The Digital Preservation Coalition is pleased to announce its international panel of expert judges for 2026:
Matthew Burgess
State Library of New South Wales
Matthew Burgess is a digital preservation specialist focused on standards and practices for managing born-digital collections. As Lead Digital Archivist at the State Library of NSW, he works with internal and external partners to strengthen digital preservation capability and ensure long-term access to digital heritage. He leads the Digital Preservation Network for National and State Libraries Australasia and contributes to regional initiatives of the Digital Preservation Coalition.
Gustavo Castener Marquardt
International Council on Archives
Gustavo Castañer is a professional archivist and records manager. He currently works as Unit Head of Information Resources and Services at the Asian Development Bank (Manila). He has worked previously in archives and records management of the United Nations, International Monetary Fund, European Commission, Council of the European Union and European External Action Service, as well as Spanish State Archives and the National Archives of Catalonia. He is especially interested in archives of international organizations, collection outreach, archival education and the use of archives to promote accountability and the defense of Human Rights. Within ICA, he has served previously as Chair of the Section of International Organizations and board member of the Section of Archives and Human Rights.
Fatima Darries
University of South Africa (UNISA)
Fatima leads and manages strategic Library initiatives in research data curation, digitisation of heritage and special collections, digital preservation, and metadata description of commercial and digital information resources at Unisa Library and Information Services. Her career has spanned both client and technical services in the Academic Library Sector.
She continues to serve as South African country editor on E-LIS, the international archive for Library and related sciences, as well as on the Management and Government Subcommittee of the Digital Preservation Coalition. Previously, Fatima served two terms on the Board of the National Library of South Africa, as well as serving the higher education sector for 10 years as a Board member of HERS SA, a network for women in higher education. She has served in various portfolios in the Library and Information Association of South Africa (LIASA). Fatima holds a Master's degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Cape Town, and graduated in 2024 with the Graduate Certificate in Digital Curation from the University of Maine.
Mihaiela Donisa
Bank for International Settlements
Mihaiela is the Archivist of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) since 2019, leading projects on digitisation, access and digital preservation of the institutions' collections. The BIS is an international organisation established in 1930 and its mission is to support central banks' pursuit of monetary and financial stability through international cooperation, and to act as a bank for central banks.
Mihaiela holds a MA in Archives and Records Management from UCL and has previously worked in archives and records management roles for European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, BBC and the European Medicines Agency.
Lisa Griffith
Digital Repository of Ireland (DRI)
Lisa Griffith is Director at the Digital Repository of Ireland (DRI). She has worked at DRI since 2017, holding a range of senior roles including Membership Manager and Programme Manager. Lisa has spoken nationally and internationally on DRI’s work and the topics of digital preservation, archives, and digital Infrastructures. She has contributed to several National Open Research Forum (NORF) committees and served as chair of the NORF PID Strategy Working group from 2023 to 2024. Lisa holds a PhD in history from Trinity College Dublin.
Hilary Hanahoe
Research Data Alliance (RDA)
Hilary serves as Secretary General of the Research Data Alliance and CEO of the RDA Foundation, leading a global community of over 16,000 members across 151 countries. She provides strategic leadership whilst managing operations, cultivating relationships with funders and stakeholders, and ensuring long-term sustainability. Her work centres on stewarding RDA's dynamic volunteer community dedicated to enabling open data sharing and reuse globally, championing the organisation's mission to break down barriers to global data accessibility.
Haliza Jailani
National Library Board Singapore
Previously responsible for the digital infrastructure programme at the National Library Board (NLB) of Singapore, Haliza worked on digital preservation early in 2008 implementing Rosetta for NLB and operationalising digital preservation processes. She is currently Senior Deputy Director of Resource Discovery & Management, overseeing a team of librarians responsible for cataloguing and knowledge organisation systems, including metadata for digital preservation and linked data for discovery.
