Election Ballot Information 2018

Proposed Revisions to Standing Rules

The SNAP Steering Committee has reviewed its standing rules and is putting forward the following revisions (as detailed in the attached PDF). The proposed revisions bring the standing rules up-to-date with the section’s current communications methods, and include the removal of references to the defunct SNAP newsletter, which has been replaced by the SNAP blog.

Per Section VI Amendments of the standing rules, the proposed changes will be submitted to an electronic vote on the section’s annual election ballot. 

https://www2.archivists.org/sites/all/files/SNAP%20Standing%20Rules%202018%20revisions.pdf

Candidate Information

Vice Chair/Chair-Elect (1 position)

Gayle Schechter - Atlanta University Center

My name is Gayle Schechter and, in addition to currently serving on the SNAP Steering Committee, I'm the Digital Exhibitions Coordinator at the Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library. Prior to becoming involved with SNAP, I interned for the Women Archivists Section from 2016-2017 assisting with social media outreach. Working with the SNAP Steering Committee this past year has given me the opportunity to work on projects to benefit both the steering committee and SNAP membership, and I'm excited about the prospect of continuing that work as a leader of the section.

As a recent graduate and new professional, I'm keenly aware of the issues facing our membership. From unpaid internships to figuring out how to navigate the professional job market and beyond, I want to continue to build the SNAP section up to be both a strong resource and a strong advocate for students and new professionals while working to strengthen the bond between SAA's student chapters and SNAP. I'm passionate about the mission of SNAP and welcome the opportunity to lead the section in serving that mission.

Secretary (1 position)

Brenna Edwards

Hello! My name is Brenna Edwards, and I am interested in serving as Secretary for the Students and New Professionals (SNAP) Section. For the past year and a half, I have served SNAP as the Student Blog Editor in an ex-officio position, and I believe transitioning to a committee position at the same time I am transitioning into the workforce would allow me to continue to help shape the archival profession and SNAP. The Secretary position is appealing to me as a new graduate, as I could help continue to connect students and new professionals through reaching out and identifying what connections might be forged. I look forward to becoming more involved with SAA and SNAP in the coming years, and believe this opportunity is a great step.

Sloan Strader

My name is Sloan Strader and I’ve just finished my undergraduate career with a major in English and a minor in African American Studies from the University of Puget Sound. During my time in college, I had the privilege to conduct a research projects, and several other assistantships at my university’s archive and special collections. My work allowed me to combine my interests in art, history, literature, and social justice in an interdisciplinary manner. For instance my sophomore year I spent the summer researching the relationship between artist Abby Williams Hill and Booker T. Washington, a project that took me to the archives at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.

This fall, I will attend the Pratt Institute’s Information School to earn my masters of science in Museums Studies and Digital Culture. I would love to serve as SNAP’s Steering Committee Secretary to take my passion for archives from an academic to a professional level. My attention to detail, commitment to inclusion, and reliability would make me an excellent fit for this position!

Steering Committee At-Large (3 positions)

Molly Brown - Northwestern University

My name is Molly Brown and I’m running to become a SNAP Steering Committee member for the 2018-2019 year. I recently became the Reference and Outreach Archivist at Northeastern University’s Archives and Special Collections in Boston. I just graduated from the Simmons College School of Library Science with a dual master’s in history and library science with an emphasis in archives management. I have served as a student co-chair for the New England Archivists Roundtable of Early Professionals and Students (REPS) and as an archivist for the Progressive Librarians Guild at Simmons College.

I am interested in joining SNAP leadership because I want to create a space where recent graduates and new professionals can act not only as professional resources for one another but interpersonal resources. The work of being archivists (and applying for positions to be hired as one) is fraught with a lot of emotional labor and gaps between what we were taught in our graduate degrees and what we will be putting into praxis in our professional lives. SNAP is a community that could help bridge those gaps and I would love to assist in facilitating that.

Kara Flynn - Augusta University

Hello SNAP members! My name is Kara Flynn, and I have been in my first professional (i.e. post M.L.I.S.) position as the Special Collections and Institutional Archives Librarian at Augusta University, for just under a year now. Although I am a member of many professional organizations, including the Society of American Archivists, the American Library Association, and the Society of Georgia Archivists, I am interested in taking on a more active role in the work of SNAP as a potential new Steering Committee Member. I’m originally from the NW, and received my B.A. in English Literature from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA, where I worked in the Archives and Special Collections department as a student. After graduating, I moved to Philadelphia for a CLIR grant-funded 1 year archival processing position at Haverford College. I then went on to get my M.L.I.S. with an Archives concentration from the University of Pittsburgh, where I worked at Hillman Library, and interned at the Rauh Jewish Archives at the John Heinz History Center. I’ve been following the work of SNAP through the SNAP blog beginning as an undergraduate interested in the archival profession, and have recently started writing monthly posts for the blog as a Year in the Life contributor. I’m particularly drawn to SNAP because I have found the resources available through both the blog and website to have been helpful tools in my early career. As a collaborative, organized, and detail-oriented early career archival professional, I would be well-suited to working with other members of the Steering Committee to share information with section members, identify and appoint ex-officio members, and solicit input from members. I hope you’ll consider me for a Steering Committee Member position!

