SLASC Executive Committee
President: Lauren Kime
Lauren is a full time MLIS student, having enrolled in the SJSU ischool in Fall 2021. She received her BA in Art History from California State University, Channel Islands. Her professional background is in collections management and exhibition curation, largely through internships and volunteer work. Her most recent full-time job is as an archival assistant to the Muppets Studio with the Walt Disney Company. She currently resides in her childhood hometown with her husband, 1 year old daughter and mom, accompanied by her black cat named Draco, gray cat named Harry, and a tiny tripod Chihuahua named Cyndaquil (or Cynder for short). In her free time, she loves to read, decorate her Passion Planner, play DnD and work on embroidery.
Vice President: Laura Dowell
Laura (she/her) is from Long Beach, CA and started the MLIS program in Spring 2021. She has a B.A. in Child Development and Family Studies from CSULB, and is very excited about this career shift. Laura found her path to the MLIS program through her passion for creative writing. She hopes to use this degree to amplify and support underrepresented populations while persevering and archiving research. When she is not at school, you can find Laura writing with her cats, spending time in nature or watching Studio Ghibli.
Secretary: Marisa Lee
Marisa (she/her) started the MLIS program in Fall 2021. She has an interest in reference services and research & information literacy instruction in academic libraries and special collections. She has worked in the past for the National Archives at San Francisco and the Chinese Historical Society of America, and currently does freelance work as an archival researcher while working part-time for San Mateo County Libraries as a library assistant. Marisa is active in her children’s schools and is passionate about genealogy and family history research. She has a BA in American Studies and Environmental Studies from UC Santa Cruz.
Assistant Secretary: Christine Nguyen
Coming from an undergraduate background in Japanese and Linguistics, Christine entered the MLIS program in the Fall 2022 semester after realizing her passion and love for digital archives. In her spare time, she manages her growing digital library of more than 100,000+ photos and videos documenting the history of her entire life. As such, she aspires to break into the field of digital asset management in the corporate sector as a career. Born and raised in San Jose to Vietnamese immigrant parents, she was the first in her family to attend college at San Jose State University for her Bachelor’s degree, and now works at the university’s Special Collections & Archives while completing her Master’s degree. Feel free to reach out to her for anything, as she loves to meet new people!
Archivist: Sereen Suleiman
Hi! My name is Sereen and I live in Orange County, California with my family. Currently, I am an associate and sorter at my local library’s Friends bookstore, as well as a project specialist archivist for my community college library. For my first year-and-a-half in SLASC, I served on the blog team, first as an assistant, then eventually as blog director. I have just finished two full years of the MLIS program at the iSchool, and I am eager to continue my studies in library sciences by completing my final year! Right now, I’m choosing to be open-minded about my goals with an MLIS degree, but I’m planning on taking classes that will focus on special libraries, archives, and academic libraries.
Assistant Archivist: Tina Beyleryan
Tina Beyleryan is a first-year MLIS student from Los Angeles, CA. She has been a library assistant at the Getty Research Institute for ten years which means she does a little bit of everything but primarily spends her time focusing on interlibrary loans and special collections. Tina received her Bachelor of Art History of Architecture and Environment from the University of California, Santa Barbara and misses having the ocean as her backyard. Tina loves architecture and the built environment but attempts to spend as much time as she can hiking and camping with her four-legged best friend when they’re not too busy being couch potatoes.
Programming Director: Aisha Abdul Rahman
After completing her BS in Business Administration and Project Management, Aisha began her MLIS journey at SJSU in the fall of 2022. With her sights on working in cataloging, and metadata, as well as heritage archives and preservation, Aisha is striving to develop a career of impact and legacy, that brings about equity, diversity and inclusion in library science and information technology. Aisha is passionate about genetic and genealogical research, west African arts, culture and history and advocates for access equity and archival reparations. When not researching African American genealogical information needs, Aisha can be found researching her own family history, traveling and doing research from VA and DC to Sierra Leone, Ghana and the UK. Aisha hopes that her position as Programming Director will help facilitate opportunities to help SJSU students explore the various opportunities available as information professionals in special libraries and information centers.
Assistant Programming Director: Michelle Gee
Michelle (she/her) began the MLIS program in spring of 2021 as a part-time student. She decided to pursue this degree while working full-time at the Hayward Public Library as a Literacy Program Coordinator, a role that sparked her passion for libraries and connecting people with the resources they need to thrive. The wide array of courses she has taken while enrolled in the MLIS program has broadened her perspective of librarianship, and she has since become interested in nontraditional librarian career pathways. She has interned as a Health Sciences Librarian at Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical and will be beginning a new internship at Sage Therapeutics for the Spring 2023 semester. Michelle is passionate about equipping other MLIS students with information and resources about special librarianship, a direction that can oftentimes be overlooked. Michelle is currently residing in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and has an expected graduation date of December 2023.
