Staff
DPLA Staff, January 2017
Arielle Perry
Program Assistant / Email Arielle
Perry has a diverse background in libraries, administration, and special events. Prior to DPLA, Arielle worked with the Friends of the University of Wisconsin—Madison Libraries as the Administrative Program Specialist to create special events and support collaborative educational programs. Before working with the Friends, Arielle held a number of positions with local and university libraries and worked on special event planning and implementation for community groups and educational organizations. Arielle holds a master’s degree in Library and Information Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a BA in History from Virginia Wesleyan College.
Audrey Altman
Developer / Email Audrey
Audrey Altman is a Developer for DPLA. She works with the DPLA Technology Team to design, develop, test, integrate, support, and document user-facing applications and back-end systems; support content management policies, process, and workflows, and contribute to the development of new ones; and collaborate with stakeholders to contribute to strategic and tactical planning and implementation of content stewardship applications and technologies. Audrey previously worked as a web developer for Digital Research and Publishing at the University of Iowa Libraries, and for the University of Iowa Digital Studio for Public Arts & Humanities. She holds a Masters of Library and Information Science from the University of Iowa, a M.A. in American Studies from the University of Alabama and a B.A. in Theater from Albion College. While Audrey doesn’t have a single favorite DPLA item, she is partial to zoological drawings like those of the White Heron, Squat Lobster, Snail, and Collared Hedge Hog.
Dan Cohen
Executive Director / Email Dan
Dan Cohen is the Founding Executive Director of the DPLA, where he works to further the DPLA’s mission to make the cultural and scientific heritage of humanity available, free of charge, to all. Prior to his tenure, Dan was a Professor of History and the Director of the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University. At the Center, Dan oversaw projects ranging from new publishing ventures (PressForward) to online collections (September 11 Digital Archive) to software for scholarship (the popular Zotero research tool). His books include Digital History: A Guide to Gathering, Preserving, and Presenting the Past on the Web (with Roy Rosenzweig) and Equations from God: Pure Mathematics and Victorian Faith. Dan was an inaugural recipient of the American Council of Learned Societies’ Digital Innovation Fellowship. In 2011 he received the Frederick G. Kilgour Award from the American Library Association for his work in digital humanities, and in 2012 he was named one of the top “tech innovators” in academia by the Chronicle of Higher Education. Dan received his bachelor’s degree from Princeton, his master’s degree from Harvard, and his PhD from Yale. Because Dan has two dachschunds, his favorite DPLA item is this photo of a dachshund enjoying a beverage.
Emily Gore
Director for Content / Email Emily
Emily Gore is the Director for Content of the Digital Public Library of America. In this role, Emily provides strategic vision for DPLA content and metadata, coordinates content and collections workflows and oversees the DPLA Hubs program. Much of Gore’s current daily work focuses on identifying and helping to establish new Service Hubs for DPLA. Before joining DPLA, Emily served as Associate Dean for Digital Scholarship and Technology at Florida State University Libraries. Emily’s 15 year career in libraries has largely focused on building digital collection collaborations among cultural heritage institutions. During her career, Emily has received over $4 million in grant funding for this work. She has an MLIS from the University of Alabama, a BA from Clemson University and is a 2011 graduate of the Frye Leadership Institute. In her spare time, Emily enjoys being on the water. Emily grew up on the North Carolina coast and enjoys swimming and boating in the Intracostal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean as much as possible. Emily has a Harlequin Great Dane named Ella who is her pride and joy; as such, this is her favorite DPLA item. Emily’s also a bit of a music junkie who has a vault of music lyrics in her head. This has earned her the nickname “Juke” among a number of her close friends.
Franky Abbott
Curation and Education Strategist / Email Franky
Franky Abbott works as the Curation and Education Strategist for the Digital Public Library of America. In this capacity, she leads DPLA education initiatives with teachers, and students in K-12 and higher education, organizes the Community Reps program, runs the Gates-funded Public Library Partnerships Project, and collaborates on digital exhibition curation. Franky came to DPLA on an American Council of Learned Societies Public Fellowship in 2013 with experience as a project manager in digital humanities at the University of Alabama’s Alabama Digital Humanities Center and Emory University’s Digital Scholarship Commons and in digital publishing as managing editor of the open access journal, Southern Spaces. Additionally, she has worked in education research and as a K-12 classroom teacher. Franky has a PhD from Emory’s Graduate Institute of Liberal Arts in American Studies. Her current favorite DPLA item is “Tony Tone and Charlie Chase of the Cold Crush Brothers outside United Bronx Parents.”
