Archivists Round Table of Metropolitan New York, Inc.
2012-2013Election Bios and Statements for Board Positions
Rachel Chatalbash
Candidate for President
Bio:
Rachel Chatalbash holds the position of Archivist at the SolomonR.GuggenheimMuseum. Previously, she held archives positions at the MITMuseum and NortheasternUniversity. She received her M.S. in archives management from SimmonsCollege and is currently a PhD candidate in Art History at the CUNYGraduateCenter. Rachel served on the Board of the Archivists Round Table of Metropolitan New York as President from 2010-2012, as Coordinator of the Communications and Outreach Committee from 2008-2010 and as Editor-in-Chief for ART’s Metropolitan Archivist from 2006-2010. During her time with ART, Rachel has been responsible for expanding the organization’s programs, including developing outreach programs for local communities and new ART-sponsored New York Archives Week events, increasing membership numbers and member services, and leading ART’s participation in significant advocacy campaigns.
Candidate Statement:
When elected ART President in 2010, my goals were to evaluate ART’s existing programming so ART could forge a plan for future activities, and to establish an ART-supported group dedicated to advocacy for local archives. The ART Advocacy Committee was formally established in 2010, and is quickly becoming an essential resource for our members and for New York City communities beyond our membership base. Over the past two years, significant evaluation of ART’s functions was also undertaken, culminating in a revised set of by-laws. It is my hope that the revised by-laws, which include the addition of two new Board positions, will allow the ART Board the tools it needs to continue this evaluative workand to strengthen and expand its programming. If elected, I will provide the ART Board with the support and guidance to successfully transition into its expanded Board structure, and to maintain and grow its programs. I also look forward to further cementing ART as an outreach and advocacy organization, connecting with other professional groups and diverse communities, and ensuring that the voices of New York City archivists are heard.
Pamela Cruz
Candidate for Vice President
Bio:
Pamela Cruz is Director, NationalHistoricPreservationCenter for Girls Scouts of the USA. She has extensive global experience in assessment, organization, preservation and management of asset collections, creating systems for tracking and storage. Prior to arrival at GSUSA in July 2008, Pamela was Vice President, Archival Services for Miramax Films for eight years and Antiques Manager at Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation for 13 years. During her years at Miramax, she was responsible for the inception of the Miramax Archives Department, created archive databases, handled taxonomy and nomenclature and systems for Miramax and Dimension Films and personal archives of the co-chairmen of the company. She worked with film asset collections in Italy, France, Mexico and Romania and in the U.S. and on various exhibits and special projects for Museums and other venues. At Polo she managed the inventory of high-end antiques and decorative arts used for Polo stores, wholesale showrooms, advertising shoots and special events. Pamela’s work with ART includes Programming Committee Volunteer in 2011 and serving on the Board as Vice President for the current 2011-2012 membership year where she was responsible for ART Monthly Meetings and Programming and facilitating the work of the Programming Committee, as well as supporting the Board on ART initiatives.
Candidate Statement:
If elected to continue on the ART Board in the newly revised position of Vice President, I will support the business initiatives of the President and the Board, as well as serve as external liaison for ART as needed. I will also be available to support the new position of Director of the Programming Committee to ensure smooth transition. I would be honored to continue on the ART Board and collaborate on the newly structured Board to help the scope of ART work flourish for its members and the archives community.
Melissa Bowling
Candidate for Secretary
Bio:
Melissa Bowling currently works as an Assistant Archivist in The Metropolitan Museum of Art Archives. In 2008, Melissa received her MLIS and certificates in Archives and Museum Libraries from Pratt Institute. She has previously worked for the American Civil Liberties Union Archives as Archives Assistant, interned in the Mount Sinai School of Medicine Archives, and volunteered in the Western Connecticut State University Archives. Melissa also served on the ART Bylaws Revision Committee 2011-2012.
Candidate Statement:
I look forward to expanding my involvement in the Archivists Round Table and welcome the opportunity to serve an organization and a membership that has given me so much. If elected, I will faithfully fulfill all responsibilitiesof Secretary and work in earnest to make a meaningful contribution.
Anne Petrimoulx
Candidate for Director of the Membership Committee
Bio:
Anne is the Assistant Archivist at Trinity Wall Street, a position she has held since 2008. She received her MSIS with concentrations in Archival Administration and Electronic Recordsfrom the University of Texas at Austin in 2008. While in school, Anne worked in the archives at the Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary and did volunteer work at the HarryRansomCenter. Anne has been a member and volunteer with ART since 2009, helping with the work of the Education Committee and the Outreach Committee, contributing the Metropolitan Archivist,and helping to coordinate the 2010 NYAC conference, as well asvarious ART workshops held at her institution.