William Kilbride
Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC)
Executive Director for the DPC, William is the Acting Overall Chair of the Judging Panel. In his current role at the head of the DPC, he provides training and support to members as well as supporting the digital preservation community through advocacy work and enabling strategic partnerships. William is a prolific writer and speaker on the subject of digital preservation and has many years’ experience in the field, having previously held senior positions at Glasgow Museums and the Archaeology Data Service.
Nicola Laurent
Australian Society of Archivists / University of Melbourne
Nicola Laurent is the Senior Project Archivist on the Find & Connect web resource at the University of Melbourne and a PhD candidate in the School of Social Work at the University of Melbourne undertaking research into the prevalence and impact of trauma in archives. Nicola is the International Council on Archives' New Professionals Programme Coordinator, a member of the National Archives of Australia’s Advisory Council, and a member of the Australian Society of Archivists (ASA) Advocacy Committee. She is the immediate past President of the ASA.
Thomas Ledoux
Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF)
Thomas is the coordinator of digital production at the Bibliothèque nationale de France / National Library of France (BnF), where he has work as a software engineer for over 25 years. He has always been interested in digital objects, ranging from access on public workstations to his involvement in the BnF's Scalable Preservation & Archiving Repository (SPAR). He regularly collaborates on various open source software, such as Jhove or Archifiltre.
Jeanne Kramer-Smyth
World Bank Group
Jeanne Kramer-Smyth earned her Masters of Library Science from the Archives, Records and Information Management Program at the University of Maryland iSchool after a 20-year career as a software developer designing relational databases, creating custom database software and participating in web-based software development. She is the author of Spellbound Blog, where she has published dozens of essays exploring the intersection of archives, technology, metadata, visualization and the web. Jeanne joined the World Bank Group Archives team in 2011. Established in 1945, the World Bank Group is an international organization whose aim is to reduce poverty and promote shared prosperity around the world, and whose archival holdings illuminate the Bank’s engagement with its member countries to promote economic development. In her current role as the Digital Preservation Program Lead, she oversees the Archives Systems and Digital Preservation team and divides her remaining time between strategic planning and hands-on problem solving.
Jenny Mitcham
Digital Preservation Coalition
Jenny Mitcham is Chief Digital Preservation Officer at the Digital Preservation Coalition where she supports the DPC’s Good Practice and Workforce Development strategic objectives. She works closely with the members of the Coalition on their digital preservation challenges, as well as organising events and producing publications and other resources to support the community. She specialises in certification and maturity modelling and has an interest in finding ways of lowering the barriers to digital preservation to those who are just getting started in this field.
Jo Ana Morfin
Ex Teresa Arte Actual, INBAL
Jo Ana, Deputy Director of Ex Teresa Arte Actual, is a conservator of time-based media who works with cultural organizations and small communities of practice in the preservation of contemporary cultural and social legacies rooted in ephemera and obsolete technologies. Her practice focuses on the research and implementation of community-driven methodologies that foster inclusive, ecologically responsible, and socially embedded digital preservation practices.
Sonia Ranade
The National Archives UK
Dr Sonia Ranade is Head of Digital Archiving at The National Archives (UK), with responsibility for services supporting selection and transfer of digital records by UK Government departments, permanent preservation of the digital Public Record and access to born digital records. Her research interests include probabilistic approaches to archival description, digital preservation risk and developing new access routes for digital archives. Sonia holds a PhD in Information Science.
Arif Shaon
Qatar National Library
Arif Shaon is the Head of Digital Curation, Preservation, and Access at Qatar National Library, where he leads the strategic and operational work for the long-term curation, preservation, and accessibility of the library’s digital collections. He has previously held key roles at UNSW Library at the University of New South Wales in Australia, and at the Science and Technology Facilities Council in the UK, where he led software development and research initiatives in digital preservation, digital curation, and research data management.
