Slate of Candidates for 2021-2022 Board of Directors

Vice-President (one open position)

Jen Haney Conover, Director of Records Management/Archives, Warren County, OH

Jen Haney Conover is the Director of Records Management/Archives for Warren County, Ohio, where she has overseen all aspects of the county’s records management, archival and microfilm/imaging operations since 2013. What makes Jen qualified to serve as NAGARA's Vice-President is her ten years of experience as a public sector archivist, her love for open accessibility to government records and her determination to advance our field. She has worked in both the public and private sector, and at the local, university and federal level, giving her a unique perspective to the records and archival community, should she get elected. Jen wants to see NAGARA grow and diversify. For the past eight years, she has been an active member of this incredible organization. Most recently, Jen has served on the Board of Directors for two terms as the Local Government Representative, and concurrently chaired the Membership Committee since 2018, which has helped grow the membership to the highest numbers since the inception of the organization in 1984. Jen is grateful for this opportunity to service, and hopes to continue to serve as an active player for years to come.

Treasurer (one open position)

Pari Swift, University Records Manager, The Ohio State University

When I was new to the profession, NAGARA was a wonderful organization of mentors!  Now, I find joy and fulfillment doing anything that I can to help NAGARA provide professional growth, networking, and training opportunities for others. Education and outreach are a passion of mine. As a NAGARA past president, I had a goal of making NAGARA the go-to organization for government archivists and records managers at all levels of government by increasing its visibility, value, and offerings. I helped NAGARA transition to a new management company, increase membership, build partnerships with other organizations such as ICRM and ACA, and promoted the personal and professional value of the NAGARA awards. As chair of the Professional Development Committee, now NAGARA’s largest and most active committee, I have made a point to listen and be responsive to NAGARA members’ needs, which has culminated in the Community Chat Forums, increased interest in the GARA certificate, a revamping of the content library, and a broad range of practical, pertinent training opportunities. In addition to NAGARA, I am currently education/seminar chair of my local ARMA chapter, a member of the Ohio Electronic Records Committee, have served on the Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board (OHRAB), and am a proud Girl Scout leader!

Federal Representative (one open position)

Tara Bell, Information Manager, U.S. Geological Survey

I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Public History from Western Michigan University and a Master’s of Science in Information, with a concentration in Archives and Records Management, from the University of Michigan. In my role as an information manager at the U.S. Geological Survey, I am responsible for managing the library collection, implementing records management policies, assessing archival collections, and developing data management strategies. I lead multiple Bureau-wide working groups that focus on data and records management. Additionally, I co-led a group that assessed “data at risk” and developed strategies for rescuing legacy federal data. The multidisciplinary, collaborative nature of my job allows me to connect with people from different backgrounds. As the Incumbent NAGARA Federal Representative, I participated in the Awards Committee and helped draft the new READI Award. If elected to serve a second term, I would bring the unique perspectives I have gained from working in a science organization to the position. Federal agencies generate an immense amount of data and the need for ARM professionals to manage those records will continue to grow. As the NAGARA Federal Representative, I would apply my data and records management experience towards working with our community on solving these challenges.

State Representative (two open positions)

Angela Ossar, MSLS, CRM, Records Management Officer, The University of Texas System

Angela Ossar serves the NAGARA Board as an incumbent State Representative, helping NAGARA continue to grow, thrive, and best support our members throughout the pandemic and beyond. She chairs the Government Archives and Records Administration (GARA) Certificate Subcommittee and has served as liaison to the ACA and ICRM for credit pre-approvals since 2017.

Angela brings twelve years of government records management experience to the NAGARA Board, from her current role as the Records Management Officer for the University of Texas System to previous roles at the Office of the Governor and Texas State Library and Archives Commission. She began her career as an oral history volunteer at the Austin History Center, moving on to internships at UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke University before serving as the first University Archivist of the University of Texas at San Antonio. Angela thanks NAGARA for connecting her with so many talented peers and is grateful to have been given so many opportunities to serve them. 

