2020 Candidate Details
To submit a nomination, fill out this short form: https://forms.gle/YBJCwvVw8VwyWboJ6
Voting will be open from Wednesday, November 20 to Wednesday, November 27.
Below are the candidates nominated for each student organization for the 2020 term (listed alphabetically):
Art and Museum Library and Information Student Society (AMLISS)
President
Name: Kayla Olson
Platform: As president of the Art and Museum Library and Information Student Society (AMLISS), it will be my goal to build upon the work performed by past officers while also working to promote new professional development activities for our graduate and undergraduate members. The collaborative efforts of the officers of AMLISS will produce new opportunities for workshops and networking within the Research Triangle while maintaining past events which have been successful. Though situated in SILS, AMLISS accepts members from any program, and so one of my primary goals as an officer would be to build connections with students of other disciplines (e.g. Art History, Anthropology, Classics) who may want to join SILS students in learning about the world of art and museum information sciences. I received my bachelors in Anthropology and Classics, and a masters in Classical Archaeology. I am now pursuing a masters in Library Science here in SILS, and I am currently working at the Sloane Art Library as a Carolina Academic Libraries Associate (CALA).
Vice President
Name: Lulu Zilinskas (she/her/hers)
Platform: As Vice President of AMLISS, I would continue to promote the value of arts in the field of information and library science. Coming into SILS with an undergraduate degree in Art and Art History, I feel it is important to keep art librarianship, museum, and visual resources work in our sightlines as SILS continues to evolve. I am interested in introducing opportunities to connect to our local museums and visual information professionals through events such as art walks, tours, and guest lectures.
ASIS&T (Association for Information Science and Technology)
Webmaster
Name: Maixe Vang (She/her/hers)
Platform: I would love to be apart of this team. I have experience with another organization with being their webmaster already and have loved the knowledge and experience gained from it. I want to continually utilize the organization’s social media and other web pages in order to share and promote the organization’s events and programs that they hold. I look forward to assisting with promoting the organization and anything else that the organization needs.
Checked Out: SILS Diversity
President
Name: Laura Carroll (She/Her/Hers)
Platform: I will continue working with Checked Out to ensure that SILS is a welcoming space for students of all genders and sexual orientations. As President, I’d like to develop engaging programming that will build a stronger community. All students should feel safe at SILS but the lack of all-gender restrooms in Manning is exclusionary and unfair. I’d like to advocate for changes such as introducing all-gender restrooms, working to make Manning Hall more accessible, and expanding LGBTQ materials at the SILS library.
Vice President
Name: Jenna Wine (She/Her/Hers)
Platform: I hope to continue offering a safe space that is inclusive to everyone here at SILS and UNC. As Vice President, I want to work closely with the President to create events that inform our wonderful student body and remind everyone to be kind & open.
Secretary
Name: Margaret Shelton (they/them/theirs, she/her/hers)
Platform: I want to continue to foster the inclusive community environment that I’ve experienced through Checked Out this year. I’m also interested in some on-campus advocacy, especially regarding the lack of all-gender restrooms in Manning! I’d like to support the members of the LGBTQ+ community we have at SILS and help us grow even more with some educational programming support, too.
WebMaster
Name: Mara Plantholt (she/her/hers)
Platform: I am thrilled to have the opportunity to be an officer for this fantastic student organization that provides support to the LGBTQA+ community at SILS. As Checked Out’s Webmaster, I aim to utilize Checked Out’s social media and Web UNC pages in order to help share the mission of Checked Out and promote the organization’s events and programs. I plan to support the rest of the Checked Out officers by assisting with programming, promotional materials, and anything else that would benefit the organization.