Barbara Sierman
DigitalPreservation.nl / DPC Fellow
Barbara Sierman worked from 2005 to 2020 as the digital preservation manager at the Research Department of the KB National Library of the Netherlands. She was active on the Board of the Open Preservation Foundation and the Steering Committee of the IIPC. In 2018, she was awarded the Digital Preservation Coalition Fellowship for her contribution to the field of digital preservation. After her retirement, she founded DigitalPreservation.nl and worked as a consultant on digital preservation topics for various clients such as OPF, NANETH, CTS, DPC and NDE. Currently, she is preparing a publication about the beginning of digital preservation in the European National Libraries.
Marjolein Steeman
The Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision
Marjolein works on projects in the area of preservation and metadata, developing and implementing preservation plans for new formats and archive services. She has worked at Beeld & Geluid / Sound & Vision for over 15 years. She studied information science at VU University Amsterdam and worked for years as an expert in data analysis and data management. Among other things, she has worked to secure various catalogs that came to Sound & Vision via merger partners or depositors. As a preservation officer, Marjolein is responsible for the preservation policy of Sound & Vision. She is also a member of the Editorial Committee of PREMIS, the data standard for preservation metadata. In addition to the certification as a sustainable archive (CTS), the ISO certificate for information security (27001) also falls under her care.
Nathan Tallman
Academic Preservation Trust
Nathan Tallman is Executive Director of Academic Preservation Trust where he articulates a vision and executes strategic management for a community-owned distributed digital preservation service. He provides operational oversight of APTrust operations, including the development of plans and processes for the lifecycle of deposited content and the integration of digital preservation processes at existing and prospective APTrust member institutions. Previously, Nathan served as Digital Preservation Librarian and Penn State University and Digital Content Strategist at the University of Cincinnati.
Heather Tompkins
Library and Archives Canada / Bibliothèque et Archives Canada
For the past 18 years, Heather Tompkins has helped shape how Library and Archives Canada (LAC) preserves the country’s digital heritage. As a Senior Project Officer in the Digital Collections and Operations Division, her work includes providing strategic advice on the transfer and processing of digital records, contributing to policy development, and establishing LAC’s Pre‑Ingest procedures. After serving as a judge for the 2024 awards, Heather is excited to return for 2026 to celebrate the outstanding new work underway and to recognize the people who make it possible.
Benjamin Turkus
New York Public Library
Ben Turkus is the Senior Manager of Audio and Moving Image Preservation at the New York Public Library. In this role, he oversees the in-house AMI digitization lab and manages complex, large-scale vendor preservation projects across magnetic, optical, and film formats. Previously, Ben worked at the Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC) and has taught as an adjunct professor in New York University’s Moving Image Archiving and Preservation (MIAP) program for eight years.
Jessica Venlet
National Digital Stewardship Alliance
Jessica Venlet works as the Project Manager for Digital Repository Technology at the University of Michigan Library. In this role, she is responsible for facilitating and coordinating the planning and implementation of digital repository systems that meet the library's digital preservation and access goals.
Jaye Weatherburn
University of Melbourne
Jaye Weatherburn is Head of Digital Preservation at the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia. Her work spans digital preservation strategy, operating model design, digital archiving practice, and the stewardship of complex digital heritage. She has led digital preservation programs and contributes to sector-wide collaboration and community development. Jaye is co-author of Preserving Digital Materials, 3rd edition (2018).y.
Elżbieta Wysocka
National Film Archive – Audiovisual Institute (FINA)
Elżbieta Wysocka is a restorer and researcher specializing in film, video and digital art. She has led national and international projects in film restoration, digitisation, cataloguing and digital preservation at the at the National Film Archive – Audiovisual Institute (FINA). She also guided the development of the Media Asset Management system and the digital preservation strategy at FINA. A member of the FIAF Cataloguing and Documentation Commission, she also worked as film restorer at Deutsche Kinemathek (FFE Program). Since October 2024, she has been Director of Digital Collections and Digitisation at FINA.