Shiraz Bhathena

Goals as a Board Member. When elected to the AMIA Board, my main goal will be to ensure that as changes in moving image archives’ best practice workflows and infrastructure take place, namely technological ones in the digital world, archives that are consistently marginalized in the non-profit and underfunded spectrums are not left behind on these resources. Providing these archives with resources for open-source software, as well as free recordings and handouts to seminars, workshops, and sessions, and ensuring their voices are heard and are contributing to the discussions on best practices regarding field advancement is crucial to the world of moving image archives. We are a community, and a community means treating all voices equally and sharing resources equally.

I would also dedicate myself to making sure the AMIA board is making conference decisions with these communities in mind. We must continue to hold the AMIA conference in a way that is accessible to and affordable for marginalized archivists and future archivists. We must continue to make AMIA a place where all archives feel welcome and not go back in time where it was simply a place where major motion-picture studios and their attached archives and post-production houses were demonstrating their newest work. We must embrace the common goal: that moving image archives grow in knowledge and best practice for all collections, globally and regardless of economic resources.

Relevant Experience. I have been working in the moving image archive field for over 20 years, starting as an undergraduate intern at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee when I was 19 years old on a newsfilm preservation project. Following a summer fellowship at the Library of Congress, I attended UCLA’s Moving Image Archive Studies program, where I learned the key concepts of library sciences and how they relate specifically to moving image archives. Since then, my work has taken me to every environment from post-production houses, university archives, major motion picture studios, and independent collections. My skills involve handling a variety of analog film and video formats, transfer of problematic elements, operation of a wide array of audio, video and film transfer and playback machines, supervision of employees within a fast-paced archive and audiovisual restoration environment, workflow design and management within an archive, appraisal, processing, and storage management of collections, donation management and advising, and best practice for digital asset management within an archive environment.

Karen Carlson-Snider

Goals as a Board Member.  When I first entered the moving image preservation field, I was impressed by the support and encouragement that I received from fellow AMIA members.  This spirit of community has deeply shaped my professional path and I’m committed to giving back to the organization that has given so much to me.  If elected to the board, I will advocate for expanding access to AMIA’s resources and events, strongly support DEI initiatives, promote AMIA’s role as a national voice for advocacy, and help advance education around emerging AI technologies. This is a challenging time to work in educational and cultural institutions as Federal support is being pulled and diversity initiatives are being challenged and rescinded.  Over the last several years AMIA has taken important steps towards broadening the diversity of its membership.  This work is even more essential than ever and needs to be sustained and expanded by continuing fundraising that supports greater access to the annual conference and expanded online programming.  The recent withdrawal of federal funding sources and shifting political priorities has also increased the need for solidarity within a single larger organization that can serve as source of support, information, and most importantly advocacy.  Finally, emerging AI technologies are reshaping media production and raising urgent legal, ethical, and technical questions.  AMIA has begun important conversations in this area, and should continue building resources and programming to help members understand, adapt to, and navigate this evolving landscape.

Relevant Experience:  I have been an archivist at Northeast Historic Film in Bucksport Maine for almost 15 years.  I began as a film technician, later became the Collection Manager, and have been the Vault Manager/Project Director for the past 12 years.  My responsibilities include overseeing client relationships for our film vault rentals, grant writing, licensing footage, processing new collections, supervising temporary film technicians, and contributing to fundraising efforts.  I hold a BA in History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a MA in Digital Video Production from Governor’s State University in Chicago, a MFA in Public History from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, and a certificate in Film Preservation from the Selznick Program at the George Eastman Museum.  Within AMIA, I have been an active member of the News, Documentary, and Television Committee for about 10 years and joined the Conference Committee in 2023.  Additionally I served on the Board of River City Cinema in Bangor, ME for two years.

Daniela Currò

Goals as a Board Member.  Serving on the AMIA Board over the past two terms has been an inspiring and rewarding experience, and I am proud to have contributed to advancing the organization and its membership. I would be honored to have the opportunity to serve another term.

If elected, I will continue to prioritize education and professional development—core goals of the association and areas I deeply value. Over the years, I have supported the AMIA Pathways program as a Board member, mentor, and internship host, and will remain committed to strengthening our fellowship and mentorship initiatives. I will work with the AMIA Office and fellow Board members to expand our online offerings of recordings, live webinars, and symposia, while also strengthening the AMIA annual conference and its programming.