COYL (Coalition of Youth Librarians)
No current nominations
Information and Library Science Student Association (ILSSA)
Graduate President
Name: Jade Bruno (she/her/hers)
Platform: My platform centers around providing strong, equitable representation of the graduate student body. While the graduate president is in charge of making a lot of critical decisions (representatives for SILS committee openings, GPF representative, voting representative for SILS master’s students at faculty meetings), that decision making must be made with the student body’s needs in mind. As such, my primary responsibility (in my view) will be to keep apprised of student needs, with a “finger on the pulse” so to speak of the graduate population. This will mean not only listening to students who actively participate in bringing forth their opinions, but also advocating for members of the community who may have a quieter voice, doing my due diligence to reach out and listen to groups that may not have been historically or currently represented, and resisting more normative, conventional narratives about what the student body “is” when appropriate. That deep understanding of the student body is integral to being able to liaise effectively with faculty and staff about student needs. Especially with all of the potential changes coming down the pipeline with regard to the school’s future, it’s especially important to stay agile and adapt to these changes while remaining true to the core values (whatever they may be to students) of the school and its members. The culture of the school and its population can be difficult to nail down, and our time here represents an unprecedented opportunity to have our voices heard during a period of transition. Representing students in faculty meetings, voting for their needs, hosting Town Halls and maintaining dialogue between students and faculty/staff will be an honor for me. Get to know more about me on my candidate page: https://sites.google.com/view/jadebruno/home
Name: Kari Spencer (she/her)
Platform: My goal as Graduate President is to support all the students of SILS. One way in which I seek to do this is by identifying the types of events students want to attend and their scheduling needs. I want to foster a sense of community within SILS and promote peer networking in addition to networking among already established professionals; we will someday be professionals too and it’s valuable for us to create ties with each other. This can also help us share our wisdom about the program and graduate student life with incoming students, undergraduates that are interested in SILS, and each other. To support these and other types of events, I plan to engage the ILSSA board and other student orgs in fundraising events such as bake sales, raffles, etc. I have been at SILS already for two years, as I minored in IS as an undergrad. I plan to use my familiarity with the program to benefit SILS students and look forward to serving you if elected!
Vice President
Name: Advaith Deo (he/him/his)
Platform: As vice-president of ILSSA, I want to foster a greater sense of community for the undergraduates here in the SILS. I intend to organize more events geared toward undergraduate engagement and networking. Being that there are less than 100 students, I see great potential for a level of rapport that other professional schools could not achieve. I also would aim to leverage the graduate students here via informative panels for undergrads looking to pursue information/library science on the level of a Master’s degree or Ph.D. I am pursuing the dual BS/MS degree and know that I would benefit from their perspectives on the application process, thesis formulation, taking the GRE, and everything in between. I also would want to collaborate with the new student outreach coordinator and the undergraduate liaison to update SILS’ image. I know that too many students get hung up on the term “librarian” and don’t know about the cutting-edge work that happens here.
New Student Outreach Coordinator
Name: Sarah Wall (she/her)
Platform: I greatly appreciated the events for new students that I participated in at the start of the semester including the peer-mentorship program and Welcome Week events, and I hope to build on these programs and continue to make them successful. My goals as New Student Outreach Coordinator would be to help new students find answers to their questions, learn more about Chapel Hill and North Carolina, and, most importantly, feel welcomed into our community.
Student Chapter of the American Library Association (SCALA)
President
Name: Lidia (She/Her/Hers)
Platform: I want to continue the work of the current SCALA government in fostering open and positive relationships between organizations in SILS. I want to make sure SCALA continues to provide events for students to relax and socialize during the school year, such as the SCALA tailgate and student socials. I want to make sure that SCALA is open to new ideas from SILS students in order to create open lines of communication between organizations and students. I want to make sure that SCALA continues to work towards better awareness and inclusivity across SILS, highlighting the voices and issues of marginalized students. Finally, I want to make sure SCALA continues to provide a great foundation for future careers in librarianship to all.
Vice President
Name: Gillian McCuistion (she/her/hers)
Platform: As Vice President, I would like to collaborate with and support the rest of the SCALA team and other student organizations to continue to promote the inclusive, professional, and community-oriented character of SILS. This is best achieved through a balance of social events and gatherings, career development initiatives in all forms of librarianship and information science, and open communication across the student body. I would like to support the already established legacy of SCALA as an organization open to new ideas and growth, and work together toward serving the evolving, diverse needs and interests of SILS students.
SCOSAA (Student Chapter of the Society of American Archivists)
President
Name: Carolyn Welker (she/her/hers)
Platform: As president I would like to continue the current work of SCOSAA by organizing social and networking events as well as field trips to area archives for aspiring archivists or those interested in archiving. I would like to organize social outings as well as professional development opportunities. I want to grow the archivist community within SILS through outreach to incoming students. I believe that archives should be accessible to all and following that SCOSAA should be approachable as well. Lastly, I believe that all members should have a say in the direction of the organization.
Vice President
Name: Katie Greene (she/her)
Platform: I am interested in making archives more open and accessible to everybody, from kids who are curious about history to the most accomplished researchers. To that end, I would establish a welcoming and friendly relationship with the SILS community so all feel comfortable engaging with SCOSSA, as well as the University community to promote awareness of archives. I would love to help SCOSAA bring archivists to campus for lectures and meet-and-greets, coordinate field trips to local archives, and foster a community of student archivists within SILS that values making archives available to all who want to use them. Specifically, I think happy hours and networking sessions with archivists and students would be beneficial to get our feet in professional doors and remind us that archives can be places for fun! I am very organized and efficient, and as Vice President will also support the President in all events and initiatives.