Since 2018, I’ve been a member of the International Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives (IASA). I recently submitted an article for consideration to be published in their bi-annual, online journal. Happily, it was selected for IASA Journal No. 52 and is now available! Learn more about the work I’ve been doing at the Jazz & Heritage Archive and pay especially close attention if you know a repository starting its own digital preservation program. Here is a link to my article only. Enjoy!

Recently, I had the great privilege of working on a new documentary about the life of famed vocalist, Irma Thomas.  Irma: My Life in Music was produced by Michael Murphy Productions and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation.

Much of the documentary’s archival material came from the Jazz & Heritage Archive.  I also performed audio clean-up on a few of the live Jazz Fest numbers.

Irma: My Life in Music premiered on October 4, 2021 on WYES in New Orleans.

Exciting news!  I was recently featured in an article by Keith Spera of NOLA.com that highlights the Jazz & Heritage Foundation’s history as well as some of the more recent work we’ve been doing!  You can read the article here!

Photo by Brett Duke, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate

Today, I am very excited to announce my new role as Digital Systems Lead for the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation Archive!  It is going to be a huge challenge, but one that I’ve been preparing for a long time now.  I look forward to meeting it head on!

Among my many responsibilities will be establishing and implementing an effective and sustainable digital storage and preservation program,  evaluating and implementing digital preservation systems, software, and storage solutions, and assisting with capacity planning and risk management.

This is such an exciting opportunity and one that I’ve been nudging my career towards, particularly after completing my MLIS in 2018.

With that being said, it is bittersweet to leave my family over at the New Orleans Jazz Museum where I have worked for the past eight years.

I began working at “The Mint” (before it was the Jazz Museum!) as an intern and contract engineer back in 2012 and had an amazing run. I made lifelong friends and had the great privilege and fortune of working alongside my partner-in-crime, Danny Kadar. Together, we recorded the best musicians in New Orleans and some legit legends. I also had the pleasure of working closely with the great folks at New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park. It definitely feels like the end of an era and I will always have a soft spot for the corner of Esplanade and Decatur.

So it’s onto a new chapter.  I am thrilled to be a part of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation and honored to support the important work they do!

After two years of hard work, I finally earned my Masters in Library and Information Science (MLIS) from Drexel University!  I traveled up to Philadelphia to visit family and join in the festivities.  It didn’t hurt that commencement was held at Citizen’s Bank Park, home of my beloved Fightin’ Phils!