Candidates will be listed in alphabetical order. For information on the election process, please visit the Elections page. Please direct any questions to elections@aifia.org.
Bio:
Peter Merholz is the Director of Practice Development and a founding partner of Adaptive Path. He is an experienced information architect, writer, speaker, and leader in the field of designing for user experience.
Peter has worked with a range of clients, from early stage startups to massive Fortune 500 enterprises, on a range of projects -- user research, design, content strategy and analysis, and combinations of the three. As Director of Practice Development, he is responsible for maintaining Adaptive Path's excellence in its methodology and practice, understanding how these elements in our toolkit can be brought together to address a range of situations.
Peter is a regular speaker at Web design and information architecture conferences, such as ASIS&T's Information Architecture Summits (years 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005). He keynoted both the Institute of Design's 2003 About With and For conference, and 2004 SIGCHI.NL, the premiere Dutch HCI conference.
Peter is an advisor to the IA Institute, and an active member of the ASIST and ACM's SIG-CHI. He serves on the organizing committee for the Information Architecture Summit.
For more on Peter, visit his Adaptive Path team page or his personal website.
Position Statement:
After the 2005 Information Architecture Summit, I came away with the realization that there is a vacuum in leadership around the bigger issues of user experience. A number of professional organizations have tried to fill that void, and all have failed. And while UXNet attempts to address this by networking the alphabet soup of similarly-interested groups (IAI, SIGCHI, UPA, IxDG, AIGA, IDSA, STC, HFES, etc. etc.), there's still no coherent vision for professional *leadership* in this realm.
In hearing Andrew Dillon's inspiring closing plenary at the Summit, it became clear that the information architecture community is perfectly poised to address this bigger picture. We are an inherently interdisciplinary bunch, with a perspective of synthesis unparalleled by other professional groups. But steps need to be taken for the IA community to establish its leadership. I believe the Information Architecture Institute can provide the resources, frameworks, and guidance to make this happen.
EVENTS
The greatest untapped area of potential within the IA Institute is events. The IA Retreats have demonstrated the value of meetings that go beyond the yearly Summit. As a member of the Board, I will encourage a "fast, cheap, and out of control" policy toward events. This would include everything from guidelines for local events (e.g., the regional Cocktail Hours), to resources put towards more retreats, to partnerships with other professional organizations. We're still a young field, and folks within it should be meeting all the time, sharing experiences, methods, and strategies.
EDUCATION
As someone who has been serving as a Mentor, I believe the IA Institute's education programs to be an essential part of the organization's success. As a member of the Board, I will encourage the further development of the IA Institute's education programs.
I will work to expand the mentoring program to include a variety of disciplines that extend beyond standard IA practice -- business administration, management, brand positioning, visual design, field research, etc.
I will work to actually launch an IA Boot Camp -- basic training for people who would benefit from a crash course in the essentials of Information Architecture.
I will also work to develop educational initiatives for members of all professional levels. As IAs gain experience and find themselves with ever more responsibility, the IA Institute needs to be there to help them advance in their careers.
SERVICES
The maintenance of current valuable services, such as the Job Board, Member Directory, and Tools Initiative, will rank highly in my set of priorities.
The trick with services, though, is to recognize that the IA Institute is an all-volunteer organization. And as such, the available services will be those with volunteer effort behind them. I believe it's important for the IA Institute to not get bogged down in supporting services that once seemed like good ideas, but lack volunteer support. Like with events, we might need a "fast, cheap, and out of control" policy with our services in order to see what truly resonates with our members.
HOT DAMN I LOVE THIS COMMUNITY
My primary reason for running for Board is that of all the professional communities in which I've been involved, information architects are far and away the most warm and supportive group (the conversations on SIGIA-L notwithstanding). I want to direct my enthusiasm for this community toward an outlet where I can make a difference. Attending the IA Summit (and I've been to them all!) is as much (if not more) about hanging out with these people who restore my faith in professional practice as it is about learning the latest on metadata, user research, and business strategies.
I seek to channel this warmth and love in a series of endeavors that materially improves the members of the community, whether professionally or personally.
Thank you for reading this.
