Meet the Candidates for our 2025-2026 Section Leadership!

Thank you to our candidates for standing for the 2025-2026 Women Archivists Section election.

Section members, please review the candidate statements below to learn more about them before voting.

You will be voting for:

• One Vice Chair/Chair-elect, for a three-year term
• Two Steering Committee members, each for a three-year term
• Amendments to our bylaws. The proposed updates may be found in the attachment section of this page.

Ballots will be managed by SAA staff. Please keep an eye on your inbox for when the ballot opens!

Vice Chair/Chair-elect

Sara DeCaro

Sara DeCaro is the Curator of Special Collections and University Archivist at Pittsburg State University in Southeast Kansas. She has an MLS and an Archives Studies certificate from Emporia State University and has worked in special collections and archives for over a decade. Sara has participated in SAA as a member of the Issues and Advocacy Steering Committee and in a presentation addressing low wages and gender in the archival profession at SAA's 2019 annual meeting. She has also written about women in manufacturing during World War II and created an exhibit about Nell Donnelly Reed, founder of the Donnelly Garment Company in Kansas City. Currently, she serves as a mentor in SAA's Mentoring Program.

Steering Committee

(Candidates are listed in alphabetical order.)

Helena Egbert

Biography
Helena Egbert is the Processing Archivist at Kansas State University Libraries. After being hired in April 2020 she led disaster recovery efforts to bring the archival collections back into the building following the Hale library fire in 2018. Currently she does more traditional work in the form of processing and collection management work and oversight. She oversees 3-5 student employees typically. She continues to lead efforts related to long lasting effects from the disaster. Previously she worked at Oregon State University at the Special Collections and Archives Research Center in processing and public service roles. She earned an M.L.S. from Emporia State University, and a BA in History at Oregon State University.   

Candidate Statement
Since 2020, I have had the privilege of serving and working for SAA through different sections and working groups and hope to continue that pattern. From 2020-2021 I served on the SNAP Steering Committee, in 2022 I was invited to fill a vacancy, and briefly served as a steering committee member of the Collection Management section, and most recently have served on leadership as Vice Chair/Chair/Past Chair for the College and University archives section (2023-2025). Additionally, since 2021, I have had the unique delight of working on the Dictionary Working Group, to help define the words we use in the profession. Throughout my time in SAA spaces I have enjoyed meeting new people, having interesting conversations, and making connections through shared values and interests of fellow archival workers. 
 
If elected to the Women’s Archivist Section’s steering committee, I would like to contribute to meaningful conversations about working as a woman in the archival field. I believe, even in a field with so many women, there is still work to be done on issues of equity, intersectionality, and grappling with varied expectations based on gender identifiers. I am also interested in how women are and often aren’t represented in archival material, and how archivists can address these gaps. I would be enthusiastic to learn from others about their experiences in the archival field, and how this section can work to address these topics. 

Jessica Haba

Biography
Jessica Haba is currently an intern at the Archives of American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee in New York City. This work includes cataloging, rehousing, and researching multiple collections. Her current project involves creating a blog post of the history and importance of two medical posters from Displaced Persons camps. Previously she interned at Lesbian Herstory Archives doing research on LGBTQ+ history for digital collections, and packaging collections for off-site storage. Her first archival job was as a freelance archivist for a private client managing, assessing, and curating a privately held collection regarding Holocaust survivors.

She got her MLIS with a certificate in Advanced Archiving from Pratt Institute. She is currently a member of SAA and ART.

Candidate Statement
I am writing to express my interest in serving on the steering committee for the Women Archivists section. While I am relatively new to the archival field, I am deeply committed to supporting and amplifying the voices of women in our profession. I believe strongly in the power of community and mentorship, and I am eager to contribute to an inclusive, collaborative environment where women archivists at all stages of their careers can thrive.

My recent entry into the archival profession has given me a fresh and enthusiastic perspective. I bring strong organizational skills, a willingness to learn, and a genuine interest in advocacy and equity. I am particularly passionate about creating spaces for connection, dialogue, and professional growth, especially for those just beginning their archival journey.

Joining this steering committee would be a meaningful opportunity to grow alongside and serve a group whose mission resonates deeply with me. I would be honored to contribute to its ongoing work and help further its goals.

Mona Vance-Ali

Biography
Mona Vance-Ali has been the Archivist for the Local History Department at the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library System since 2005. She received her MA in History/Public History from the University of North Carolina Wilmington and is graduating with her MLIS from the University of Southern Mississippi at the end of this summer.

From 2014-2017, she taught a class on Public History at Mississippi University for Women.

She has received several state and national grants through the Mississippi Humanities Council, Library Services and Technology Act, National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Historical Publications and Records Commission with the National Archives and Records Administration.

She is involved in several professional organizations such as the Society of American Archivists (SAA), Society of Mississippi Archivists (SMA), Mississippi Historical Society (MHS), and more. For SAA, she participated in the Mosaic Scholarship Selection Committee 2011-2014 and since 2017 has been the Key Contact for Mississippi. For SMA, she has held numerous positions including president 2010-2011 and 2021-2022, Vice-President 2009, editor of the Primary Source journal 2009, 2011-2014, and board member 2008, 2014-2017, 2018-2025. For the MHS, she was the biographical editor of the Journal of Mississippi History from 2019-2020, board member 2016-2018, and Oral History Committee Chair 2016-2018.

Candidate Statement
Hi, my name is Mona Vance-Ali, and it is an honor to be considered for the open position on the steering committee of SAA’s Women’s Archivists Section.

I have always been passionate about history and when I discovered the archival world I found my crew. Over the years, I have been actively involved in numerous professional societies such as the Society of American Archivists, Society of Mississippi Archivists, and Mississippi Historical Society. By holding offices in all three of these organizations, I have gained knowledge and insight into working as a team while furthering the goals of the organization.

My approach is to strive for collaboration and inclusion while growing and supporting the sections community.

Thank you for considering me for this position. I am excited about the opportunity to serve.