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We wish to thank all of our candidates in the 2020 Student and New Archival Professional Section election. Please review each candidate statement below prior to casting your vote for the following positions:
More information about ballots will be sent via email to Section members at a later date.
Vice Chair/Chair-Elect
The following candidate is running for Vice Chair/Chair-Elect:
Michelle D. Novak
MI Student, Archives Concentration, Rutgers University
I started my MI degree after 30+ years as a professional brand designer on big corporate and non-profit projects; 12+ years as a genealogist, researcher, and writer; and 7+ years a a trustee (concurrent experiences, of course). My professional career has been one of constant change and evolution and I am very much a "jump-in" type of person.
I have found great value through SAA in connecting with and learning from others. I am a participant in the SAA's mentor program and was able to attend SAA in Austin (where I had a blast). I have a deep appreciation for using my time at school wisely, growing my network, and developing connections to others.
The challenges we are facing with COVID will be with us for a long time. And as students and young professionals, this is going to be an especially challenging. Hands-on research time, and the accidental discoveries that happen, in an archive cannot be adequately replaced by technology. Developing personal connections are still important. And, learning from each other through an open flow of ideas will be even more important when the institutions re-open and we realize our "new-reality" budgets.
If I can use my experience to help other students and young archive professionals thrive during this time, I will consider that time very well spent.
The following candidates are running for Secretary:
Carady DeSimone
TBD - on the hunt
Now more than ever, documentation and transparency are crucial elements of a properly functioning organization.
I received my MLIS in 2019 from Wayne State's School of Information Sciences, online, as well as certificates in Archival Administration and Information Management (19 and 20, respectively). While at WSU, I participated in the student SAA chapter as interim Vice President, as well as leading the metadata entry group of the Michigan Black History Bibliography. To compensate for my distance from campus, I joined the Society of Florida Archivists in 2019, where I have had the pleasure of serving on this year's audit committee—our presentation at the 2020 annual meeting has been understandably postponed. Through my internship with Florida Tech, I was connected to the Museums of Brevard (MOB) Collection Manager's Group, who were in need of a ‘Note Taker.’ Although we have the ability to easily record meetings through the field’s recent transitions to video conferencing platforms, I still take analog, hand-written notes with every webinar, training, or meeting I attend. This allows me to quickly summarize and contextualize the conversations on which I report, draw diagrams, and color code my notes. Through my additional support of the Archive Workers Emergency Fund Organizing Committee and the Open Letter regarding salary transparency, I have been able to observe how well-functioning teams operate online and within geographically dispersed context. I feel that these groups have been instrumental in new professional outreach, both on a personal level and an organizational level. I would love the opportunity to encourage those who will follow in our shoes by connecting them with the mentorship, understanding, and support that will help them succeed on both personal and professional levels.
While I feel the call to mentor my cohort, I often prefer to do so by working “behind the scenes”—a real life introvert masquerading as a digital extrovert. As a career-change archivist, I also bring five years of military administration and record-keeping experience to the table. It would be an honor to support the Students and New Professionals Steering Committee as the acting Secretary for the 2020-2021 term.
Alexandra (Lexy) deGraffenreid
Processing Archivist, Penn State University
Lexy deGraffenreid is an early career professional who is devoted to advocating for the needs of new professionals, early career professionals, and students. She has enjoyed serving SNAP as a Steering Committee Member for 2019-2020 and would love to continue serving SNAP as its Secretary. As part of SNAP's Steering Committee, she looks forward to continuing to advocate around issues such as more ethical project positions, permanent positions, and mitigating the impact of COVID-19 on our profession's youngest and most at-risk members.
Maria Leighton
Archivist, Southern Maryland Studies Center
As a member of SAA and The Students and New Archives Professionals (SNAP) Section since May 2017, I wish to contribute to the efforts of this group to support those that are recently joining our noble profession, especially during these uncertain times.
As a new graduate of the MS in Library and Information Science, Archives Management concentration from Simmons University (January 2019) and a career changer, I offer a combination of formal education and extensive administrative experience in government, education and private institutions.