Bio:
I’m presently the founder, CEO and project manager of KCurve, Inc. (http://kcurve.com), a boutique consulting company that specializes in content organization and management services for Web sites.
The theme of my career has not changed in 25 years (yikes!). I’m a hands-on librarian who has never worked in a library; I started consulting right out of graduate school and never looked back. Direct involvement in delivering IA services and managing projects for satisfied clients is what I’m about. I really like developing taxonomies and auditing content.
Before founding KCurve, I was the Director of Professional Services at Sageware, where I built a core practice around metadata and taxonomy development. Prior to that, I was associated in technical and managerial capacities with search and categorization companies such as Verity, Hummingbird/Fulcrum, and Autonomy.
I have a Masters degree in Library and Information Science from Drexel University. I’ve been active in behind-the-scenes development of some of the Institute’s member systems, was on the Advisory Board of the Institute and devoted lots of time to the Content Management/IA workshop associated with the IA Summit in Austin. I’m also Vice President and Program Director of the NYC Usability Professionals Association. In my “spare” time, I speak and write about content organization for many publications, conferences and meetings.
Position Statement:
Watching the growth and expansion of IAI has been personally and professionally gratifying. I have a strong commitment and belief in it and hope that I will be able to serve you in the coming year.
If my position could be summed up in a phrase, it would be “let’s get it done”. It takes a lot of persuasion and tenacity to keep the trains running on-time for an all volunteer organization. I’ve been there, and I’ve done it. Now I’d like to use my people and project management experience (as well as my over-developed conscientiousness) to help make sure that the Institute continues to serve its constituency well and that programs and services are there when you need them.
Thank you for voting for me!
Marcia Morante
(718)881-5915
marcia@kcurve.com
http://kcurve.com
Bio:
In early 1998 I started a rather unexpected job with Amazon.com. There I found myself immediately consumed with how users found information they needed and what I could do to help improve the experience. A number of years later, I finally discovered that there was actually a name for much of the skill set I had been cultivating. At work at the time, we never used the term "information architecture"; in fact, I had never heard of it until I was about to return to school to get my MLIS. Driven by my desire to learn more about the theoretical and academic backgrounds of information management, I began researching areas of expertise within the Information Science field and came across information architecture. During the pursuit of my recently completed Masters, I focused my studies around areas that would benefit my work as an IA. Although I was about to become a poor student again, I signed up immediately for the IA Summit.
Once I began reading all of the earmark texts and scouring the internet for all things IA, I felt that internal 'fluttering' that indicated that this was the right place for me. Since getting on the SIG-IA list and joining the original AIfIA organization I have continued to be excited by the amazing talent and vision in this field, and have looked for ways of becoming directly involved. I have greatly enjoyed providing volunteer efforts, including work for the 2004 and 2005 IA Summits, and am pleased to be continuing that work on the planning committee for the upcoming 2006 Summit. I have experience contributing at various levels in other professional organizations, including recently being chair for the University of Washington's chapter of ASIS&T (American Society of Information Science and Technology) and currently serving on the CM Professionals Board as secretary.
I am pleased to be currently serving the information architecture cause at Microsoft, where I enjoy a position of working to influence others and sell the need for information architecture. (In addition to still doing the occasional wireframe myself!)
Position Statement:
I would like to express my sincere interest in serving on the Board for IAI. I have participated in a number of professional organizations, but IAI is very close to my heart. Below are three main areas where I will focus my efforts if elected:
Selling IA
In my current job, I am fortunate to be in a 'business owner' position where I use my IA background to directly implement change, impact decisions and be an advocate for furthering the practice of IA. I believe it would be beneficial to use this experience to help IAI and its members continue to discover successful ways of selling IA, participating in helping it become a given part of all projects rather than a budget item that often gets reduced or even cut. My familiarity with working directly with business decision makers and IT management to promote IA work would be used to help establish recommendations for selling IA and funding its practice.