Candidate Statement:
I've been involved with ART for the last few years, volunteering on various committees and helping out with workshops and events. ART is a wonderful resource for archivists in New York City. I was thrilled to discover ART when I moved to New York and it has played a tremendous role in helping me grow and learn both as a New Yorker and as an archivist; I’d hope that, as a board member and Director of the Membership Committee, I’d be able to aid others in having the same enriching experience. The organizational and communication skills required of the Director of the Membership Committee are a natural fit for me, and I will happily endeavor to be as quick and helpful as possible in carrying out my duties. I’ve enjoyed every minute as a member and volunteer of ART, and look forward to increasing my responsibilities within the organization, working with the board and committee members to facilitate progress and growth.
Tessa Fallon
Candidate for Director of the Education Committee
Bio:
Tessa Fallon is a Web Collection Curator at Columbia University Libraries. She is currently an ART member and in the past she has been a volunteer for the Programming and Outreach Committees. Tessa holds an MSLIS from the Palmer School of Library and Information Science and a certificate in Archives and Records Management.
Candidate Statement:
If elected, I would work with ART members to coordinate interesting, valuable, and relevant educational opportunities for the future year.In particular, I would like to focus on digital archiving and related skills.
Ryan Anthony Donaldson
Candidate for Director of the Communications Committee
Bio:
Ryan Anthony Donaldson, CA, is currently the Archivist with The Durst Organization, Inc., a fourth-generation family real estate firm in New York, NY. In 2007, Ryan earned an M.A. in History Museum Studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program (CGP) in Cooperstown, NY, and served as CGP’s Archivist. He has previously interned with the Archives and Special Collections department at the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Seymour B. Durst Old York Library and Reading Room, and Missouri Historical Society.
Candidate statement:
I have enjoyed my time serving on the ART Board as the Communications and Outreach Coordinator. During my tenure over the past two years, ART has organized the K-12 Archives Education Institute in partnership with the National Archives at New York City and the Association of Teachers of Social Studies/United Federation of Teachers. ART has also reached out to the artist community through co-sponsorship of the INDEX Festival. In addition, I've established ART as a media sponsor for both the Henry Stewart Digital Asset Management conference and Createasphereconference. I've worked on increasing ART's social media presence, as well as publishing the Metropolitan Archivist, and creating the electronic newsletter For the Record.
I would like to become the Director of the Communications Committee to further my goals of promoting ART, our members, and our members' institutions. One way of accomplishing this is engaging in a creative brief to consider ART's brand and how ART communicates professional values and supports dialogue about the archives field. I also endeavor to redesign the ART website to enhance content for members as well as new visitors to the site. Finally, as Editor of Metropolitan Archivist, I am looking for ways to improve our publication, solicit more contributors, and to enlarge our audience. Thank you.
Nick Pavlik
Candidate for Director of the Programming Committee
Bio:
Nick Pavlik graduated fromthe Queens College Graduate School of Library and Information Studies in December 2011 and is currently the archivist for the 92nd Street Y. Prior to that, Nick was a member of the projectteam for "Uncovering the Secrets of Brooklyn's Nineteenth-Century Past:Creation to Consolidation," an archival survey project at the Brooklyn Historical Society. He has also internedas an archivist at the AmericanMuseum of Natural History and the New YorkTransitMuseum.
Candidate Statement:
In running for Director of the Programming Committee, I intend to build upon the outstanding work of the outgoing Coordinatorand current ART VP Pamela Cruz by bringing diverse, enriching, and educational eventsto ART’s membership. I very much lookforward to working with you all to highlight the wide range of exciting projectsunderway in the NYC archives community, explore creative possibilities forinstitutional and interdisciplinary collaborations, and provide regular outletsfor professional networking.
Janet Bunde
Candidate for Director of the Outreach and Advocacy Committee
Bio:
Janet Bunde currently serve as the Assistant University Archivist and Archivist of the John Brademas Congressional Papers at New YorkUniversity. She received her M.A. in history with a certificate in archival administration from NYU in 2007. Her areas of professional interest and research include both advocacy and incorporating archival materials into educational instruction. For the past several years Janet has chaired ART’s Outreach Committee. In that capacity she has been fortunate to work with many ART members to plan two successful Archives Education Institutes, pairing local K-12 educators with archivists to connect archivists to new groups of users and teachers with materials they can use in the classroom.
Candidate Statement:
Both advocacy and outreach revolve around bringing who archivists are and what they do to a broader audience. If elected I plan to continue advocacy and outreach efforts already begun by ART to preserve access to the archives of the New York metropolitan area for future generations and to show more people outside our usual constituencies what archives can be and do. I plan also to work more closely with affiliated professional organizations—local and national—on events and awareness campaigns. I’d also love to involve more ART members, especially students, in the work of the Outreach and Advocacy Committees.