I am a dedicated, detail oriented, highly organized and proactive archivist managing the Southern Maryland Studies Center, College of Southern Maryland since September 2019. I am also part of the recently established SAA Archival Compensation Task Force.
Please consider me for the position of secretary, or if you see fit I can also collaborate as a steering committee member.
Thank you for your consideration.
The following candidates are running for the steering committee:
Helena Egbert
Processing Archivist, Kansas State University
Hello, my name is Helena Egbert. I am nominating myself for consideration to be a member of SNAP's steering committee.
In April 2020, Kansas State University hired me in my current position as their Processing Archivist. From 2016 to 2020 I worked at Oregon State University's Special Collections and Archives Research Center. I started my work there as an undergraduate student employee and continued as a student employee until receiving my MLS from Emporia State University in August of 2019. After graduating, I continued to work at OSU as a temporary processing and public services archivist on a grant-funded project.
Currently, the majority of my professional archives experience comes from my time as a student employee. I am insistent on the valuable insights and labor early career professionals can bring to the profession if given the chance. I would be very interested in working with SNAP to elevate the amazing work early-career professionals do, share experiences in navigating school, work, and job searching, as well as finding ways to further commit ourselves to giving space and listening to marginalized communities.
Isaac Pomper
MIS Student at North Carolina Central University
I am a graduate student at NCCU in the MIS program with an anticipated graduation date of May 2021. I am the vice president of the SAA student chapter at NCCU which is currently in the process of getting formal recognition with SAA. I have had a lot of interest in archives throughout my life because I believe there is value in preserving the past for the future to learn from. I took my first archives class while working at NC State and really enjoyed it, so when NCCU was looking to form a chapter, joining just felt natural. I want to be a member of the Steering committee to gain a better understanding of SAA as a whole and help other students who are looking at archives for their professional lives.
Renae Rapp
Librarian and Archivist
I am the Scholarly Communications Librarian and Archivist at SUNY Maritime College. I earned my Masters of Information Science and Masters of Public History at SUNY Albany in 2017 and 2019 respectively. While at SUNY Albany, I served at web liaison and co-president of the Information Science Student Association (ISSA) and president of the SAA Student Chapter. One of the major events I lead through ISSA was an annual resume workshop featuring professionals of the field with hiring experience who would review student's resumes.
In February, I created the Facebook Group, Information Science Job Seekers, for fellow job seekers and those beginning their careers to have a space to express frustrations, ask questions, and encourage each other through the job application process. The group has grown from a dozen members to over one hundred in a few months. Two other Admins and I frequently post discussion prompts and respond to other members' posts. I am committed to connecting people through difficult times including the current coronavirus pandemic, job hunting in a niche field, and becoming a professional archivist.
I have been a member of SAA and SNAP since I began my college career in 2015. Last year I was appointed in the Distinguished Service Awards committee and I hope to become more involved in SAA and SNAP as I begin my career as an archivist.
Carrie P. Mastley
Assistant Professor/Manuscripts Librarian, Mississippi State University Libraries
Greetings! In September 2019, I was appointed to my first professional position, Manuscripts Librarian for Mississippi State University Libraries’ Special Collections Department at the rank of Assistant Professor. Prior to this appointment, I served as the Collection Processor (project archivist) for the Frank and Virginia Williams Collection of Lincolniana. I hold a MA in English from Mississippi State University and a MLIS with a Graduate Certificate in Archives & Special Collections from the University of Southern Mississippi. If elected to SNAP’s steering committee, my central goal will be to advocate for budding archivists who are trying to gain footing in the competitive landscape of our field, which has become even more difficult to navigate due to the current COVD-19 pandemic. I hope to serve as a sounding board for SNAP members’ ideas and concerns and act as the vehicle to bring concerns to the attention of SAA leadership. Issues that I feel especially passionate about include the practice of inclusion in hiring practices, collection development, and archival description as well as advocacy for the value of archival labor and salary transparency. Ultimately, I believe I would be a good fit for the steering committee because I am truly interested (and invested) in learning more about the experiences of others, especially those who have different cultural, racial, institutional, etc. backgrounds than me, in order to serve the archival community at large. If you wish to learn more about me, please visit my electronic portfolio at https://carriemastley.wixsite.com/portfolio.