Cathrine Giles, State Records Branch Manager, Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives

Cathrine Giles is the State Records Branch Manager at the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives. She works with state agencies to help them manage their records (from scheduling to storage to destruction) and train their staff on the subject. Cathrine also helps provide insight to legislators on the impacts of legislative bills related to records. Currently, Cathrine serves as the Vice Chair/Chair-Elect of the Society of American Archivists Government Records Section and as a Board Member of the Kentucky Council on Archives.

Shanté Ellis, Executive Administrative Manager, Charleston County Park and Recreation Commission

A NAGARA member since 2015, Shanté has worked in various capacities within the Charleston County Park and Recreation Commission since 2001. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Strayer University in 2012. Her current position as Executive Administrative Manager, allows her to represent the agency in many ways. Her most recent primary focus has turned to maintaining the agency’s National Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies (CAPRA) Accreditation; all while supporting the agency’s Records Management needs. She leads a team of Record Ambassadors throughout the agency to ensure compliance. She recently led the agency through the five-year re-accreditation process. Out of thousands of agencies in the country at the time, only 169 parks and recreation agencies had earned accreditation. The CAPRA Visitors Report noted that CCPRC is among less than 1% of all National Parks and Recreation agencies to demonstrated compliance with all 151 standards and the visitors did not request any follow-up information within the 30-day post-visit period. This is more than impressive, it's extraordinary! Shante continues to promote innovative ways for quality improvement using the latest technology within the agency to assist with serving its varied customer base and continuous internal change processes.

Shanté’s driving force is to ensure that the Park and Recreation industry is not left behind with regards to records management. As a current South Carolina Public Records Association Board Member, she’s seen first hand how other industry’s records management practices and support continue to expand as technologies improve. She hopes the position as a State Representative will give her a better insight as to how to navigate these new technologies and expand these best practices to the Park and Recreation industry.

Kristopher Stenson, State Records Manager, Oregon State Archives 

Kris has spent the last 9 years working to advance the work of electronic records management for two different state archives. Much of his focus has been on distilling complex technological issues into something that can be accessed and understood by people without an IT background. He has been active in both CoSA and NAGARA throughout his career, including extensive work as part of CoSA’s State Electronic Records Initiative (SERI). He currently serves as incumbent State Representative on the NAGARA Board. He has led the Oregon Records Management Solution and currently serves on the State of Oregon's M365 advisory committee, helping to guide the state into a technological future that includes good RM practice as a fundamental principle. He is an enthusiastic advocate for next-generation RM and loves opportunities to help other institutions move forward. He loves the driven, passionate people he has worked with in his service to NAGARA, and appreciates your consideration in this election.

Local Representative (two open positions)

Erinn Nichols, Town Clerk, Town of Stallings (NC)

Mrs. Nichols has been the Town Clerk for a local municipality for over a decade. She holds a Masters of Business Administration and is a Certified Municipal Clerk (CMC) through the International Institute Municipal Clerks (IIMC) as well as a North Carolina Certified Municipal Clerk (NCCMC). Mrs. Nichols is the President of the Union County Clerks Association and used her free time during COVID shutdowns to become LGARA certified through NAGARA. In addition to her clerk and record keeping duties, Mrs. Nichols is also the Assistant Town Manager for the Town of Stallings, NC. Her passion for records management has driven her career. In her free time, Mrs. Nichols is a wife and mother of two athletic children and is the published author of the children's book, Hal the Owl and His Amazing Beanie.

Kelley Sirko, CA, Program Coordinator, Metropolitan Government Archives of Nashville and Davidson County (TN)

Kelley began her career in Archives as a volunteer. Her skills and dedication led to a full time position with the Metro Government Archives, which she has held for 8 years. She is now the Program Coordinator for Archives. She has developed in person, Zoom and WebEx meetings that are extremely successful in increasing public awareness of the Archival resources. She is also the lead processor for large complex record groups. Kelley has attention to detail, is enthusiastic about Archival work, participates in any committee or multi-member task and would make an excellent addition to the Board.