IA - Research to Practice
Through my active involvement in ASIS&T (including being chair of the University of Washington's chapter last year) I see a benefit for working towards more integration between academic institutions and practitioners. I believe that the potential is huge for partnerships between those performing valuable research and those designing solutions, and would like to explore greater confluence between the works of each. IAI is in a fantastic position to help to drive this effort, serving to bolster the importance of IA by highlighting and driving relevant research efforts and becoming involved with influencing IA curricula. I would like for us to get involved with Information Schools and other schools around the country where IA can become a strong program with IAI's influence and support.
Expanding IA
As the current Secretary of CM Professionals, I would like to drive potential collaboration areas between this group and IAI. I believe that there are a lot of synergies between the two organizations and that we could greatly benefit from each other in knowledge, experience and audience base. Many involved in Information Architecture will want to have an understanding of content management best practices, and the content management field can continue to learn a great deal from the practice of IA. There are also other fields and organizations that would benefit from this kind of effort and this work will continue to expand our reach and value in all domains.
I am thrilled with this opportunity to use my skills and background to benefit IAI. I would love to share my passion and expertise to an organization I truly believe in. Thank you for your consideration!
Bio:
Stacy Surla is a co-founder of DCIA, a local IA group in Washington, DC now in its 5th active year. Her history as a volunteer organizer crosses decades and disciplines. She served as chair for the 2005 Information Architecture Summit, co-founded the Rosebud independent film and video festival, managed fundraising for the DC Arts Center, co-chaired the Foundation for Mid-East Communication, served as briefing leader for the Hunger Project, started a crimewatchers program in Haight-Asbury, and organized a neighborhood circus. She has made numerous public speaking, TV, and radio appearances, on a similarly wide variety of topics. Ms. Surla is an Information Architect for the MITRE Corporation.
Position Statement:
I am pleased and honored to accept this nomination to serve as a member of the IAI Board of Directors. If elected, I would particularly welcome the opportunity to contribute to the strengthening and expansion of local IA communities.
Defining, inventing, and teaching IA practices is very important work. Someone's got to do it! But creating and fostering environments where IAs can be IAs is also essential to our happiness and growth.
It can be quite a challenge to cultivate an IA culture at work, particularly when IA is a total mystery to your boss, or work provides little scope for IA practice. It can be personally discouraging when it's not possible to talk with friends or colleagues about exciting IA projects or concepts without first explaining yourself into a state of exhaustion. Conversely, the quality of an IA's life and practice go up tremendously when IA culture does gain a foothold at work, or when there's a regular meeting of IA minds to look forward to each month.
Bringing about IA-friendly environments can be tough, but the rewards for self and others are great. In my experience, IA culture can be created by doggedly applying skills and practices that can be learned and shared. Since community building is the domain in which I'm working to make my contribution, my work program as a member of the IAI Board of Directors would:
Thank you once again for the opportunity to participate in these important elections. I hope to gain your vote, and look forward to serving.
Bio:
A chemist by training I have been practicing as an information scientist since 1970 in a wide range of organizations and in an even wider range of roles, and have worked in 25 countries over that time. I set up Intranet Focus Ltd. in 1999 and provide services on intranet/web strategy development and on the specification and selection of content management and enterprise search software to clients in the USA, Europe and the Middle East. Earlier this year my book The Content Management Handbook was published by Facet Publishing, and I am currently finishing work on a report covering the selection of enterprise search software. I am a contributing editor to EContent and to Intranets, and am a member of the editorial board of the International Journal of Information Management. I have been Chairman of the Online Information Conference (London) since 1999 and am a Visiting Professor at the Department of Information Studies, University of Sheffield, UK. If information work is my profession, my passion is music. I play the organ to cathedral standard and am currently in the early stages of writing a book on organ toccatas.
Position Statement:
My interest in standing for election to the Board is to be able to provide a perspective on the issues and opportunities for the IAI in Europe. I do not claim to be a practicing information architect but I do try to ensure that all the work I undertake and the many articles that I write try to exemplify the need to understand the principles and practice of good practice in information architecture.
As well as being able to provide a perspective to the Board on the European situation I am well placed to be able to promote the work of the Institute through the many conferences and workshops I attend and the articles that I write. I have excellent contacts in the UK academic environment and after 35 years in the profession in the UK have both the networks and (hopefully) the reputation to enhance the impact of the IAI in Europe.