I will continue to encourage AMIA to engage in discussions on important and challenging topics, including environmental sustainability and AI, while furthering our efforts to increase accessibility and inclusiveness for everyone, everywhere. I will remain committed to supporting our volunteer-based community, serving as a liaison between the Board and the AMIA committees. I will also continue pursuing financial sustainability for the organization, as well as transparency, approachability, and representation on the Board, so that all members – whether new or long-standing – feel welcome, heard, and able to participate fully in the life of the association, knowing their voices, concerns, and requests are valued and addressed.

Relevant Experience. I have been working in moving image archiving, preservation, and presentation for over 20 years. A graduate of the L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film Preservation and an AMIA member since 2006, I currently serve as Director of Moving Image Research Collections at the University of South Carolina. I have previously held positions at Haghefilm laboratories in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Museo Nazionale del Cinema in Turin, Italy, George Eastman Museum in Rochester, NY, Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia – Cineteca Nazionale in Rome, Italy, and I have taught film archiving and preservation on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, in Europe and North America.

Since joining AMIA as a Selznick student, I have been deeply inspired by its community. The annual AMIA conferences have been a special place for me to exchange ideas, learn from peers, and connect with both longtime colleagues and new friends. Over the years, I have served on several AMIA committees and task forces, and in 2021 I was honored to be elected to the AMIA Board for the first time.

Allyson Nadia Field

Goals as a Board Member. As a longtime AMIA member, I have learned a tremendous amount from my engagement with the organization and I hold a deep appreciation for the expertise and generosity of the membership. As a prospective Board member, I have three main commitments:

First, to advocate for moving image archives and the profession at large at a time of devastating cuts to the humanities, sciences, and the broader devaluing of cultural heritage. I would bring experience leveraging public and private resources in support of archival projects, and experience navigating austerity, from having a NEH grant rescinded mid-project to successfully fighting budget cuts and threats of staff reduction. Second, I would steadfastly support international members at a time of incredible uncertainty stemming from US policy tumult. And third, I would prioritize supporting and enhancing the AMIA Pathways Fellowship and the AMIA Mentorship Program to ensure the long-term strength of the profession and its ability to attract diverse talent and foster the careers of a broad community of archive professionals. I understand archiving as a form of activism, and I am committed to amplifying the voices of AMIA members and fighting for much-needed resources for the organization and its membership

Relevant Experience. I am a mid-career film and media studies scholar with a longstanding investment in moving image archives, public engagement, and education. I received my MA from the University of Amsterdam before pursuing a PhD and becoming a professor of Cinema and Media Studies, first at UCLA and then at the University of Chicago. At UCLA, I served on the faculty of Moving Image Archive Studies. I also worked closely with the UCLA Film & Television Archive on collection and preservation initiatives, public exhibition, and programming. I currently serve as the Faculty Director of the Film Studies Center at the University of Chicago, a FIAF Associate archive, where I work closely with the archivist, technical director, and events and program coordinator on all aspects of managing a university-based film archive and public-serving cinematheque. I am a member of the National Film Preservation Board and serve on the Advisory Group of Missing Movies. My research projects stem from scholar-archivist collaborations, including two coedited volumes Screening Race in American Nontheatrical Film and L.A. Rebellion: Creating a New Black Cinema, and my forthcoming book, Acts of Love: Black Performance and the Kiss That Changed Film History.

Kristin Lipska

Goals as a Board Member. The AMIA community has provided me with a view into the various kinds of projects, avenues, and areas of focus that are possible in this profession. This, along with the enthusiasm of the community of people doing this work have been inspiring to me. I’d be honored to work for the needs of the membership as a member of the board. If elected I will focus on promoting advocacy and support of moving image preservation beyond the AMIA community, in order to expand the resilience and diversity of the field. I think a broader understanding of the work we do and why will ultimately lead to the people who do this work being better supported. I would also like to identify ways we can expand the field to include all people who are caring for audiovisual media. In my experience there are many archival collections with some moving images but not enough to support an entire specialized position. How might we provide support and access to professional guidance that assists all people stewarding AV materials and promotes expanded moving image preservation and access? I would like to explore how AMIA might work more closely with other professional organizations for mutual knowledge-sharing and benefit of all our members.

