35 Participants Selected for CORDA Research Agenda Advisory Collective

March 14, 2025—In late July of 2024, the Society of American Archivists received a $150,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Grant program to establish a prioritized research agenda for the archival profession that builds upon SAA’s recently adopted Research and Innovation Roadmap. Spearheaded by the Committee on Research, Data, and Assessment (CORDA) and with funding from IMLS, SAA will convene 35 participants to be part of a professionally facilitated two-day forum to take place in Chicago in May. This Research Agenda Advisory Collective will transform the Research and Innovation Roadmap into a research agenda and develop a framework for its implementation and adoption.

To select thirty-five (35) participants for the Research Agenda Advisory Collective, CORDA shared an open call for applications. The application consisted of nine demographic questions, a CV upload, and two open-ended questions regarding engagement, experience, and expertise, as well as a positionality statement asking applicants how their lived experiences and/or DEIA-related work connects to the development of the roadmap into a research agenda. To ensure an inclusive and diverse group, we developed a weighted rubric, aligned with the Statement on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (1), to guide the selection of applicants to participate in the 2-day forum. As a result, the Research Agenda Advisory Collective includes representation across the following categories: 

• In and outside of the profession. Practicing archivists form the majority of the Collective, including archivists affiliated with allied professional groups including COSA, regional archival associations, and international organizations including IFLA and UNESCO. Participants also include archival educators and researchers, as well as representation from grant makers and allied cultural heritage organizations.
• Archives sector. Participants represent a variety of sectors including: Academic, Government Agency, Non-profit, Self-employed, and Community Archives.
• Socio-cultural factors. The Collective represents different race/ethnicities and genders related to individual and community identity, including the attributes mentioned in SAA’s Equal Opportunity/Non-discrimination Policy. (2)
• Employment seniority, status, and level. (3) The Collective includes archivists that are individual contributors, solo archivists, managers, and senior administrators/executives in the profession; archivists that are both contract/limited term vs. permanent; and archivists that are entry level (0-5 years), mid-level (6-14 years), and senior (15+ years) in their respective careers.
• Geographic location. Participants primarily represent the United States of America (West, Midwest, Northeast, South). The collective also includes one international participant representing IFLA and UNESCO.

We received many strong applications and thank all applicants for their interest. Below are the 35 participants selected to form the Research Agenda Advisory Collective:

• Alejandra Gaeta
• Amanda Murray
• Amy Cooper Cary
• Ani Bennett-Fradkin
• Betts Coup
• Carrie Mastley
• Chaeyeon Kim
• Chela Weber
• Cynthia Ghering
• Eira Tansey
• Elizabeth Hansen
• Emily Homolka
• Fidel Verdin
• Gladys Kemboi
• Itza A. Carbajal
• Jaime Valenzuela
• Jay-Marie Bravent
• Katherine Wisser
• Krista Oldham
• kYmberly Keeton
• Laurel McPhee
• Lydia Tang
• Mallory Furnier
• Megan Friedel
• Michelle Caswell
• Nancy Melley
• Pam Adama Aly
• Polina Ilieva
• Ricardo Punzalan
• Richard Marciano
• Rick Prelinger
• Tanya Marshall
• Teresa Mora
• Terry Baxter
• Thomas Padilla

(1) https://www2.archivists.org/statements/saa-statement-on-diversity-equity-and-inclusio
(2)  https://www2.archivists.org/governance/handbook/appendices/app_a/EONDP
(3) Classification based on the A*Census II survey and findings, see: https://sr.ithaka.org/publications/acensus-ii-all-archivists-survey-report/