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Thank you to our candidates for standing for the 2026 Women Archivists Section election.
Section members, please review the candidate statements below to learn more about them before voting.
You will be voting for:
Ballots will be managed by SAA staff. Please keep an eye on your inbox for when the ballot opens!
Candace Pine, Rare Books and Manuscripts Librarian, Walter Havighurst Special Collections & University Archives, Miami University (Oxford, OH)
Bio:
I am an early career librarian/archivist currently working as the Rare Books and Manuscripts Librarian at the Walter Havighurst Special Collections and University Archives at Miami University, located in Oxford, Ohio. While I perform a variety of duties, such as cataloging, teaching, providing reference services, planning and participating in engagement activities, etc., the main focus of my position is on processing and maintaining our manuscript collections, as well as making them more discoverable and accessible to our patrons. There’s a lot to keep me busy, but I enjoy the work.
Candidate Statement:
I have been a member of the Steering Committee for the Women Archivists Section since 2023. Things got off to a slightly rocky start, as the Chairs of the committee both had to step down (due to personal reasons) right after my term started, leaving us with no leadership. So, I ended up taking it upon myself to figure out what to do next. I worked with the folks at SAA to get a special election set up so we could recruit a temporary Chair, and once we found someone to take on the role, she got the committee back on its feet and helped us recruit a permanent Chair and Vice Chair. Since then, I have been delighted to see this section flourish, and I’ve gotten to help organize programming for the Section that I think has been very impactful. I would be happy to move into the role of Vice Chair/Chair Elect now and continue the great work of this Section.
My other committee work currently includes serving on SAA’s Manuscript Repositories Section, which I am about to become the Immediate Past Chair for, as well as serving on SAA’s Archival Repatriation Committee. Outside of SAA, I am also serving on the Midwest Archives Conference’s (MAC) Archie Motley Memorial Scholarship for Students of Color Committee as the current Chair.
Gracie Breland Harris, Director of Libraries, Belhaven University (Jackson, MS)
Bio:
Gracie Breland-Harris is Director of Libraries at Belhaven University. She holds a Master of Library and Information Science and a Graduate Certificate in Archives and Special Collections from The University of Southern Mississippi. Her professional experience spans academic libraries, state archives, and historical organizations, with a focus on archival preservation, access, and public-facing programming. Her interests include community engagement, digital preservation, and developing educational initiatives that connect diverse audiences with archival materials.
Candidate Statement:
I am honored to be considered for a position on the Women Archivists Section Steering Committee. My career has been shaped by a commitment to both archival practice and community engagement, and I am especially passionate about creating spaces that support connection, mentorship, and professional growth. As someone who has worked across archives, libraries, and public history settings, I value the importance of collaboration and knowledge-sharing within our field. If selected, I look forward to contributing to initiatives that uplift women archivists, expand access to resources, and strengthen the sense of community within the Section.
Melissa Hering, Archivist Assistant, Columbus-Lowndes Public Library Local History (Columbus, MS)
Bio:
Melissa Hering has worked as an assistant archivist at the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library System for over two years now. At her work, she enjoys processing collections, researching, and creating indexes and datasets for collections. Currently, she is working on indexing multiple Circuit Court Felony cases from Lowndes County throughout the 19th century and early 20th century. She is also working on processing a collection that the library just received from the Franklin house in Columbus, Mississippi. She received her MLIS and archival certificate from the University of Southern Mississippi, where she also worked on transcribing for the Civil War & Reconstruction Governors of Mississippi (CWRGM) project in a team. Currently, she is a board member for the Society of Mississippi Archivists.
Candidate Statement:
As far as I could remember, my dream job was also one where I could organize, process, and handle historical documents and artifacts, and ensure their accessibility to the world. Imagine my surprise when it turned out to be an actual career. I’m relatively new to the field; however, my passion and drive for history, research, and accessibility have luckily opened many opportunities for me. I spent almost a year volunteering for the archives at the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library before I found myself being hired as an assistant. Before I worked for many years as an educator, and love using my skills in this area to assist patrons and students with their projects and research.
If I am elected to the steering committee, I will commit to highlighting women’s experiences, expertise, and contributions to the archival field. I believe in the ongoing work to platform women’s stories and experiences, both inside and outside the archives. My current work has shown me how important it is to create spaces where women are heard and respected, and I would love to contribute to that space. Being part of the Women’s Archivist committee will create unique opportunities for growth, connection, and education that are meaningful to me.
Taylor Schuler, Special Collections Technician, West Chester University (West Chester, PA)
Bio and Candidate Statement:
I was first introduced to archives as a profession in 2016 during my undergraduate studies, and since then, I have been fiercely passionate about archives and access to information as a means to improve our society and empower underserved and underrepresented communities. This has only been further confirmed for me over the past decade through my own lived experiences, both through my professional work as an archivist, and through my graduate studies at North Carolina Central University, which I completed in 2025, earning my Masters of Library Science with a concentration in Archives and Records Management.
Currently, I am the Special Collections Technician at West Chester University in Pennsylvania, where just over the last academic year, I have led projects on creating institutional documentation, improving campus engagement and partnerships through our social media presence, and conducting an assessment of our resources, as well as our impact on the student body, in order to improve advocacy efforts. Outside of these job responsibilities, I strive to grow professionally by being an active member of SAA, MARAC (Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference) where I serve on the Communications Committee as an editor for The Practical Archivist publication, and DVAG (Delaware Valley Archivists Group), which granted me financial support to attend the ARCHIVES*RECORDS conference this past summer in Anaheim, California so I could present my graduate student research poster entitled “Pink Collars and Glass Escalators: The Role of Femininity in Librarianship.” I was honored to share an hour-long presentation component of this research to the Women Archivists Section in SAA this past December, which encouraged my work even further and led to me being able to make connections and have productive conversations around the topic of gender inequity in our field. My aim now is to add on to this momentum, and I am confident that if I were to be appointed to the steering committee for WArS, I would be able to use my talent, knowledge, experience, and ambition to make a meaningful impact for all women in the archival field.