2022 Election: Candidate Statements

First off, a big thank you to all of our excellent candidates for putting themselves forward in this election cycle. Please read and consider their statements carefully before submitting your votes.

The positions up for election are:

Vice Chair / Chair Elect (1 position)

Steering Committee Member / Member-at-Large (3 positions)

Secretary (1 position)

SAA will be sending the ballots out to all members via Survey Monkey, so watch your inbox and vote!

Vice Chair/Chair-Elect Candidate

The following candidate is running for the Vice Chair/Chair-Elect position:


Bailey Adolph

I wish to be considered as a Candidate for serving with SNAP as I have a strong desire to engage with the professional community, to learn from other new professionals, and to aid in the learning of students and others. 

As a Steering Committee Member of the Metadata and Digital Object Section, I have experience in working in a SAA section, but I would like to be considered for the position of Vice Chair / Chair-Elect in order to have the opportunity to be a more active participant in a section. 

I am a recent graduate and so I feel passionate about raising awareness of the SAA’s vast professional resources because they have helped me greatly. I would like to connect with students and other new professionals so that they are able to use these resources and thrive too. 

Because of my extensive background as a processing librarian, I believe that I have a lot to share and am excited about the prospect of having engaging discussions. Additionally, I see the prospect of being elected to a SNAP leadership position as an opportunity to grow myself. My current role as a processing librarian can be very isolating at times and this could be an opportunity for me to engage outside of my organization, network with others, and improve myself as a professional.


Steering Committee / Member-at-Large Candidates

The following candidates are running for the section Steering Committee / Member-at-Large:

Amber Bales, MLIS
I am a 2021 graduate from the SJSU MLIS program where I focused on archival and digitization courses.  I am in the first 90 days of a new position as a Digitization Specialist in the Archives and Special Collection Department. While I am new to this career I am a seasoned professional and bring 5+ years of administrative background to my work and commitments. Joining SNAP would allow me to both serve as a mentor and mentee as I help to construct the narrative of what it means to be a new archival professional and the learning curve expected in a new position, but also provide support for students and fellow professionals.

I have a strong ability to manage my time and commitments and while I am currently undertaking new expectations within the job I am not over taxed in my service commitments and would like to make working with SNAP my top service priority.

Jessie Knoles, MSLIS
My name is Jessie Knoles and I am a 2021 graduate of the MSLIS program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign iSchool. I currently work two "academic hourly" positions at the University of Illinois Archives and the Illinois History and Lincoln Collections, both units in the Special Collections Division in the University of Illinois Library. At the Archives, I accession, process, and provide access to the physical and digital holdings of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), Art Libraries Society of North America (ARLIS/NA), and the Association of American Law Schools (AALS). 

While at the iSchool, I served as the SAA UIUC Student Chapter Vice President (2019-2020) and President (2020-2021). As president, I would have loved more resources, and I think SNAP could fill that need. Since graduating, I understand what it's like to be an emerging archivist in a field with precarious employment and competitive positions, and I believe my perspective would complement the SNAP committee.

My professional interests include archival education and outreach, affect theory in the archives, reparative description and decolonization of the archives, and in understanding the contemporary role of archivist (I believe this is an exciting time to reconsider traditional practices!). 

Michelle D. Novak, MI
I have served the past year as President of SNAP and wish to continue in an At-Large position so that I may continue to see some open projects through to completion.

I am a recent graduate of the Masters of Information, Archives and Preservation at Rutgers University and have deep experience as serving as a trustee, administering grants, and overseeing complex realignment projects. I hope I can continue to serve SNAP, its members, and contribute to the Section and assist the incoming Chair and Committee.


Secretary Candidate

The following candidate is running for the Secretary position:

Nicole Hudson
I am a recent graduate with a major in library and information science. I would like to be part of this opportunity to gain more experience in possibly the administrative side of archiving, as well as help others who have recently joined this career field in any way possible.