42 Earn Digital Archives Specialist Certificates from Society of American Archivists

CHICAGO — Congratulations to the 42 new Digital Archives Specialists (DAS)! These archivists, who represent a variety of repositories around the country, earned a DAS Certificate from the Society of American Archivists (SAA) after completing required coursework within twenty-four months and passing a comprehensive examination in September 2022.

The innovative DAS curriculum, developed by experts in the field of digital archives, is structured around seven core competencies: understanding the nature of records in electronic form; defining for a variety of audiences the requirements, roles, and responsibilities related to digital archives; formulating strategies and tactics for appraisal, description, management, organization, and preservation; integrating technology to provide access to digital collections; planning for the integration of new tools for successive generations of technology; curating, storing, and retrieving original masters and access copies of digital archives; and providing dependable organization and service to designated communities across networks. Participants complete nine required courses from four tiers addressing these competencies.

The new Digital Archives Specialists are:

Au Man Ying Miriam; Adisa Vera L. Beatty; Sara Bennett, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Theresa Berger; Shelia DeRoche, University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries; Kaley Dietrich, History Associates Incorporated; Maria Victoria Fernandez, University of Chicago Library; Alison Fulmer; Elizabeth Glenn, Allstate Insurance Company; Adam Gray; Sandrine Guérin; Ragan Gum; Alexander Neal Hughes, Arnall Golden Gregory LLP; Lourdes E. Johnson; WAI Kam-sun Jason; Olivia Lorna Kesselring; Chaeyeon Kim, SUNY Upstate Medical University Library; WONG Kin Kam Athena; Nicolette Lodico, Ford Foundation; Elizabeth G. Maycumber; Shane Olsen; Alison Quirion; Yuen Sau Ming; Rachel Marie Senese, Georgia State University; Wai-chi SHAM; Shun Fai Tsang; Rachel Smith, Alabama Department of Archives and History; Jill M. Sommer, RCUH; Chris Stephensen; Dallas A. Suttles, Valdosta State University; Gwendolyn Swift, United States Olympic Committee; Logan F. Thompson; Jill Tominosky, Guilderland Public Library; Bridget Wood, Arkansas State Archives; Fung Yick Kai; Lai Wing Fai; Cheng Yui Tat; Audra L. Hilse, Ayn Rand Institute; Amelie Immelt; Chik LAU; Hon-kwai CHENG; Deana Whitney.

A total of 857 people have earned Digital Archives Specialist certificates since the program began in 2011. For more information, visit www2.archivists.org/prof-education/das or contact SAA Education (education@archivists.org).