36 Earn Digital Archives Specialist Certificates from SAA

Thirty-six archivists earned the Digital Archives Specialist (DAS) certificate from the Society of American Archivists (SAA) after completing required coursework and passing a comprehensive examination in November. SAA’s DAS certificate program was developed by experts in the field of digital archives and provides archivists with the information and tools needed to manage the demands of born-digital records.

DAS certificate holders must complete nine courses from four tiers: Foundational, Tactical and Strategic, Tools and Services, and Transformational, and pass the comprehensive examination. DAS certificate holders have the skills to understand the nature of electronic records; define requirements, roles, and responsibilities related to digital archives; formulate strategies for appraising, describing, managing, organizing, and preserving digital archives; plan for new tools and technologies and integrate them into existing functions to appraise, capture, preserve, and provide access to digital collections; curate, store, and retrieve original masters and access copies of digital archives; and provide reliable service related to electronic records and digital archives.

The new Digital Archives Specialists are: Ashley Adair (UT Austin), Lori K. Atkins (South Texas Archives), Michelle Bogart (George H.W. Bush Presidential Library), Jesse Brown (NY State Archives), John Caldwell (US Senate Historical Office), Heidi Coleman (Willem de Kooning Foundation), Leilani Dawson (Wildlife Conservation Society), Kyle DeCicco-Carey (Harvard University Planning and Project Management), Holly Fiedler (Conservation, Collections & Digital Management LLC), Nicolita Garces (Hawaiian Historical Society), Lois Hamill (Northern Kentucky University), Nicholas Hartley (Senator John Heinz History Center), James Tyre Havron (Middle Tennessee State University), Leigh Jeremias (Colorado State Library), Jack Kormos (University of Hawai'i at Manoa), Anna Lamphear (UT Austin), Kendra Malinowski, Natasha Margulis (Arkansas State University), Michael Martin (NY State Archives), Lynn Moulton (Northern Kentucky University), Sunyeen Pai (Kapiolani Community College), Laura Pierson (Ex Libris), Tracy Popp (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign), Janel Quirante (Ulu'ulu: The Henry Ku'ualoha Giugni Moving Image Archive of Hawai'i), Michelle Romero (Northeastern University), Abigail Sattler (Liberty University), Jamie Seemiller (Denver Public Library), Dainan Skeem (Brigham Young University), Storm Stoker (University of Hawai'i at Manoa), Dawn Sueoka (Shangri La, Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art), Katherine Telford (Rhode Island State Archives), Georgina Tom (Iolani School), Melissa Torres (University of Houston-Downtown), Malia Van Heukelem (University of Hawai'i at Manoa), Robert Vay (George Mason University) and Gina Vergara-Bautista (Hawaii State Archives). A total of 264 people have earned Digital Archives Specialist certificates since the program began in October 2011. Currently, there are more than six hundred participants in SAA’s DAS program who are working toward earning a certificate. For more information, visit our website or contact SAA Education Director Solveig De Sutter.