- Campus:
- IU Bloomington
What was your path to get to where you are now? Were you always in tech?
I actually started out studying English literature and theater. I originally imagined myself working with books, very much in the analog world. Everything changed when I met a professor, who introduced me to the idea of the book as technology. She taught us about manuscript coteries—groups of women who wrote, edited, and commented on each other’s manuscripts. For many of these women, the only evidence of their existence is what they wrote in the margins.
That realization lit a fire in me: women have shaped history in countless ways, but their contributions often weren’t preserved. I wanted to help change that. My professor told me, “You might be an archivist,” and she was right.
Today my work blends paper, film, and tech. At the Black Film Center & Archive (BFCA) I have fallen in love with moving image archiving—digitizing old formats, restoring films, learning film technology, and building databases that make hidden stories discoverable.
I’m passionate about the idea that technology isn’t just computers—books were once cutting-edge tech too. At its core, technology is about helping humans stay connected, and that’s what drives my work.
What professional development activity did you complete with the help of the IUWIT grant?
I attended the Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA) Conference in Baltimore with support from the IUWIT Professional Development Grant. AMIA is the largest gathering of moving image archivists.
A major highlight was exploring emerging technologies designed to preserve aging media. I learned from the Magnetic Media Crisis Committee about efforts to recover data from obsolete formats like U-matic tape, including the use of 3D-printed components to rebuild playback equipment that no longer exists. I also learned about experimental approaches to large-scale digital preservation, such as DNA data storage, which encodes digital information into DNA strands that can be stored in tiny metal capsules. These innovations are reshaping how archives safeguard both analog and born-digital history.
How is digital history preserved today?
Digital preservation is one of the biggest challenges in archives today. At IU, we’re fortunate to have the Scholarly Data Archive, which stores digital files redundantly in Bloomington and Indianapolis.
But digital files are fragile—they corrupt silently, formats become obsolete, and cloud services can disappear. People also don’t think to save their digital lives the way they once saved letters.
Our goal is to keep digital files alive long enough that they don’t become a blank spot in human history.
What is your favorite book, TV show, or movie that has had an impact on you?
The film that I champion every chance I get is Will (1981) by Jessie Maple. It’s one of the earliest surviving feature films by a Black American woman.
Jessie Maple was extraordinary—she broke barriers as the first Black woman accepted into the New York camera operators’ union, won a discrimination lawsuit against ABC, CBS, and NBC, and went on to independently produce her own films using community actors and her own resources.
She later donated her materials to the BFCA, which is why her work survives today. In 2024, the BFCA partnered with the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture to restore Will from the original 16mm camera negative donated by Maple, and it’s now streaming on Criterion. Her story embodies why archival work matters.
What advice would you give about preserving their stories or supporting archival work?
My biggest piece of advice is: write your story and hold on to it. People often think they’re not “important enough” for an archive, but that’s not true. Archives exist to preserve human experience—not just the stories society currently values.
If you want to support archives or preserve your own history, save your materials, keep records of your work, and consider donating them when the time comes.
For women in tech or adjacent fields: imposter syndrome is real, but don’t let it keep you from spaces where you don’t see yourself represented. If someone who looks like you isn’t there yet, you might be the one who opens the door for the next person.