Committees

Current Committees

• GRANTS COMMITTEE

  Chairs

  Deborah L. Heller, Chair
  Environmental Law Librarian
  Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University

  Martin Witt, Vice Chair
  Head of Public Services and Lecturer in Law
  Columbia Law School

  Committee Members

  Dan Brackmann
  Whitney Curtis
  Amelia Landenberger
  Kelly Leong
  Michelle Murray
  Tammy E.P. Oitz
  Leslie Street
  Jill Sturgeon
  Annmarie Zell

  CHARGE

  The RIPS-SIS Grants committee solicits applications for the AALL Leadership Academy/AALL Management Institute and AALL Annual Meeting, evaluates grant applicants, and recommends travel grants to selected applicants based on need and available RIPS-SIS Grant funds to the RIPS-SIS Executive Board.

• LEGAL RESEARCH COMPETENCY

  Chairs

  Theresa Tarves, Chair
  Associate Director
  Penn State Law Library

  Anupama Pal, Vice Chair
  Legal Information Librarian & Lecturer in Law
  Boston College Law Library

  COMMITTEE MEMBERS

  Nicole Downing
  Lynn Hartke
  Melissa Hyland
  Kerry Lohmeier
  Becky Mattson
  Kris Niedringhaus
  Gail Partin
  Charlie Perkins
  Jennifer Prilliman
  Nolan Wright

  CHARGE

  Develop a body of knowledge and implement activities to support and inform stakeholders about legal research competency.

• LEGAL RESEARCH TEACH-IN

  Chairs

  Gail Mathapo, Chair
  Reference Librarian
  Univesity of Florida Levin College of Law, Lawton Chiles Legal Information Center

  Mark J. Williams, Vice Chair
  Head of Digital Initiatives
  Vanderbilt University Alyne Queener Massey Law Library

  Committee Members

  Ana Isabel Delgado Valentin
  Cheryl Kelly Fischer
  Cory Lenz
  Kerry Lohmeier
  Andrew Martineau
  Becky Mattson
  Anne Mostad-Jensen
  Julie Tedjeske
  Clare Willis

  CHARGE

  Solicit content, and administer the creation, marketing, and distribution, of Legal Research Teach-In Kits (compiled legal research instructional materials) annually.

• Membership Task Force

  Chair

  Ashley Ahlbrand, Chair
  Interim Assistant Director for Public Services
  Indiana University Maurer School of Law

  Committee Members

  Shari Berkowitz Duff
  Shawn Friend
  Malikah Hall
  Becky Mattson
  Kristen R. Moore
  Austin Williams
  Jason Zarin
  Annmarie Zell

• NOMINATIONS

  Chairs

  Rachel Gordon, Chair
  Head of Access Services & Collection Services
  Duke University Goodson Law Library

  Kimberly Mattioli, Vice Chair
  Assistant Librarian for Student Services
  Indiana University Maurer School of Law

  Committee Members

  Deborah Heller
  Shira Megerman
  Louis Rosen
  Austin Williams
  Eric Young

  CHARGE

  The Nominations Committee is charged with selecting candidates for SIS elections. The committee follows Article VI: Nomination and Election of Officers and Members-at-Large of the RIPS-SIS Bylaws in performing its duties. Specifically, the committee proposes a slate of candidates, including two candidates for each open office, and administers the electronic balloting system for the election.

• ONLINE TRAINING

  Chairs

  Eliza Fink, Chair
  Digital Resources and Services Librarian
  University of Tennessee College of Law

  Shira Megerman, Vice Chair
  Senior Legal Information Librarian
  Boston University Law Library

  COMMITTEE MEMBERS

  Whitney Curtis
  Christine Demetros
  Debra Denslaw
  Sarah Gotschall
  Becka Rich
  Jocelyn Sagherian
  Melissa Strickland
  Matt Timko

  CHARGE

  Plan and coordinate online training opportunities for the RIPS-SIS membership. Develop tools, publications, forums, and programs of use to librarians involved with and interested in online instruction.