Lindsey Rambow, Data & Records Administrator, Town of Hilton Head Island (SC)

I joined NARAGA in 2016 as a new Records Administrator. Over the past five years, I’ve attended the annual conference twice (Lansing in 2016 and St. Paul in 2019), a regional forum in Atlanta in 2018, and participated in countless online sessions and webinars. I’ve had the pleasure of serving as chair and member of the Professional Content Subcommittee, which created and then revamped the Resource Library on NAGARA’s website, and also served on the Program Committee for the 2019 Annual Conference. Since my first webinar, I have found NAGARA’s offerings to be consistently relevant, interesting, engaging, and approachable, even for someone at a local government on a touristy little island. Any intimidation I felt at being a local government administrator in the room with federal and state officials quickly dissipated as I realized how much we, as records & information professionals, have in common across organizations. I’d like to serve on the NAGARA board as a Local Government Representative to help the organization continue to grow in scope and excellence, while remaining relevant to local government workers like me.

Alex Hughes, Assistant Director, Archives and Records Management, Troup County Archives (GA)

Alex Hughes serves as the Assistant Director, Archives and Records Management at the Troup County Historical Society and Legacy Museum in LaGrange, Georgia. Alex's work focuses on noncurrent and historical local government records within the holdings of the Troup County Archives and Records Center. He currently oversees the digitization of permanent and historical records. Alex was instrumental in a $500,000 plus renovation of Troup County Archives’ largest records storage facility which is now capable of storing records in a proper archival environment. Alex obtained his Master in Library and Information Science from the University of Alabama and a Bachelor of Arts in History from LaGrange College in LaGrange, Georgia. Alex has a passion for local government record-keeping and would be a great addition to the NAGARA Board of Directors.

Bessie Vaughan, Records Manager, Community Transit (WA)

Public transportation is a functionally and jurisdictionally unique type of public agency. As someone who has spent most of my career in records management within these organizations, I like to think my perspective on government records is similarly uncommon. This is a major reason I am interested in becoming a local representative on NAGARA's board of directors. Another major reason is because I already actively participate in this organization's events! NAGARA is the professional organization that is most relevant to the industry/type of public agency that employs me; to this end, I would be delighted to get even more involved as a board member. I have been a NAGARA member since 2018. In addition, I am a frequent attendee at NAGARA webinars, and I was one of five presenters at the national conference in July 2020. I'm enthusiastic about public records and the information sharing that is possible when managing them in the government sector. I value collaboration and open communication between public agencies, and I see participation in the board of directors as an excellent opportunity to facilitate those same things across agencies in other states and with other functions.

Anne Frantilla, City Archivist, City of Seattle (WA)

Anne Frantilla is City Archivist for the City of Seattle and is passionate about local government archives and records and information management. She is interested in supporting the needs and interests of NAGARA members at the local government level. A graduate of the University of Michigan, she has worked for the City of Seattle for over 20 years. Anne currently serves on the NAGARA Board as the Incumbent Local Representative, as well as on NAGARA's READI and Awards Committees. NAGARA is the only organization that serves government records administrators and archivists at all levels of government. It is a great place to share information and learn. I would work to make NAGARA an even more welcoming and inclusive organization, encouraging participation by more members and working to serve the needs of all members.

At-Large Representative (one open position)

JA Pryse, Senior Archivist III, Carl Albert Center’s Congressional Archives

 JA Pryse is the Senior Archivist III at the Carl Albert Center’s Congressional Archives. JA’s research is focused on methodology to procure efficient content management strategies and long-term digital preservation productivity cycles to ensure accessibility through the digital content life-cycle. JA’s specialties include archival preservation, conservation, and process policy management, audio/video engineering, and knowledge management. 

 JA has been a member of national, regional, and local professional archive and museum organizations; has served on multiple committees, and participated as host or instructor for multiple seminars and workshops. JA is also an active Executive Board Member for the Oklahoma Museum Associations and focuses on community outreach, open-source connectivity, and improving accessibility of information to the public sector.

 JA is passionate about extending professional and community engagement to support continuity and reliability of our work, throughout the ages and to prepare future archivists for successful careers as custodians of history.  Through active engagement within the field of archive science, longevity of the profession is certain. As a successful leader in multiple organizations, JA has spent his career working to sustain and improve professional standards, educational opportunities, and advancement in the field of archival work.