The Search for SAA’s Next Executive Director Begins

This article originally appeared as the President’s Message in the March/April 2021 issue of Archival Outlook.

It’s with bittersweetness that I share that our long-serving executive director, Nancy Beaumont, will step down from her position once a successor has joined the association. During her eighteen-year tenure, Nancy has guided us through periods of both growth and challenge. She will be greatly missed, as she has become a friend to so many of us during her tenure.

We’re fortunate that Nancy is leaving us in a strong position to recruit a successor. The task won’t be easy, but we have a compelling and important story to tell as we seek candidates to fill the role.

The SAA Council has formed a search committee to oversee the process of selecting a new executive director and we have retained an executive search firm, Vetted Solutions, to coordinate the search.

The search committee comprises the following members:

• Courtney Chartier (SAA vice president/president-elect and head of Research Services, Emory University)
• Eric Chin (SAA Council member and senior archivist, NBCUniversal)
• Stephen Curley (SAA Council member and digital archivist, National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition)
• Derek Mosley (SAA Council member and archivist/division manager, Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History, Atlanta-Fulton Public Library)
• Christopher Prom (associate dean and associate university librarian for Digital Strategies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
• Rachel Vagts (Chair, SAA president and manager of Special Collections and Digital Archives, Denver Public Library)
• JoyEllen Williams (SAA Foundation Board member and special collections curator, Kennesaw State University)

This is an incredible group of dedicated and passionate members who are committed to ensuring a thorough search process that will result in an experienced next executive director for SAA. The SAA Council recognizes the critical importance of this position to the long-term health of the organization, and we are well prepared for this transition.

Transparency is important to the Council and to the Search Committee—we will keep you updated on the progress of the search through announcements on the SAA website, In the Loop e-newsletter, Off the Record blog, and other online communications channels.

We hope to introduce members to the new executive director at SAA’s Annual Meeting in August!