Steering Committee, Treasurer, Programming Subcommittee, Outreach Subcommittee

More info about positions and the election process can be found in our bylaws. Voting ends 03/14/2025. Thank you for your participation!

Steering Committee (3-year term)

Marisa Ramirez

Candidate bio

I am the Manuscripts Archivist for Loyola Marymount University. I began working in LMU’s Department of Archives and Special Collections eight years ago while earning my MLS from the University of North Texas online program. I served as a member of the steering committee for the Archivists and Archives of Color section of the Society for American Archivists, and am currently a member of the planning crew for the People of Color in Library and Information Science Summit hosted virtually and on LMU's campus. My interests include reparative description and mentorship to underserved communities.

Candidate statement

I am eager to develop my leadership skills in the archival community. My past committee work demonstrates a commitment to serving the information science field, and I now wish to focus on archival services at the local level. Los Angeles is a diverse city with many archival workers and it would benefit us, and the collections under our care, to be better connected. As a member of the steering committee, I hope to expand LAAC’s reach so that we build a strong community of workers and students for increased collaboration.

Yolanda Bustos

Candidate bio

Yolanda Bustos heads the Archives, Research Library, and Special Collections at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Before coming to NHMLAC, she was an archivist at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco and has worked in archives and libraries for over 15 years. Yolanda obtained both her Master's in Library & Information Science and Archival Studies from the University of British Columbia. She has lived up and down the West Coast, from San Diego to Vancouver, B.C., but only truly feels at home in Los Angeles.

Candidate statement

Yolanda is eager to join the steering committee to continue aligning organizational practices with LAAC's strategic goals. She will share a perspective shaped by the unique challenges of museums and non-profits.Given contemporary challenges in preserving diverse and truthful narratives, community and collaboration are crucial to safeguarding archives that reflect the complexity of human history. Her experience managing archives and fostering accessibility drives her commitment to advancing inclusive, sustainable practices that preserve our shared heritage for future generations. Yolanda is committed to growing a professional community that promotes transparency, equity, and long-term preservation.

Treasurer (2-year term)

Sung Kim

Candidate bio and statement

In the Digitization & Special Collections Department at Los Angeles Public Library, I oversee the digitization and digital preservation projects while collaborating with colleagues to diversify LAPL’s special collections, ensuring they represent the diverse Los Angeles communities. I am also a part of day-to-day operations, including the DIY Memory Lab, reference services, and staff training. I received MLIS from UCLA and worked temporarily at Alhambra Library, USC Libraries, UCLA Library, and Columbia University Libraries. I would like to contribute to LAAC's work - promoting LA archivists’ and communities' work and the collections they steward, but also advocating for diverse employment opportunities and hosting professional development events - by serving as a treasurer.

Programming Subcommittee Chair (1-year term)

Araceli Veloz

Candidate bio and statement

I’m a Chicanx Studies student graduating from Cal State LA in Spring 2025, currently applying to MLIS programs to pursue a career as an archivist in Los Angeles. I'm currently a student archivist at Cal State LA’s Special Collections and previously worked at the LA County Law Library. With my Chicanx studies background, I hope to diversify the field of archives and library sciences. Additionally, as a member of the LA Tenants Union, I’ve coordinated many community events and hope to bring this experience to LAAC as the Programming Co-Chair. I admire the work at LAAC and hope I can contribute to its future events.

Outreach Subcommittee Chair (1-year term)

Paola Salazar

Candidate bio and statement

Paola Salazar is the Backlog Project Assistant at UCLA Library Special Collections. She received her MLIS from UCLA in 2023, specializing in Library Studies. Paola has held positions at Harvard Law School Library, Cal State LA, and Cal State Dominguez Hills and has been with LAAC since 2023. Through her membership in the UCLA Library’s Punk Collective, she has processed punk collections related to Los Angeles’ music scene. As a Latina interested in alternative subcultures, Paola looks forward to chairing the Outreach Committee to strengthen outreach to underrepresented communities, build lasting partnerships, and connect people to vital resources and stories.

Dear LAAC Community:

As a genocide in Palestine unfolds at this very moment, we look to history to remind us that the root of violence is injustice. We grieve with our Palestinian and Jewish communities for all lives lost, and we stand in solidarity with the liberation of Palestine. Support of the Palestinian people is not antisemitism. It is urgent to be informed and intentional about the narratives we share.

As archivists, it is our duty to preserve history, provide access to evidence, and promote social awareness. As such, we are compelled to acknowledge the historical context underlying the violence in Palestine today. History shows us that this violence did not start on October 7th, 2023. It emerged from 75 years of occupation, apartheid, and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people by the settler colonial state of Israel.

So, to serve our collective learning and liberation, we offer a list of resources, some of which are archives specific and some of which are not.

We add our voices to those of activists, students, and people from all faiths and walks of life speaking out against the ongoing genocide. As information workers, we also express our concern at the rising number of cases of censorship and the stifling of free speech about Palestine and Palestinian human rights. We unequivocally uphold our right to freedom of speech and protection from censorship and harassment.

Collectively, we can use our skills and knowledge to cut through campaigns of misinformation, which we recognize as the manifestation of racism and Islamophobia. Spread awareness on social media. Protect each other during protests by blurring faces in photos to keep identities private. Donate funds, sign petitions, and call your representatives.

LAAC is committed to dismantling systems of oppression, white supremacy, and colonialism everywhere.

In solidarity, 

Los Angeles Archivists Collective Leadership

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RESOURCES

Archival & Library Organizations

• Librarians and Archivists with Palestine is a network of self-defined librarians, archivists, and information workers in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for self-determination.
• Palestinian Libraries are a focus of the Social Responsibilities Round Table within the American Library Association (ALA).

Reading Lists:

• Readings and Resources from Librarians and Archivists with Palestine
• Palestinian Youth Movement Reading List

Local Archives: 

• Los Angeles Contemporary Archive and Palestine Book Club LA organize monthly meetings to “unpack both the history of the region as well as the lived realities of those caught up within it.”
• UCLA and the Palestinian Museum Digital Archive is an independent institution that presents primary sources and perspectives on Palestinian history, society, and culture.

Virtual Archives: 

• The Nakba Archive is a grassroots oral history collective that records and commemorates the experiences of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon who lived through the Nakba, or Palestinian expulsion of 1948.
• The Palestine Museum Digital Archive collects and digitizes endangered materials that shed light on the different aspects of Palestinian life, history, and legacy.
• Palestinian Oral History Archive (POHA) at American University of Beirut is a project to preserve and provide access to oral histories of first-generation Palestinians and other Palestinian communities in Lebanon.

Donations:

• Palestine Red Crescent Society is a member of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies providing healthcare and humanitarian assistance to Palestine.
• Palestine Children's Relief Fund provides free medical care to injured and ill children who lack local access to care within the local health care system.

Actions: 

• US Campaign for Palestinian Rights offers resources and strategic support for local organizers, activists, and policymakers in solidarity with Palestine.
• Jewish Voice for Peace is a grassroots movement led by Jewish Americans in solidarity with the Palestinian freedom struggle.