MEET THE CONFERENCE COMMITTEE

Conference Committee

Nicola Laurent

Convenor

Nicola Laurent (she/her) is the President of the Australian Society of Archivists and the Senior Project Archivist on the Find & Connect web resource team at the University of Melbourne. She is also a PhD candidate in the School of Social Work at the University of Melbourne undertaking research about people’s experiences of trauma in archives. Nicola advocates for trauma-informed archival practice, including the creation of resources and support networks to support its implementation and discusses the impact of vicarious trauma on archivists. Nicola is the International Council on Archives’ New Professionals Programme Coordinator, a member of the National Archives of Australia's Advisory Council, and co-founder of the Trauma-Informed Archives Community of Practice. She is also enjoying being the Co-Convenor of the 2024 Opening the Archives Conference! You can find her on LinkedIn.

Richard Foy

ARANZ President

Richard is an Aotearoa New Zealand-born son of Chinese immigrants, accomplished public speaker, failed comic-novelist and a public servant who’s enthusiastically committed to a career of public service and leadership. Richard is a former Chief Archivist of Archives NZ, our National Archives, an LDC (Leadership Development Centre) Fellow, 2018 Geoffrey Bolton lecturer (State Records Office, WA), and a wannabe Starfleet Officer. Richard is currently Kaiwhakahaere, Pūnaha Mōhio (Knowledge Systems) at Te Puni Kōkiri, the Ministry of Māori Development.Outside of work, Richard is obsessed with his children, Star Trek, and fungi, sometimes in that order, but seldom in combination.“As a Chinese Kiwi, born-and-bred in Aotearoa New Zealand, I grew up in Wainuiomata learning to navigate two worlds: the See Yip Cantonese-speaking Chinese culture of my immigrant forebears, and the predominantly Pākehā (in the ‘70s-‘80s) culture of my local community. In adulthood, I’ve learned to navigate the third world of Te Ao Māori, notably through my public service career and leadership roles. In the past decade, I’ve learned to navigate my fourth world, as my partner is German, and our daughter Lucy is a Chinese-German Kiwi. I happily embrace ‘yum cha, meat pies, hangi and sauerkraut’—and the diversity of cultural traditions and flavours they embody—all with equal gusto!”

Evan Greensides

ARANZ

Evan Greensides is an Information Management consultant based in Christchurch – Ōtautahi. He has 14 years of professional experience across the Galleries, Libraries, Archives, Museum, and Records (GLAMR) sector in both technical and management roles.

Before undertaking IM consulting, Evan was Senior Archivist and product owner of the Archives Central digital repository, implementing world leading open-source software. Under his guidance, Archives Central was confirmed as one of the first institutions globally to adopt the cutting-edge Records in Context Conceptual Model (RiC-CM) developed by the International Council on Archives (ICA).

Evan is working collaboratively with Te Manawa Museum of Art, Science & Heritage as project manager to bring the nationally significant Peter Bush Collection to the public. He is first-past President of Archives and Records Association of New Zealand (ARANZ) and was until recently a Trust Board Member for Te Manawa.

When not working digitally, Evan can be found on one of the many tracks around the Port Hills of Christchurch. His favourite is Rāpaki Track which provides stunning, panoramic views of Christchurch, Akaroa and many bays after a beautiful uphill trek.

Claire Dowling

ARANZ

Claire Dowling is based in New Zealand and joined the Conference Committee as an ARANZ representative. She has worked at Anderson Lloyd since 2014 and is the firm's Records Administrator. She is responsible for deed and file retrievals, checking and filing, internal process compliance, and annual destruction; uplifts when clients transfer to new firms; library subscriptions and catalogue maintenance; and works in conjunction with the Client Services team. Aside from work Claire enjoys reading, in book, eBook, and audiobook formats, listening to podcasts, playing computer games, and drinking Gin and Tonic (among other things).

Jarrod Coburn

I’m a Cantabrian at heart and both sides of my family settled in New Zealand between 1855 and 1860. I come from farming stock mainly, so have a close affinity to the land and the environment.

I’m a co-owner of a law firm that focuses on family and civil litigation. We help around 1,000 people a year, most of whom access legal aid. Our vision is ‘access to justice for all’ and we live by that credo.

