Julia C. Blixrud Memorial Lecture and Scholarship Awardees

2026 Lecture Awardees

Masud Khokhar and Lee Vinsel, 2026 Julia C. Blixrud Lecture Awardees

Masud Khokhar is the chief digital and information officer at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom. He has previously held senior roles in several libraries, as the university librarian and keeper of the Brotherton Collection at the University of Leeds (2021–2025), director of Library and Archives at the University of York (2018–2021), assistant director for Digital Innovation and Research Services (2013–2018), and in different roles at Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford (2009–2013). A computer scientist by education, Masud’s interests span across strategic leadership, digital transformation, learning spaces, cultures of innovation, and equitable access to knowledge.

Lee Vinsel is associate professor of Science, Technology, and Society at Virginia Tech and host of the technology studies podcast Peoples & Things. Lee is the author of two books: Moving Violations: Automobiles, Experts, and Regulations in the United States, a history of American automobile regulations from 1893 to the Google Car, and, with Andrew Russell, The Innovation Delusion: How Our Obsession with the New Has Disrupted the Work that Matters Most, a criticism of innovation-speak and defense of the importance of maintenance and repair. Also with Andrew Russell, Lee co-founded The Maintainers, a global, interdisciplinary, research and action network dedicated to maintenance, repair, care, and the ordinary work that keeps our world going.

2026 Scholarship Awardee

Christine Thuy Minh Nguyen, 2026 Julia C. Blixrud Scholarship Awardee

Christine Nguyen is a master of science in library and information science (LIS) student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, specializing in digital archives and data stewardship. She currently serves as a graduate assistant in the Research Data Service Unit of the University of Illinois Library, where she has developed a strong commitment to inclusive user experience and accessible digital design by leading a project to innovate change in current technical workflows. Christine’s professional interests center on organizing, preserving and improving access to digital collections that elevate underrepresented voices in history, as well as exploring the intersection between theoretical and computational linguistics and LIS to enhance the discoverability, usability, and scalability of digital resources. Upon graduation, she hopes to pursue a career in digital archives, metadata management, or research data librarianship.

 

2025 Lecture Awardees

Duncan Magidson and Janet Oh, 2025 Julia C. Blixrud Lecture Awardees

Duncan Magidson is a digital communications specialist with CoGenerate, a national nonprofit bridging generational divides. After seven years at CoGenerate, Duncan has become a leader in building and growing cogenerational communities, both in person and online. His expertise includes overall communications strategy, email communications, social media management, and partnership development. He is a highly skilled moderator, speaker, and ambassador for cogeneration—regularly speaking publicly as part of CoGenerate 101 and his series on cogeneration in the workplace with Marci Alboher. Prior to joining CoGenerate, Duncan worked as a field organizer on the 2016 Hillary Clinton campaign.

Janet Oh serves as senior director of innovation for CoGenerate. An accomplished innovator, facilitator, and coach, Janet leads groups of social entrepreneurs through fellowship programs designed to strengthen their efforts to bring older and younger people together for social change. Early in her career, she served as director of Experience Corps Bay Area, where she connected older adults as mentors and tutors to youth in under-resourced public schools. There she saw what can happen when experience and wisdom are valued and celebrated, when older and younger people come together for mutual benefit and social impact. In 2018, Janet was honored as a PBS Next Avenue Influencer in Aging for her work.

2025 Scholarship Awardee

Sophia Abundo, 2025 Julia C. Blixrud Scholarship Awardee

Sophia Abundo is a master of library & information science student at Western University and a University of British Columbia English literature graduate. Sophia works as an auxiliary library assistant at the Vancouver Public Library and serves a diverse demographic of patrons across the city. Her experience as a volunteer at long-term care facilities has inspired her career in librarianship. Sophia is interested in introducing life-story workshops in public libraries and developing community-based dementia services. During her master’s program, she is excited to complete a co-op within an academic library to further her research and reference abilities. Upon graduation, she hopes to pursue a doctoral degree in library, archival, and information studies.