Second Assistant Programming Director: April Pantell
April is a full-time MLIS student from Felton, California, located in the Santa Cruz Mountains. She received her BA in Communication Studies and minored in Linguistics from SJSU in May 2020. She currently works as an ELPAC Tester (The English Language Proficiency Assessments for California) for a school district in San Jose. When she is not working or focusing on school she enjoys anything involving her 12.5-year-old Doberman Pinscher, making snacks, mountain biking, and planning her next vacation.
Communications Director: Kristina Gerhardt
Kristina has been in the MLIS program since the spring of 2019. She is a native Californian, born in a suburb of Los Angeles, which she returned to after receiving a B.S. in Studio Art with an emphasis in Graphic Design. After completing a web development certificate and working several years in retail, she decided to continue her education. Upon discovering a library technology program at a nearby college, she enrolled and was so intrigued that she finished the certificate along with the recently established archives certification. She is eager to see what the future holds and aspires to work in a museum, art library, or archival setting. In her spare time, she can be found painting, immersed in a book, gaming, planning her next cosplay, tinkering on the piano, and marveling at the beauty of nature.
Assistant Communications Director: Zulma Brennan
Zulma (she/her) started her MLIS academic career in Spring 2022. She is a California native, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in History from California State University, San Bernardino in 2020. After working at a high-level retreat center and museum she discovered her love of archives and libraries. Her background includes archival work, photo digitization, and preservation. Zulma recently moved to Seattle, WA where she currently resides. In her spare time, you can find her writing and decorating her journal, playing with her dogs, walking through a museum, or exploring the city.
Second Assistant Communications Director: Monica Colcord
Monica (she/her) began iSchool in Fall 2022, and plans to finish the MLIS program in spring of 2024. She holds a Master’s degree in English and has decades of experience in corporate marketing and communications, producing proposals, grants, and marketing material. The MLIS degree will support a career transition into digital asset management/archives. She currently resides in Portland, Oregon with her family. Monica is passionate about hiking, yoga, reading, travel, and food. In her free time, she creates stained glass art and rides horses. In joining SLASC, Monica hopes to expand her professional network and deepen her MLIS program experience.
Membership Director: Lauren West
Lauren (she/her) started her MLIS academic journey in the Spring of 2022 a few years after graduating with her Bachelors of Arts in English and Digital Journalism from UC Berkeley in 2018. She studies and works remotely as a freelance copywriter in Southern California with her family and her 3 guinea pigs. Lauren also serves as the iSchool’s Community Profiles Writer where she enjoys getting to know other library students and working professionals and their stories. In her spare time, Lauren reads and writes fiction and enjoys playing Animal Crossing and The Sims. She hopes to finish her degree in December 2023, and looks forward to finding a nontraditional career in communications, education and librarianship.
Assistant Membership Director: Rosine Bingol
Rosine Bingol (she/her) started the MLIS program in the Fall of 2021 and is planning to graduate in the Spring of 2024. She earned her B.A. in Political Science and Political Administration at Marmara University, İstanbul, Türkiye, and her MBA at San Francisco State University. By joining the SLASC, Rosine brings many years of experience contributing to non-profit organizations. She has worked as a linguistic search editor, tester, QA analyst, and content coordinator on various multilingual data-driven projects (French, Turkish, and English). Most recently, she worked as a Metadata Specialist at Stanford University Libraries, where she found her passion for taxonomy, ontology, information organization, digital services, and information architecture. While working on her MLIS, Rosine actively volunteers at her children’s school and enjoys cooking, reading, listening to classical music, and practicing yoga, meditation, and mindfulness.
Second Assistant Membership Director: Madelyn Tarr
Madelyn started the MLIS program in Fall 2021 and expects to graduate in Spring 2024. She is originally from South Florida and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and International Studies from University of Miami. Following her undergraduate career, she went to law school and graduated with a J.D and LL.M. in Law and Entrepreneurship from Duke University School of Law. Madelyn currently works as a corporate attorney in San Diego, focusing on entrepreneurship and venture capital, and in her free time loves reading, playing golf and attending ballet classes.