I graduated with a Masters degree from Victoria University of Wellington in the field of management. I serve my community as a Justice of the Peace and as the board secretary for a committee of engineers that endorse heritage rolling stock and locomotives to run on the national rail network. I’m also a trustee of a unique heritage park, one I hope you get to visit when you come to Christchurch.

My passions include Erin (my partner in both business and marriage), good governance, AI, cyber security, and heritage railways.

You can find me on LinkedIn and almost nowhere else… because: cyber security.

And aside from Ferrymead Heritage Park, I’d recommend a place called The Goldfinch. It’s a wee restaurant on Victoria Street that will come up to anyone’s standards

Eric Boamah

ARANZ

Eric is a Principal Lecturer and the Programme Leader for the Library and Information Studies team at the Open Polytechnic of New Zealand. Originally from Ghana, Eric first came to New Zealand in 2010 to study at Victoria University of Wellington and upon completing, started teaching at the Open Polytechnic in 2013. He is very active in the archives, records, and information management communities in New Zealand and internationally. He is the immediate past President of ARANZ and a member of PARBICA. He is also a committee member of the International Review Group (IRG) of New Zealand, responsible for the development of ISO standards for records management. He is a member of RIMPA, and a past Councilor for the then New Zealand Branch of RIMPA for 4 years. Eric is also active in the School Libraries Association of New Zealand (SLANZA) and the Library and Information Association of New Zealand (LIANZA).He has attended several conferences in Christchurch and finds the Riverside Market a wonderful place for relaxation and all sorts of great foods and fun.

Hannah Hibbert

ASA

Hannah is the current Vice-President of the Australian Society of Archivists (ASA) and a member of the 2024 Conference Committee. In her day job, Hannah is the Research and Archives Officer at the Sydney Opera House. She was involved in research and sourcing imagery for the recent 50th Anniversary celebrations at the Opera House. She is now turning her attention to the archives and wider collections held in this fantastic world heritage listed building. Hannah previously worked at the Australian Turf Club (based at Randwick Racecourse) looking after the surprisingly large collection of archives, artwork, trophies, photographs, and research library. In her spare time, Hannah sings with the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, enjoys reading, and crotchet.

Kathleen Stringer

ARANZ

Hello I am the secretary for ARANZ and am currently living in Canterbury, so I am part of the ‘local’ contingent that will be available to assist when required. I have been an archivist in local museums for many years. For the last few years however, I have been self employed as both an archivist as well as a historian. A major part of my employment is working with schools prepare their history curriculum, this is a wonderful opportunity to introduce archives to students. I am working on my PhD in history and in any spare time I have is spent entertaining my 3 year old spoodle.

David Swift

PARBICA

Based in Brisbane, Australia, David Swift is the Chief Information and Data Governance Officer for the National Archives of Australia and the Treasurer for PARBICA. David has worked with the National Archives for more than 30 years in Canberra and Brisbane in roles covering reference services, access, corporate, and strategy and was Qld State Director for many years. He has been involved with PARBICA since 1999 and was the convenor of the joint ASA/ARANZ/PARBICA Conference in Brisbane in 2009. Outside of archives, David is Vice President and Collections Manager of the Qld Military History Society, a car collector, father of five and grandfather of two.

Programme Committee

Conference and Program Committee member	David Swift
Conference and Program Committee member	Eric Boamah
Program Committee member	Jennifer Jerome
Program Committee member	Katherine Pawley
Program Committee member	Diane Velasquez
Program Committee member	Mya Ballin
Program Committee member	Rata Holstag
Program Committee member	Maryam Nakhoda
Ex-officio	Chelsea Harper
Program Chair	Nicola Laurent

Thank you to our Conference Sponsors

CONTACT US

You can find us on the following social media channels or send us an email.

Australian Society of Archivists, Inc.
W: www.archivists.org.au

Archives & Records Association of NZ Te Huinga Mahara (ARANZ)
W: www.aranz.org.nz/

Pacific Regional Branch of the International Council on Archives (PARBICA)
W: www.parbica.org/

We would like to acknowledge the Traditional Owners, Custodians and Guardians of the lands from across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific and the surrounding waters and seas. We recognise their continuing connection to land, water, culture and community. We pay our respects to the Elders past and present. We honour the local community traditions of caring for archives and culture through Country, through songs and stories.

We pay our respects to mana whenua, to our respective tūpuna, and to the people of Ōtautahi and Waitaha . The history of this land and its people is a taonga that we humbly honour by making a contribution as kaitiaki of archives and records.