I’m the Director of the SLRM division at TSLAC. I was born in Missouri, have lived there three different times, and never in the same city twice – Kansas City, Nevada, and Jefferson City. I’ve also lived in Illinois, Georgia, and West Virginia.
While pursuing my undergraduate degree in History at Missouri State University in Springfield, I figured out that I wanted a career in records. I just thought it would be as an archivist, preserving them — not scheduling them, providing training and guidelines on how to maintain them, or storing them for other organizations. After receiving my Master’s Degrees in History and Business Administration from West Virginia University, I began applying for positions around the country. I didn’t expect to end up back in Missouri, but that’s what happened.
Prior to joining the SLRM team, I held two positions with the Missouri State Records Management Program – Electronic Records Archivist for seven years and then was promoted to the Director for the past five years. My responsibilities as an Electronic Records Archivist were working with state agencies on various records management projects including retention schedule development; consulting on electronic records issues; writing and delivering training programs; and assisting with the intake and removal of records from the State Records Center. As Director, I oversaw the day-to-day operations of three sections – Analysts, Imaging, and the State Records Center, much like SLRM. In addition to directing daily operations I had the opportunity to work on some long-term projects. The biggest of these were converting the Division’s records tracking system from paper to a Web enabled software program; managing the transition of the state microfilm operation to include a digital imaging center; and coordinating the consolidation of three records center buildings into two while expanding the storage capacity of the State Records Center.
During my time in Missouri I became a Certified Records Manager and Certified Archivist. I’ve been active in ARMA International since 2000. I served as treasurer, president, immediate past president and webmaster of the Central Missouri Chapter of ARMA. At the region level, I was a region coordinator for the Midwest/Rocky Mountain Region from 2004-2008.
Records management is a field that continues to grow and evolve as technology and laws change how we conduct business, which is probably why I like it so much. I enjoy researching issues; learning about and using technology; planning and implementing projects; and sharing experiences with other records managers to figure out how we can manage records more efficiently and effectively. I look forward to working with the SLRM staff and the state and local government records management officers throughout the state of Texas.