Social Media Director: Anthony Elizondo
Anthony Elizondo (he/him) is a full time student at San José State University and began his MLIS journey in Spring 2022. Anthony was born and raised in the Bay Area and resides in Antioch, CA. After receiving his Associate’s Degree in Liberal Arts at Los Medanos College, Anthony transferred to California State University East Bay and received his Bachelor of Arts degree in English. After working in customer service for over five years as a retail manager, Anthony decided to pursue a career in librarianship. Anthony is passionate about jail & re-entry services, social justice, and EDI in libraries. By joining the SLASC, he hopes to meet new friends, network with others, and contribute his skills as the Social Media Director. During his spare time, Anthony enjoys playing guitar, attending concerts, watching movies, gardening, playing video games, and baking.
Assistant Social Media Director: Erin Robinson
Erin (she/her/hers) began the MLIS program in Spring 2021 and is following the Digital Curation pathway while working towards the Digital Assets Management certificate. She lives in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles with her husband, two children, and lots of pets. She currently volunteers at the Sherman Grinberg Film Library in Chatsworth, CA. She has a BA in Liberal Studies from Cal State Long Beach, and her other academic pursuits are Archival Studies, Art History, Studio Art, Museum Studies, and French. Her family stewards a Little Free Library and a Free Little Art Gallery in their front yard.
Blog Director: Gabrielle Bates
I’m the daughter of an immigrant and native Californian. I’m a little bit Art Deco, Pop Culture, and Mexican Auntie. From a young age, I began collecting and cataloging comic books. This desire to collect and catalog never went away. It merely evolved into other personal collections. Currently, my collections consist of tea, wine, vinyl records, Horror DVDs, Dia de Los Muertos art, skeletons, and a batch of Funko Pops. I have kept a journal since the age of 8. Words have power. The most important ones are the ones we tell ourselves. In my spare time, I dabble in screenwriting. I have been known to travel for a good meal or even ice cream. My favorite burger is in Los Angeles at Father’s Office.
Assistant Blog Editor: Adina Vega
Adina (she/her) is a new 2023 MLIS student residing in southern Colorado, attending the program on a full-ride scholarship. She received her BS in Marketing and Advertising from Colorado State University-Pueblo in 2007. Her professional background is in nonprofit marketing; however, she is most proud of her volunteer work with organizations like NAMI, DBSA, Sierra Club, and her local library district, where she has volunteered for over three years. After attending a volunteer appreciation dinner, she had an epiphany and was encouraged to apply to library school. She works with the community relations team, special collections and genealogy department, and the Friends of the Library used bookstore, where she gets to smell old books all day. She plans to graduate in 2025, work at her main library branch, and eventually work in special or academic librarianship. She is a passionate advocate for mental health accessibility and believes in the power of therapy. She enjoys reading indie graphic novels, listening to psychedelic elevator music, needle felting, going the distance on the rowing machine, exploring Colorado, and thrifting.
Second Assistant Blog Editor: Jenny Roach
Jenny (she/her) started her MLIS education at SJSU in January 2023. She has a B.A. in Linguistics from the University of North Texas and an MBA from Texas Woman’s University. She has a special interest in independent research libraries, museum archives, and the preservation of endangered languages. In the past, she coordinated Access, Inclusion, Diversity and Equity (AIDE) programming at the University of North Texas in collaboration with the surrounding community. In her spare time, she studies languages both ancient and modern, practices her creative writing skills, and plays video games with her husband.
Webmaster: Katie Kuipers
Katie began the MLIS program at SJSU in August of 2020. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Since then, Katie has been a Library Assistant at Bismarck Public Schools in Bismarck, North Dakota, working at an elementary school and two high schools. Katie has also interned for the Montana Department of Transportation Library in Helena, Montana. Katie recently was hired as a Circulation Associate at the Bismarck Veterans Memorial Public Library. She is excited to explore public librarianship. When she is not busy doing homework, Katie enjoys going for walks with her cockapoo puppy, Chester, reading, and traveling.
Assistant Webmaster: Meghan Daly
Meghan started her MLIS degree at the iSchool in the Fall of 2020. She graduated from Santa Clara University in 2017 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and spent a year as a Jesuit Volunteer in Syracuse, NY following her graduation from SCU. After experiencing her first East Coast winter, Meghan jumped at the chance to move back to California and has been living in San Francisco for the past three years. Currently, she works for the American Academy of Ophthalmology as an Editorial & Library Coordinator and takes any opportunity to apply her coursework to her work in the Academy’s medical library. When not working or studying, Meghan enjoys trying new recipes, exploring the city with friends, and reading whatever books she can get her hands on!