Gretchen Gueguen
Data Services Coordinator / Email Gretchen
Gretchen Gueguen is a Data Services Coordinator, working alongside our Director for Content and Network Manager to bring on new partners, conduct data mapping and ingest, perform quality assurance, and support several other critical projects. Prior to DPLA, Gretchen worked as Digital Archivist at the University of Virginia where she helped establish the first born-digital archives program. Gretchen has also worked at East Carolina University and the University of Maryland where she received her MLS in 2005. Gretchen has been involved several collaborative digital library and digital humanities projects throughout Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. Gretchen’s current favorite DPLA item is “Roller Derby at Atlanta Municipal Auditorium,” showing the early days of her favorite sport.
Kelcy Shepherd
DPLA Network Manager / Email Kelcy
Kelcy Shepherd is the DPLA Network Manager, working with the Content team to maintain and expand DPLA’s growing network of Hubs, with responsibilities including oversight of Hubs communications; coordination of the Hubs application process; facilitation of education and training across our Hub professional network; and support for DPLA’s education and curation initiatives. She has worked on digital archives and digital library projects for over fifteen years, focusing on effective collaboration and community-building. Prior to joining the DPLA, Kelcy was the Head of Digital Programs at the Amherst College Library, providing leadership for the creation, curation, delivery, and preservation of digital collections. Kelcy holds a master’s degree in Library and Information Science from Simmons College, and a BA in Art & Design with a second major in Anthropology from Iowa State University. Having watched rolle bolle matches growing up, and recently rolled a few bolles herself, Kelcy’s current favorite DPLA item is this photograph of the Belgian lawn bowling game.
Mark Breedlove
Senior Developer / Email Mark
Mark Breedlove is a Senior Developer at DPLA, and contributes to the design and implementation of the organization’s infrastructure, ingestion system, API, and front-end website. His work has been concentrated in the development of the ingestion system, which moves data from providers to the DPLA datastore, and the development of the organization’s new DevOps systems. He works closely with the Director of Technology and the Content team. Before coming to DPLA, Mark was the Technical Director at See.me, a social discovery website for artists, and the American Museum of Natural History, building scientific web applications and content management systems for its Science Division. Mark’s current favorite DPLA item is Gunn’s Domestic Medicine, or Poor Man’s Friend.
Michael Della Bitta
Director of Technology/ Email Michael
Michael has worked in software development and publications and in the startup, library, and education space for nearly twenty years. Michael most recently worked as a data and analytics developer, architect and engineering manager at the content marketing company ScribbleLive. Prior to that, Michael worked as a developer and architect on the repository and Digital Gallery teams at the New York Public Library, and built content management, online learning, and semantic metadata applications at Columbia University. Michael holds a B.A. in Philosophy from Bates College. Michael’s favorite item in the DPLA is the Willard Orrery, because it reminds him of home.
Michelle Bickert
Ebook Program Manager / Email Michelle
Michelle Bickert is the Ebook Program Manager at DPLA. She serves as the primary point person for DPLA’s ebook projects and facilitates community engagement among the library ebook community. Prior to DPLA Michelle was the Digital Content Coordinator for the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records, where she helped launch the statewide ebook platform Reading Arizona and managed the Arizona Memory Project. Michelle attended Arizona State University where she received her MA in Public History and BAs in History and Political Science. Her favorite ebook available through DPLA is A Natural Sequence: A Story of Phoenix, Arizona.
Samantha Gibson
Engagement and Use Coordinator / Email Samantha
Samantha Gibson is the Engagement and Use Coordinator at DPLA, where she works to connect diverse public audiences with the collections, exhibits, and resources of DPLA through social media, outreach initiatives, and the development of educational resources for teachers and students. Prior to DPLA, Samantha worked in museum education at the Museum of African American History, Boston and Nantucket, Brooklyn Historical Society, and the Museum of the City of New York. Samantha holds a M.A. in Public History from New York University and a B.A. in History from American University in Washington, D.C. As a New Jersey native, Samantha’s current favorite DPLA item is this photo of her hometown represented at the New York World’s Fair in 1940.
Scott Williams
Developer / Email Scott
Scott Williams is a Developer for the DPLA, where he works to create streamlined experiences for partner institutions who want to make their content available to a larger audience by including it in the DPLA.Before coming to the DPLA, Scott worked with museum data at the Yale University Art Gallery and University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. He holds a degree in history and computer science from Miami University of Ohio. Scott lives in Western Massachusetts with his partner and their two cats, Archimedes and Antigone. Scott’s favorite item in the DPLA is the print Tugboat by Fred Carlo because it’s beautiful, and because it reminds him of Greg Albers’ MCN Ignite Talk.
