Board of Advisors Members

Members of the Department of Information Science Board of Advisors serve for a period of three years renewable once upon recommendation by the chair and approval of the faculty. Members can return to the board for a new three-year period after a three-year break.  The purpose of this Board is to: 

  • Provide advice to the department chair and faculty on strategy, issues, and trends affecting the future of the IS Programs in general and the accreditation process in particular; 
  • Assist in public relations and strengthen relationships with libraries, archives, industry, and other key information and knowledge agencies; 
  • Provide input for assessing the quality of the IS programs, faculty, and students; 
  • Assist in identifying skills and competencies as well as performance levels for target professions; 
  • Act as a vital link to the community of practice for faculty and students to facilitate research, teaching, and service; and 
  • Act as an advocate for the department and support fundraising efforts of IS programs.
     
  • DIS Board of Advisors Bylaws
  • Minutes of October 2022 BOA meeting
  • Minutes of October 2023 BOA meeting

CURRENT BOARD MEMBERS

Edward Melton
Library Director
Harris County Public Library

Jim Ashley
VP & CIO 
Ben E. Keith Company

Bridget Barry-Thias
Manager, Medical Library
Scottish Rite Hospital for Children in Dallas

Sahar Behpour
Data Scientist
Deloitte

Jennifer Bekker
Director
Denton Public Libraries

Diane Bruxvoort
Dean
UNT Libraries

Lamoya Burks (Chair)
Director
Young Adult Library Services Association

Aamer Charania
Director
Capital One

Hsinliang (Oliver) Chen
Chief Library Services Officer

Faculty Librarian and Professor
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine

Dianne Connery
Director
Pottsboro Library

Morgan Davis-Gieringer
Head of Special Collections
UNT Libraries System

Rohini Devabhaktuni
Researcher
PTC Pharmaceuticals

Mark Hopkins
Director of Data Science
Mercy System

Athena Jackson
Dean
University Libraries and Elizabeth D. Rockwell Chair
University of Houston

Janette Klein
Collection Management Coordinator
University of Central Missouri

Rhea Lawson
Director
Houston Public Library

 

 

Tuan Nguyen
Sales Consultant
Mackin Educational Resources

Mark Phillips
Associate Dean
UNT Libraries

Melissa Rethlefsen
Director
Health Sciences Library & Informatics Center
New Mexico Health Sciences Center


Shirley Robinson
Director
Texas Library Association

Ramiro Salazar
Director
San Antonio Public Library

Lynne Simpson
Director
Library Service at Langston University

James Spence
Manager
UT MD Anderson Cancer Center
Pharmacy Quality Improvement and Analytics

Nigel Thurlow
Chief of Agile
Toyota Connected

Roosevelt Weeks 
Director
Austin Public Library

Donghui Wu
Lead Data Scientist
Texas Health Resources

Karthik Yerra
CEO
SKD Technosol