Selection for the second phase of the POWRR Peer Assessment Program has concluded, and we’re pleased to announce the participants in our three new cohorts. Participants in the program are selected through a competitive application process, and are drawn from a mix of institutional types from across the United States.
The team received well over 100 excellent applications in this round. Thus, it was extremely difficult to make final decisions on who to invite to fill the open 18 spots remaining in the program. We want to sincerely thank everyone who took the time to apply for this opportunity, and are extremely sorry we were unable to accommodate everyone who wanted to participate.
We also want to thank the representatives from our phase 2 partner organizations (Sustainable Heritage Network and the Midwest Archives Conference) who helped us with the publicity, application, and selection process. We appreciate your help immensely.
Congratulations and welcome to…..
Cohort 1 (Cohort mentor: Kyle Henke)
- Rhonda Jones, Digital Archivist & Public Historian, Alabama African American Civil Rights Heritage Sites Consortium
- Katrina Thompson, Founder & Board Chair, Northwest American Indian Coalition, Inc.
- Tia Stenson-Cunningham, Archivist, Deadwood History, Inc.
- Kristy Rawson, Operations Manager, Chicago Dance History Project (CDHP)
- Daniella Aquino, Archives Assistant, Diocese of Orange
- Estée Tanel O’Connor, Archivist, Racine Sisters of Saint Dominic
Cohort 2 (Cohort mentor: Carol Kussmann)
- Jaycie Vos, Special Collections Coordinator and University Archivist, University of Northern Iowa
- Doreen Dixon, Electronic Records Archivist, Drake University
- Wendy Guerra, Digital Initiatives Archivist, University of Nebraska at Omaha
- Lee Dotson, Digital Initiatives Librarian, University of Central Florida
- Sarah Young, Library Resources Specialist, Kirkwood Community College
- Alexis Heywood, Archives & Reference Librarian, Hagerstown Community College
Cohort 3 (Cohort Mentor: Danielle Spalenka)
- Sara Bennett, Archives Librarian, Champaign County Historical Archives.
- Amber Passen, Digital Archivist, Bartholomew County Public Library
- Joyce Homan, Reference Supervisor, Cambria County Library
- Kristin Pearson, Reference Assistant, Bristol Public Library
- Bianca Sosa-Phal, Archivist, La Historia Historical Society Museum
- Lisa Geiger, Digital Collections Specialist, College of Physicians of Philadelphia – Mütter Museum and Historical Medical Library
Phase 2 training kicked off in January with a virtual orientation and our first cohort meetings. The cohorts will begin meeting regularly with their cohort mentors and their peer pairs, and will begin to get up to speed on basic digital preservation concepts before embarking on their self and peer assessment work.
Again, congratulations to our participants!