Relevant Experience. Currently I am Digital Asset Manager at Prelinger Archives. I have worked with and managed film, video, and digital media formats, in various San Francisco Bay Area archives including the San Francisco Symphony, Bay Area Video Coalition, and California Revealed (formerly the California Audiovisual Preservation Project). I hold a Masters of Library and Information Science from San José State University. I have contributed to several Home Movie Day events since 2012 as both a film inspector and as a projectionist and assisted with small gauge film projection workshops at the AMIA conference.

Afsheen Nomai

Goals as a Board Member.  I am honored to run for a position on the AMIA Board. If selected I will bring a focus on strengthening and expanding the association’s commitment to education. AMIA’s mission to “support public and professional education” has always resonated deeply with me, as education has been a guiding thread throughout my career in audiovisual archives.

In every organization I have worked, I have sought to create or support educational opportunities—whether through internships, volunteer roles, or mentorship—that allow individuals to develop skills while contributing meaningfully to the stewardship of collections. My work as a core member of the CAW Collective has shown me that these opportunities not only strengthen our field but also broaden access to the knowledge and resources needed to preserve moving image heritage across diverse communities.

As a lifelong learner, I understand the power of accessible education and the importance of fostering spaces where both established professionals and emerging voices can learn from one another. This priority is one I brought to my work on the conference committee and on the Board, I would work to ensure AMIA continues to innovate the educational opportunities it provides—whether through workshops, partnerships, digital resources, or new initiatives that reach wider audiences. And in this regard, I will work to direct AMIA’s resources to connecting people with the knowledge and tools they need to care for audiovisual collections in ways that reflect their institution’s and community’s needs, histories, and identities.

Relevant Experience. My path into audiovisual archiving began in the projection booth. In 1990, I started my projectionist career at an AMC theater in Saratoga, CA, where I developed an enduring appreciation for moving image media. Although my academic pursuits led me in other directions, I never left the booth. After completing my Ph.D. at the University of Texas at Austin in 2008, I joined the Texas Archive of the Moving Image. What I thought might be a short-term role soon became a career turning point: as Technical Director, I discovered a passion for audiovisual preservation and post-custodial archival practice that has guided my career ever since.

For over a decade at TAMI, I managed large-scale digitization projects and contributed to community-focused initiatives, experiences that prepared me to take on the role of Audiovisual Archivist at the Austin History Center. There, I was responsible for preserving and providing access to the city’s audiovisual heritage.

In my current position as Library & Archives Manager at KEXP, I oversee both the institution’s vast physical media library and its growing digital archives, ensuring the preservation of more than 50 years of content creation. Since 2020, I have served on the AMIA Conference Committee and contributed to the planning and delivery of annual programs. In addition, since 2021 I have led and participated in Community Archiving Workshops in partnership with organizations and conferences across the United States—including AMIA, ATALM, and SAA. Across all of these roles, my work has consistently combined technical wrangling with a commitment to access, mentorship, and education—values I would bring to my service on the AMIA Board.

Kathy Rose O’Regan

Goals as a Board Member.  My first AMIA conference as a Selznick student in 2013 opened my eyes to the incredibly wide breadth of the world of moving image archiving, far beyond film handling (my primary passion at that time). I believe that the AMIA conference is a vital forum for students and new professionals, and one of my goals as an AMIA board member would be to make the experience of attending AMIA ever more accessible for those entering the field. I would also like to help enhance AMIA activity throughout the year, be that through online events, regional meetups, or AMIA sponsored workshops. Additionally, I am deeply interested in preserving the highly specialized knowledge of our predecessors in the field, such as video engineers, projectionists, lab workers, etc. As these members of our community age, there is an ever-increasing chance that vast swathes of hands-on knowledge will disappear. I believe AMIA should play an extremely active and important role in collecting oral histories and primary documents from these individuals and make the collated information accessible to the broader AMIA community. As an AMIA board member, I would be eager to develop such an initiative.

Relevant Experience. My experiences as Executive Director of San Francisco Film Preserve run the gamut from managing a restoration program to overseeing web development, from programming and running a monthly webinar series to balancing budgets. Roles in operations management for the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, project and department management at the Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC), and conference organization as part of the Women and Film History International’s steering committee have furnished me with strong interpersonal, managerial and organizational skills which I could put to good use if elected to the board. I have worked across formats, dealing exclusively with videotape during my time at BAVC, extensively with film when training at GEM and other archives, and now largely in the digital realm working on film restoration at San Francisco Film Preserve. I do not believe in a hierarchy among content or format and would bring this belief in the validity of preservation across medium and genre to any board role. A decade working in the field of moving image archiving, combined with a background in high stress service industry positions, has provided me with the ability to work nimbly in all types of environments with a cool head, an eye for detail, and an open approach to collaboration.

