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Meet the NISO Plus 2021 Scholarship Winners!

Meet the NISO Plus 2021 Scholarship Winners!

January 2021

As part of our commitment to improving diversity, equity, and inclusion in our community, NISO actively seeks out opportunities to include those who are underrepresented or marginalized. Our scholarship program is a great example of this work in practice. Now in its second year, it enables us to include and amplify the voices of those who are otherwise often excluded, as well as to learn from their perspectives and ensure that they have opportunities for growth in our organization.

We have loved working with our first cohort of NISO Plus scholarship recipients, many of whom are now deeply involved in our work, including the NISO Plus Planning Committee. And, thanks to the generous support of Digital Science, we are now delighted to welcome our second cohort of 15 information professionals, who hail from all around the world and work across many different types of organization:

  • Amy Castillo, Manager of Electronic Resources and Scholarly Communication, Tarleton State University (USA)
  • Chenyue Jiao, Doctoral Student, University of Illinois — Urbana Champaign (USA)
  • Dinesh Ranjan Pradhan, Scientist, INFLIBNET Centre (India)
  • Dinu Nicoleta-Roxana, Librarian, National Library of Romania (Romania)
  • Jessica Nombrano Larsen, MLIS student, San Jose State University (USA)
  • Jihye Lee, Electronic Resource Cataloging Librarian, Nova Southeastern University Libraries (USA)
  • Johanssen Obanda, Community Manager, AfricArXiv (Kenya)
  • Kamanda Francis, Assistant Librarian, Kyambogo University (Uganda)
  • Lieke Boerefijn, Platform Manager, Brill (The Netherlands)
  • Melroy Almeida, Technical Systems Analyst, Australian Access Federation (Australia)
  • Michelle Lee, Library Assistant, Georgia State University Library (USA)
  • Nadia Montenegro, Paralegal, Loyola Social Justice Law Clinics (USA)
  • Reid Boehm, Research Data Management Librarian, University of Houston (USA)
  • Sharon Whitfield, Electronic Resources & User Access Librarian, Rider University (USA)
  • Ira TAM Keung Kit, Technical Services Librarian, Vocational Training Council (Hong Kong)

They’ll be joining us at NISO Plus 2021, of course, as well as meeting with NISO staff and the 2020 scholarship winners beforehand — and we’re sure you’ll be seeing lots more of them here on our blog, on social media, and at NISO events throughout the year! 

Digital Science’s CEO, Daniel Hook, told us: “Digital Science is pleased to support this NISO’s 2021 Scholarship programme and the NISO Plus conference.  We live in a world that feels increasingly separated, socially and geographically - effects that have both been highlighted by and accentuated by COVID.  At the same time, we have seen the power of technology to bring us together and bridge distances of all types.  Ensuring that our community is as inclusive, diverse and representative of the richness of global society as possible is critical for the creation of the bright future that we all believe in. Through supporting the Scholarship programme in particular, we are honoured to be able to make a small contribution toward this positive vision of the future.”

Please join us in thanking Digital Science, and in congratulating the scholarship winners and welcoming them to the NISO community!