Sophia’s overview of the 2025 ARL President’s Institute

 

2023–2024 Lecture Awardee

Henry McGhie, 2023–2024 Julia C. Blixrud Lecture Awardee

Henry McGhie has a background as an ecologist, museum curator, and manager. He set up Curating Tomorrow in 2019, as a consultancy to help empower museums and similar institutions, and the people who make use of them, to strengthen their contributions to sustainable development agendas. These include the UN Sustainable Development Goals, climate action, human rights, disaster risk reduction, and biodiversity conservation. Henry works internationally with museums, museum and heritage organizations, and as a consultant on the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) Our Collections Matter program. He writes a series of open-access guides on sustainable-development topics that are widely used internationally. He is a Churchill Fellow, is a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Commission on Education and Communication, and was a member of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) Sustainability Working Group in 2018–2023

2023–2024 Scholarship Awardee

Bernice Meja, 2023–2024 Julia C. Blixrud Scholarship Awardee

Bernice Meja is a first-year master of science in information science (MSIS) student at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). Bernice is a 2023–2024 Spectrum Scholar and serves as the Makerspace graduate assistant at the Kenan Science Library at UNC. In this role, she offers comprehensive support, technical guidance, and creative problem-solving assistance to patrons. Bernice specializes in operating various equipment, such as 3D printers, vinyl cutters, and embroidery machines, catering to user needs. Her previous experience as a college advisor was dedicated to enhancing access to higher education within a rural North Carolina high school. Bernice actively aided students throughout the college application and financial aid process, fostering her passion for user experience, particularly focusing on underrepresented groups. This journey inspired her profound interest in advocating for inclusive user experiences.

Bernice’s overview of the 2024 ARL President’s Institute

 

2022 Lecture Awardee

Santa Ono, 2022 Julia C. Blixrud Memorial Lecturer

Santa Ono will deliver the eighth annual Blixrud Memorial Lecture at the 2022 ARL Fall Forum. Ono is the 15th president & vice-chancellor of The University of British Columbia. He also serves as leader of the University Climate Change Coalition (UC3) and as chair of the U15 Group of Canadian Research Universities. A molecular immunologist, Santa has taught at Johns Hopkins University, Harvard University, and University College London. He holds honorary doctorates from Chiba University and the Vancouver School of Theology and is a recipient of the Reginald Wilson Diversity Leadership Award from the American Council on Education. He is also a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

2022 Scholarship Awardee

Mary Calo, 2022 Julia C. Blixrud Scholarship Awardee

Mary Calo, a former social worker who transitioned into a career in librarianship, currently serves as public services coordinator at Brandeis University Library, where she manages 50 student staff members. In her previous career as a social worker, Mary focused on child welfare and emergency support, serving individuals and families of all ages, backgrounds, and experiences. She also served as adjunct faculty at the Boston College Graduate School of Social Work. Mary is currently pursuing a master’s degree in library and information science at San José State University. Upon graduation, she hopes to find a position that allows her to practice librarianship from a whole-person perspective while prioritizing the health and well-being of all library patrons.

Mary’s overview of the 2022 Fall Forum

 

2021 Lecture Awardee

Aiko Bethea, 2021 Julia C. Blixrud Memorial Lecturer

Aiko Bethea will deliver the seventh annual Blixrud Memorial Lecture at the 2021 ARL Fall Forum. An award-winning and highly sought-after equity consultant, executive coach, and speaker, Aiko is the founder of RARE Coaching & Consulting, a consulting practice focused on coaching leaders and organizations to remove barriers to inclusion. She is senior director of the Daring Way and Dare to Lead communities of Brené Brown Education and Research Group.

Aiko began her career as a grassroots community organizer working in underserved areas similar to the neighborhoods where she was raised. The next natural step in her pursuit of justice was the law. She gained experience as a litigator, then as an attorney for the City of Atlanta, where she served on the Government Counsel team, led by Stacy Abrams. As part of Shirley Franklin’s administration, she led the Legislative Counsel legal team, then served as the compliance director for the city and oversaw federal, state, and local grants. Then she was recruited by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where she served for over seven years as deputy director over the Grants & Contracts Management team. During her tenure, she created the first employee resource groups and led some of the first organization-wide conversations about race, not as part of her job description, but as part of living the core values that she demonstrates in her life and work. Due to a need to remain aligned with her values and anchor into her passion she made the decision to dive into equity work full time. She has consulted for various companies and organizations across the country, including Bristol Myers Squibb, Intuit, Weiden + Kennedy, City of Seattle, PATH, Satterberg Foundation, Starbucks, Theatres for Young Audiences, Uber, and Gap.

