirements are in place from their inception to ensure future archival preservation and accessibility. I would use my position on the Steering Committee to promote the idea that the complete archivist is also a records manager and show how records management experiences can provide useful strategies for achieving archival goals.

Ingi House

Archivist for the Knowledge Management Division at the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA)

Biography: Ingi House is originally from Kansas where she got her B.A. in history from the University of Kansas and M.L.S. from Emporia State University. She moved to the East Coast and worked at the National Archives then at the Defense Acquisition University where she became a Certified Archivist. Her continued enjoyment of military history led her to the West Coast where she worked for the U.S. Navy at the Seabee Museum. After fulfilling two years there she decided to expand on her reference and processing skills at the National Archives in San Francisco. After working on various collections there she realized she missed the Department of Defense and their mission. She now works at the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency leading their Knowledge Management Archival section. In her spare time she writes, and has published several poems in professional and literary journals.

Statement of interest: I would be delighted to serve on the steering committee for the Records Management Section. An archivist by name, I have spent several years working in records management including developing a records management plan for the Seabee Museum, analyzing records retention schedules for accessions for the National Archives in San Francisco, and currently working very closely, "stack" fellows you could say, with the records management team creating new plans and policies to make sure information is easily accessible for the departments historians, analysis, and upper management. This is extremely important as the Department POW/MIA Accounting Agency is a new agency (Happy Birthday 2015) that is a merger of other various other agencies and tackling digital information. I have some great ideas for records management and would love to learn from others who find themselves in the same cross path that I do. My knowledge of records management and how it relates to archives is a match made in nerd heaven for the Records Management Section of SAA.

My further credentials are former Chair of the Government Records Section of SAA, committee member for Sr. M. Claude Lane, O.P. Memorial Award, and the ability to wear my dino skeleton dress at the DoD and not bat an eyelash.

Krista Oldham

University Archivist, Clemson University

Biography: Krista Oldham is the University Archivist at Clemson University, where her responsibilities include overseeing the acquisition, description, and preservation of University records, as well as supporting and promoting their use. Additionally, Krista is responsible for assisting in developing and managing a comprehensive, institution-wide records management program. She earned a M.I.S. from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and earned both a M.A. in History and a B.A. in History from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. Prior to starting her position at Clemson, Krista worked at Haverford College as the College Archivist/Records Manager for Quaker and Special Collections and at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Special Collections as the Senior Archivist and the Senior Archives Manager. In addition to her archival work, Krista served as Co-Director of the Arkansas Delta Oral History Project, an initiative led by the endowed Brown Chair in English Literacy. She is a co-author of The Arkansas Delta Oral History Project: Culture, Place, and Authenticity, which was published in 2016 by Syracuse University Press.

Statement of interest: I am excited to be considered as a candidate for the Steering Committee. Over the past several years, I’ve have relied heavily on the Records Management Section’s resources and member community to deepen my understanding of records management and help me develop practical solutions and strategies to implementing robust and sustainable records management programs at my current and previous institutions. I believe strongly that the Records Management Section brings together a community of practitioners with a common goal- to promote the exchange of ideas and provide opportunities and encourage professional growth among archivists, records managers, and other information professionals.

As a member of the Steering Committee, I would actively advocated for and listen to our member’s interests and needs and help develop innovative programming and resources in support of Records Management Section’s mission. I’d be honored to contribute to the group and to help facilitate collaboration among members. Thanks for your consideration!