Ariell Lomax is entering her final year of the MLIS program at San Jose State University. She is interested in subject cataloging and digital asset management, in particular image indexing and retrieval. Having lived in Japan for the past several years, she is bilingual in English and Japanese. She currently lives in the Sacramento area in California. Recognized as a leader in her career as a teacher, Ariell has served on committees and as a facilitator at her job. Ariell also serves as a peer mentor in a program for incoming MLIS students and is a 2020-21 LinkedIn Learning Champion. Her undergraduate degree was obtained at CSUS in Art History, which encouraged an interest in art libraries and museums. She has enjoyed being a part of libraries from childhood, where she began as a volunteer.
What brings Ariell joy is reading historical fiction, enjoying karaoke with friends, window-shopping and finally giving in, listening to the harpsichord and wishing she could play it, smelling roses, petting puppies, eating fresh juicy fruit, enjoying a walk on her elliptical machine, listening to music to fit her mood, and being in the water like her namesake.
Ariell is currently serving as the Chair on the Executive Committee.
Silvia took her first class at SJSU iSchool in Fall 2019 as an Open course. Since then, she became fascinated with the information profession. Her special interests are Information Retrieval Processes including Metadata, AI and IT, taxonomies, digital records management and data analytics. With her MLIS, she is pursuing a Digital Assets Management Certification. Silvia earned a bachelor degree in Business Administration, with a focus on Management Information Systems from Oklahoma State University. She is bilingual in English and Spanish, native from Lima, Peru, currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Silvia enjoys traveling to new places, long nature walks with her family and exploring new exotic foods. Her new acquired hobby is vermicomposting and gardening. This year, she is hoping to grow heirloom crops with her husband.
Silvia is serving as Vice-Chair since Fall 2020 and as interim Social Media Coordinator for Spring 2021.
Lauren Davidson is completing her second year at San José State University and is on track to become a Public Librarian with an emphasis on youth services. Presently, she lives in Los Angeles, California. She got her Bachelor’s in Political Science because she wanted to change the world, but then she realized that being a Librarian could help the world so much more. She is currently working as a Principal’s Assistant at an Elementary School.
What brings her joy is dancing, reading, traveling, and playing board games (especially when she wins).
Lauren is currently serving as the Programming Director on the Executive Committee.
Kari Lease is beginning her second year at San José State University and is currently splitting her electives between the Data Science, Emerging Technologies and Digital Services career pathways. She plans on finding a career that allows her to make information and technology available to members of the population who are often denied reliable access to these things. She would like to be able to teach people how to find and discern reliable information from unreliable information and use technology to benefit their lives. Kari was drawn to the LIS field because she believes it is a discipline that blends human concerns with technology and data science in a unique way. Before embarking on her MLIS career she received a MA in Literature from the University of Nevada, Reno where she focused on post-colonial literature.
Apart from her academic pursuits, Kari enjoys hiking, yoga, long meandering walks, and sitting on the beach looking out at the Pacific Ocean. She recently learned how to knit and loves to play her piano and flute. One of her great passions in life is cooking; she loves the ability to take a few raw ingredients and turn them into a savory meal or a decadent dessert. Her ice blue KitchenAid stand mixer is her most prized possession. Kari is an Iowa native but currently lives in Los Angeles, CA after a few brief stops in Reno, NV and San Francisco, CA.
Kari is currently serving as the webmaster and secretary/treasurer on the executive committee.