2021 Scholarship Awardee

Jerrell Jones, 2021 Julia C. Blixrud Scholarship Awardee

Jerrell Jones is a cultural-heritage digitization specialist and professional photographer focused on utilizing digital imaging to inform, elevate, and empower. Jerrell manages the Digitization Lab at the University of Houston Libraries, where he provides intentional service in digitization production, workflow enhancement, training, data migration, and researcher support. His professional interests include image processing automation, innovative approaches to digital imaging, preserving the histories of diverse communities, and promoting equitable access in digital libraries. He hopes to educate underrepresented communities about the power of digital preservation; engage in collection building that prioritizes equity, diversity, and inclusion; and initiate or bolster digital repositories that actively reflect the communities they serve. Jerrell is currently pursuing an MS in information science from the University of North Texas and is a 2021–2022 American Library Association Spectrum Scholar.

Jerrell’s overview of the 2021 ARL Fall Forum

 

2020 Lecture Awardee

Safiya Umoja Noble, 2020 Julia C. Blixrud Memorial Lecturer

The 2020 presenter of the Julia C. Blixrud Memorial Lecture at the ARL Fall Forum is Safiya Umoja Noble. Safiya is an associate professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the Department of Information Studies, where she serves as the co-founder and co-director of the UCLA Center for Critical Internet Inquiry (C2i2). She also holds appointments at UCLA in African American studies and gender studies. She is a research associate at the Oxford Internet Institute at the University of Oxford and has been appointed as a commissioner on the Oxford Commission on AI & Good Governance (OxCAIGG). Her academic research focuses on the design of digital media platforms on the internet and their impact on society. Safiya is the author of the best-selling book Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism and co-editor of The Intersectional Internet: Race, Sex, Culture, and Class Online and Emotions, Technology & Design. She holds a PhD and MS in library and information science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a BA in sociology from California State University, Fresno.

2020 Scholarship Awardee

Nix Mendy, 2020 Julia C. Blixrud Scholarship Awardee

Nix Mendy is a 2019–2020 Spectrum Scholar and library associate at Tulane University where they arrange a large literary collection, build reparative description projects alongside the collection management team, and enhance accessibility to five distinctive units. They also independently lead oral history projects regarding LGBTQ+ identity and migration within the African diaspora. Before graduating from the creative writing program at Emerson College, they were honored with Distinction in Poetry for their thesis “Snow Black.” Their archival research on the cultural impact of Snow White and the region of Southern Louisiana strengthened the novel-in-verse. Yet the desire to think more deeply about collection development, particularly silences and gaps in the records, led them to study archives management at Simmons University and complete their master of science. They seek to challenge misrepresentation and foster greater self-determination in the historical record by prioritizing the stories and expertise of marginalized communities.

Nix’s overview of the 2020 ARL Fall Forum

 

2019 Lecture Awardee

Jaron Lanier, 2019 Julia C. Blixrud Memorial Lecturer

The 2019 presenter of the Julia C. Blixrud Memorial Lecture at the ARL and CNI Fall Forum is Jaron Lanier, a computer scientist, composer, musician, artist, and award-winning author who writes on numerous topics, including high-technology business, the social impact of technology, the philosophy of consciousness and information, internet politics, and the future of humanism. A pioneer in virtual reality (VR), Jaron founded VPL Research and led teams originating VR applications for medicine, design, and numerous other fields. He is currently the “octopus” (which stands for Office of the Chief Technology Officer Prime Unifying Scientist) at Microsoft. He was a founder or principal of startups that were acquired by Google, Adobe, Oracle, and Pfizer. In 2018, Jaron was named one of the 25 most influential people in the previous 25 years of tech history by Wired Magazine. He has appeared on such TV shows as The View, PBS NewsHour, The Colbert Report, Nightline, and Charlie Rose, and has been profiled on the front pages of the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times multiple times.