Lance Watsky

Goals as a Board Member. As a dedicated member of the Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA) since 1997, I am honored to be considered for a position on the AMIA Board. With over 25 years of professional experience in media preservation and academic program coordination, I am eager to contribute my leadership, passion, and commitment to AMIA’s continued success and growth.

My goals as a Board Member are rooted in my belief in AMIA’s mission to advance the preservation and use of moving image media. If elected, I will:

• Advocate for inclusive, accessible educational and professional development opportunities that support emerging and seasoned professionals alike.
• Encourage active committee engagement and cross-collaboration to address the challenges facing archives and archivists today.
• Strengthen community-building within AMIA by supporting mentorship and long-lasting professional relationships, much like those that have shaped my own career.
• Support diversity in archival content, practices, and representation across the organization.

Throughout my time with AMIA, I have served on numerous committees including the Copyright, Preservation, Education, Nitrate, and News, Television and Documentary Committees and had the honor of chairing both the Education and Preservation Committees. I have also contributed regularly to Archival Screening Night, which I consider the heart of our conferences—an event that reminds us why we work so hard to preserve our shared cinematic history.

Relevant Experience. I hold a Master of Arts in the Preservation and Restoration of Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings from California State University, Chico—an interdisciplinary degree that laid the foundation for my lifelong dedication to archival work and media preservation.

Professionally, I bring a background that combines academic advising, archival leadership, and digital media consulting. As Founder and Chief Operations Officer of LandA Consulting Group, I help organizations strategize their preservation and digitization efforts. My academic roles, including Adjunct Professor at Clark Atlanta University and Program Coordinator for UCLA’s Moving Image Archive Studies M.A. program, have deepened my understanding of how education and access empower future generations of archivists. I also bring experience from my seven years as Chair of SMPTE’s James A. Lindner Archival Technology Medal Committee, recognizing innovation in media preservation and access.

If elected, I will bring integrity, collaboration, and accountability to the Board, while remaining a strong advocate for the AMIA community.

CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD

Andrea Leigh

Goals as a Board Member.AMIA has been an integral part of my professional growth and development from the time I joined as a student from UCLA. I have been inspired and motivated by AMIA’s diverse range of activities, the initiative of members to serve on committees, provide training and mentorship, and the thoughtful, creative solutions that emerge through collaboration. When I served on the AMIA Board, an emphasis was directed towards AMIA’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion goals. A transformative outcome during my tenure was the initiation of AMIA’s Pathways Fellowship and Mentorship Program. A logical next step towards expansion of the current mentorship model is to encompasses comprehensive career development. Other areas that require attention is the growth of AI with its ethical, privacy, and authenticity concerns, barriers to membership and conference attendance, the ongoing evolution from analog to digital, online learning opportunities, international participation, and fiscal sustainability. I am also interested in establishing more solid relationships across organizations that are managing moving image collections. If I am honored to be elected President, I expect to work in tandem with the AMIA Board and membership in proactively initiating strategies that support and sustain activities and programs with respect to both fiscal responsibility and the historic, social, and cultural context of the people and communities that are represented in moving image archives and collections.

Relevant Experience. Until December 2023, I was privileged to work at the Library of Congress for 15 years as Metadata Management and Digital Content Supervisor in the Moving Image Section at the National Audio Visual Conservation Center. From 2000-2008, I was Metadata Librarian at the UCLA Film and Television Archive. My nearly 25 years as a moving image archivist centered on standards development for the discovery and documentation of moving images where I served on committees, taught classes and workshops, and wrote articles and papers on cataloging and metadata strategy primarily through national and international professional organizations (AMIA, FIAF, SAA, ALA, and NISO). I have been an AMIA member since 1999, helped establish the UCLA Student Chapter, serve on the editorial board of The Moving Image, and served two terms as AMIA Director of the Board (2018-2021). I have a B.A. in Theater Arts and MLIS in Information Studies from UCLA.