Maggie Hoffman - Cambridge Historical Society

I am pleased to run for a position on the SNAP Steering Committee.

This May, I graduated from the Archives Management program at Simmons SLIS. Throughout my time at Simmons, I looked to the SNAP section as a valuable hub of information and a much-needed space for connecting with fellow students and early professionals. I stand firmly behind SNAP’s mission and I would love the opportunity to contribute to its efforts.

I now serve as the archivist at the Cambridge Historical Society in Cambridge, Massachusetts. While I find the work I do incredibly rewarding, I’ll be the first to admit that the learning curve has been quite steep at times. Entering into this profession can be challenging, but I believe we’re in a unique position to educate and motivate one another. I view SNAP as a facilitator of that process.

I have held several leadership positions in the past. Most recently, I have served as the Secretary and Archivist for the Simmons College Student Chapter of SAA (SCoSAA). I would love to bring my skills to the SNAP roundtable.

If you'd like to learn more about my professional experience, please visit: www.maggiearchives.com

If you have additional questions about my vision for SNAP, feel free to reach out!

Valencia L. Johnson

Hello all!

My name is Valencia L. Johnson and I am a recent graduate from a Museum Studies graduate program. I would like to join the leadership team of this section to give back to a section that helped me find employment. In addition to being a certified archivist, I also have years of organizational leadership experience from my time as Vice President of my residential hall, elected representative to the Baylor Graduate Student Association and my current position helping student organizations manage their records. I would like to be more active within the section and help create a space for new professionals to navigate the twists and turns of office culture and bureaucracy.

Thank you for your time,

Valencia L. Johnson

Danielle Nowak - Morton Arboretum

My name is Danielle Nowak, Access Services Librarian at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois. I am interested in serving as the a member of the Steering Committee because as a new professional in the field, I am ready to expand into a leadership role that can help support and encourage others. Part of my position as the Access Services Librarian is train and develop projects for students and volunteers. Collaboration with students on what experience they would like to gain or skills they would like to achieve has been a rewarding experience, especially considering that less than a year ago I was in their position: working internships and trying to apply the theories and practices I learned in class to 'real-life' situations. As a member of the Steering Committee, I would take my experiences as a former student and a new professional to support the professional development of other students and new professionals. Additionally, I would openly collaborate with my peers to organize and develop ideas on how to effectively communicate and connect with students and professionals on how to make SNAP a more useful and impactful committee.

Ron Stafford - Mauney Memorial Library

I’m Ron Stafford, I graduated in 2017 with an MLIS from the University of South Carolina. Recently I was inducted into Beta Phi Mu. During my student career, I interned twice in the Archives of The Mint Museum in Charlotte. My course work in tandem with my internships allowed me to discover my passion for archives. Holding a letter, photo, memo, or museum object in my hand, is the greatest feeling ever. To be given boxes of letters, ephemera, and books, and bring order out of the chaos is my strength. I’m ready to strengthen my skills and move into leadership roles which provide opportunities to assist with developing best practices for processing.

Currently, I am employed with Mauney Memorial Library in Kings Mountain, NC, as a Library Digitization Technician. We are working with an LSTA grant to digitize the photography and archives collections of the library and the Kings Mountain Historical Museum. In this capacity I have developed a second passion. As our files are uploaded to DigitalNC and viewed by the community, excitement grows. Documents that have been inaccessible for generations are now out for the world to see; I realized we are truly giving the town of Kings Mountain a gift. We have given them their history back. Working through this process, I realize the great need to close the digital divide and provide access for all to historical documents and photos. My passion for my work shows in all I do. I have been told many times, I have inspired others to become interested in the work archivists do.

It is my great desire to serve on the steering committee. I would use my networking, communication, and social media skills to reach out and encourage students and new professionals to join SNAP and become a part of our storied profession. I have served in this capacity before. Since 2016, I have been a member of the Nomination Committee for the Society of North Carolina Archivists (SNCA). In this role, my main duty is to assist with preparing and compiling SNCA’s ballots. During the calendar year, I contact up to 10 people to inform them they have been nominated for an open position and obtain a candidate’s biography. After voting concludes, I inform each candidate if they were elected or not. I enjoy getting to know other SNCA members and helping with our election effort. If elected, I would bring my passion, knowledge, and hard work to SNAP.

Leadership
SCALM (Student Community for Archives, Libraries and Museums)
• President 2016-2017
• Spearheaded 2016 Read to Rebuild book drive
Society of North Carolina Archivists
• 2017-2018 Membership Committee
    o Organized 2018 Spring Social
• 2017-2018 Archives Month Committee
• 2016-2018 Nomination Committee
Society of American Archivists
• 2017-2018 Intern Committee of Public Policy
• 2016 Legislative Research Committee

London Stever - University of Pittsburgh

I, London Stever, am a current MLIS - Archives student at the University of Pittsburgh. I currently hold the position of business manager for our school's chapter of SAA and have previously served with Phi Alpha Theta and Sigma Tau Delta. Communication and punctuality are two of the most important traits to me, and I strive to ensure that all members of my organizations feel valued and respected through them. As a current student who has already completed two semesters and will graduate soon, I have the experience to understand what school is currently like and what students want to know. I would facilitate discussion and organize sections and voting to the best of my ability, pushing SNAP to explore the needs of its members.