2019 Scholarship Awardee

Madelynn Dickerson, 2019 Julia C. Blixrud Scholarship Awardee

Madelynn Dickerson is the research librarian for digital humanities and history at the University of California, Irvine and is entering her final semester of coursework for the MLIS from San José State University. She graduated with an MSc in art history from the University of Edinburgh, and has a BA in literature from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Before pursuing a career in librarianship, Madelynn taught art history and composition full-time at the American Academy of Art in Chicago. She has since worked all over the library with positions in circulation, reference, collection development, and digital scholarship services. Madelynn’s professional and research interests include the evolving role of libraries in facilitating new forms of research, cultures and infrastructures around digital scholarship, and intersections between art and technology.

Madelynn’s overview of the 2019 ARL-CNI Fall Forum

 

2018 Lecture Awardee

Bernard “Bernie” Banks, 2018 Julia C. Blixrud Memorial Lecturer

The 2018 presenter of the Julia C. Blixrud Memorial Lecture at the ARL and CNI Fall Forum is Bernard “Bernie” Banks, a noted expert on the subjects of leadership and organizational change. Currently, he is the associate dean for leadership development and a clinical professor of management at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. As an associate dean, Bernie possesses responsibility for leader development integration across the school’s global portfolio of programs.

Bernie retired from the US Army as a brigadier general in 2016 after having successfully led West Point’s Department of Behavioral Sciences & Leadership from 2012 to 2016. In addition to having studied leadership extensively, he has led multiple military units ranging in size from 10 to 500 people. In 1995, Bernie was selected from over 40,000 officers to receive the Army’s top award for entry-level managers, the General Douglas MacArthur Leadership Award. In 2006, the Apache Helicopter unit he was leading in South Korea was designated as the top Apache Helicopter unit globally in the US Army’s annual best aviation unit competition.

Bernie’s slides from the 2018 ARL-CNI Fall Forum

2018 Scholarship Awardee

Justin Fuhr, 2018 Julia C. Blixrud Scholarship Awardee

Justin Fuhr is pursuing a master’s degree in library and information studies at the University of Alberta. Justin has a BA in English literature from Canadian Mennonite University and a library and information technology diploma from Red River College. He currently works at the University of Manitoba Libraries in library systems. It is Justin’s career goal to be an academic librarian at a research institution. He is interested in the junction between design and information studies, in particular with web development and online instructional videos. His research interests also include examining the continuing education of information professionals for alternative skills used in academic libraries, such as programming languages, application development, and audiovisual production, along with reskilling librarians to provide modern academic library services such as research data management.

Justin’s overview of the 2018 ARL-CNI Fall Forum

 

2017 Lecture Awardee

Wolfram Horstmann, 2017 Julia C. Blixrud Memorial Lecturer

The 2017 presenter of the Julia C. Blixrud Memorial Lecture at the ARL and CNI Fall Forum is Wolfram Horstmann, director of the Goettingen State and University Library at Georg-August-University of Goettingen since 2014. Prior to his current position he was associate director at the Bodleian Libraries of the University of Oxford, UK. He is currently leading several strategic projects in the areas of scholarly communication, open access, research data, and digital transformation for the University of Goettingen and for the library in Goettingen. He is executive member and chair of the Steering Group on Scholarly Communication and Research Infrastructure for the European research library association LIBER. In the Research Data Alliance (RDA), he is member of the Organisational Advisory Board and chairs several working groups, including Libraries for Research Data and Long Tail of Research Data. He has acted as advisor to several bodies and initiatives, such as the European Commission, the German Research Foundation (DFG), and the Nature journal Scientific Data. Further information is available via the Goettingen State and University Library website.