• PATRON SERVICES

  Chairs

  Kristen Moore, Chair
  Reference Librarian
  Stetson University

  Nicole Dyszlewski, Vice Chair
  Research/Access Services Librarian
  Roger Williams University School of Law

  COMMITTEE MEMBERS

  Deanna Barmakian
  Khelani Clay
  Matt Cooper
  Rachel Gordon
  Alisha Hennen
  Amy Lipford
  Amber Kennedy Madole
  Ashley Matthews
  Stephen Parks
  Shannon Roddy
  Genevieve Tung

  CHARGE

  Develop tools, publications, and programs of use to librarians, library staff, or other information professionals who provide direct services to patrons. Select topics and moderators for roundtables at the Annual Meeting.

• PROGRAM

  Chair

  Genevieve Tung, Chair
  Associate Director
  Rutgers School of Law Library in Camden

  Malikah Hall, Vice Chair
  Instructional Assistant Professor and Reference Librarian
  Texas A&M University School of Law Dee J. Kelly Law Library

  COMMITTEE MEMBERS

  Jane Bahnson
  Joe Custer
  Emily Donnellan
  Matthew Flyntz
  Sarah Kammer
  Emily Lawson
  Taryn Marks
  Alison Rosenberg
  Sarah Starnes
  Colleen Williams

  CHARGE

  Assist RIPS members with program, workshop, and poster presentation proposals for Annual Meeting educational programs. Solicit topics relevant to RIPS members, assist in developing and refining proposals, connect members with others interested in proposing programs on similar topics, and answer member questions about the proposal process in general.

• PUBLIC RELATIONS & RECRUITMENT

  Chairs

  Katie Brown, Chair
  Deputy Director of the Law Library
  Charleston School of Law

  Emma Wood, Vice Chair
  Assistant Librarian for Public Services
  UMass Dartmouth School of Law Library

  COMMITTEE MEMBERS

  Jessica Almeida
  Iain Barksdale
  Kate E. Britt
  Abigail Deese
  Shari Berkowitz Duff
  Eliza Fink
  Rebecca Fordon
  Tiffany Camp Johnson
  Cassandra Patterson

  CHARGE

  Publicize the projects and activities of the SIS by sending periodic notices to the AALL Spectrum and other AALL-affiliated publications. Maintain an active Twitter presence for RIPS. Recruit new members by coordinating representation at CONELL, and manage marketing displays and giveaways at our SIS table in the exhibit hall at the Annual Meeting.

• RESEARCH INSTRUCTION

  Chairs

  Taryn Marks, Chair
  Faculty Services Librarian
  University of Florida Levin College of Law, Lawton Chiles Legal Information Center

  Clanitra Stewart Nejdl, Vice Chair
  Reference and Instructional Services Librarian & Assistant Professor
  Northern Illinois University College of Law

  Committee Members

  Susan Azyndar
  Robert Clark
  Stewart Caton
  Khelani Clay
  Abigail Deese
  Matthew Flyntz
  Heather Joy
  Shivani Naicker
  Savanna Nolan
  Robin Schard
  Reina Seidler
  Melissa Strickland
  Colleen Williams

  CHARGE

  Provide research instruction resources through well-organized and user-friendly formats. Select topics and moderators for roundtables at the Annual Meeting.

• Scholarship

  Chair

  Heather Joy, Chair
  Research/Instruction Librarian
  Chapman University Law Library

  Emily Donnellan, Vice Chair
  Public Services Librarian
  Concordia University School of Law

  Committee Members

  Jessica Almeida
  Cynthia Condit
  Alyson Drake
  Christine George
  Annalee Hickman Moser
  Lora Johns
  David McClure
  Pamela G. Smith
  Jill Sturgeon
  Ashley Sundin

• STRATEGIC PLANNING

  Chair

  Alyson Drake, Chair
  Assistant Director for Public Services
  Texas Tech University School of Law Library

  COMMITTEE MEMBERS

  Ashley Ahlbrand
  Karin Johnsrud
  Heather Joy
  Rebecca Mattson
  Shannon Roddy
  Alexis Sharp
  Genevieve Tung
  Katie Crandall, ex officio
  Paul Gatz, ex officio
  Katie Hanschke, ex officio
  Susan Nevelow Mart, ex officio