Wolfram’s slides from the 2017 ARL-CNI Fall Forum

2017 Scholarship Awardee

Giao Luong Baker, 2017 Julia C. Blixrud Scholarship Awardee

The 2017 recipient of the Julia C. Blixrud Scholarship is Giao Luong Baker, strategic digital initiatives librarian at the University of Southern California (USC). She facilitates partnerships with researchers, libraries, and archives to develop digital collections for the USC Libraries, which dovetails with this year’s ARL and CNI Fall Forum theme of “Libraries and the Research Enterprise.” Prior to her current position, Giao worked for over a decade as a staff member managing digitization projects for inclusion in the USC Digital Library, an online resource dedicated to furthering research, teaching, and learning.

Giao is completing her final coursework in the University of North Texas master of science in library science program. She serves on the board of the Los Angeles City Historical Society, and was a 2016–2017 American Library Association (ALA) Spectrum scholar and the recipient of the 2016 LITA/OCLC Minority Scholarship in Library and Information Technology. Her professional and research interests include developing infrastructure to cultivate cross-departmental collaborations, exploring first-generation college student experiences, and increasing diversity in digital collections.

Giao’s overview of the 2017 ARL-CNI Fall Forum

 

2016 Lecture Awardee

Ajay Nair, 2016 Julia C. Blixrud Memorial Lecturer

The 2016 presenter of the Julia C. Blixrud Memorial Lecture at the ARL Fall Forum is Ajay Nair, senior vice president and dean of campus life at Emory University. As Emory’s chief advocate for nearly 13,000 undergraduate and graduate students, Ajay’s broad portfolio of responsibilities ranges from intercollegiate athletics and the Greek experience to student health services and residence life. He also provides leadership and strategic direction in cultivating an ethically engaged community consistent with Emory’s vision. Ajay’s research interests include quality assurance in educational systems, service learning and civic engagement, and Asian American identity. His co-edited book, Desi Rap: Hip-Hop in South Asian America, focuses on the complexities of second-generation South Asian American identity.

2016 Scholarship Awardee

Sofia Leung, 2016 Julia C. Blixrud Scholarship Awardee

The 2016 recipient of the Julia C. Blixrud Scholarship is Sofia Leung, learning studio librarian at University of Kansas (KU) Libraries. Her professional and research interests include diversity and inclusion in libraries, critical librarianship, and student outreach and engagement, which dovetail with this year’s ARL Fall Forum theme of “Libraries and Archives as Agents of Social Justice.” Sofia earned her MLIS degree, as well as a master of public administration degree, from the University of Washington in 2014. Before joining KU Libraries in 2015, she worked as a research services librarian at Seattle University, and she was an ARL Career Enhancement Program fellow at North Carolina State University Libraries in 2014.

Sofia’s scholarship application essay and overview of the 2016 ARL Fall Forum

 

2015 Lecture and Scholarship Awardees

Tara McPherson, 2015 Julia C. Blixrud Memorial Lecturer

Tara McPherson is an associate professor of critical studies at the University of Southern California (USC) School of Cinematic Arts and director of the Sidney Harman Academy for Polymathic Studies in the USC Libraries. Her research engages the cultural dimensions of media—including the intersection of gender, race, affect, and place—and focuses on the digital humanities, early software histories, and the development of new tools and paradigms for digital publishing, learning, and authorship. She is author of the award-winning Reconstructing Dixie: Race, Gender, and Nostalgia in the Imagined South and the forthcoming Feminist in a Software Lab, as well as editor or co-editor of several collections.

Slides from Tara’s keynote at the 2015 ARL Fall Forum

Liz Hamilton, 2015 Julia C. Blixrud Scholarship Awardee

Liz Hamilton earned her MLIS degree from Dominican University in 2015, where she received the Graduate School of Library and Information Science Outstanding Graduate Award. She also holds a BA in religion from Oberlin College. She completed a practicum in the Northwestern University Library Digital Collections department as part of her MLIS studies and has worked for the Northwestern University Press since 2011.

Infographic that Liz submitted with her scholarship application

Liz’s overview of the 2015 ARL Fall Forum

If you have questions about the Memorial Lecture or Scholarship, please e-mail JCBfund@arl.org.