2017 ASI Candidates for Election

It is time to cast your vote in the 2017 ASI Board of Directors election.

ASI is pleased to announce this year’s slate of candidates for positions on the Board of Directors. The Nominations Committee had several overlapping goals when working to put together the slate of candidates, all of which focus on securing a strong future for ASI. These goals include the development of a strong Board of Directors that will function well as a whole while also representing the diversity of ASI members and their views; broadening the number of people who are included in ASI leadership at all levels; and ensuring that ASI will continue to have active members with board experience who are willing to take on future leadership roles at the highest levels. We believe the candidates presented here will help achieve all of these goals, and that they will work diligently to further the mission of ASI.

The following candidates have agreed to serve and, if elected, will take office at the ASI Annual Conference on June 17, 2017.

Biographies and vision statements appear below. Click on the individual names for more information.

President Elect
Devon Thomas

Secretary
Lisa DeBoer

Director at Large (One position is open in 2017):
Joan Shapiro

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DEADLINE FOR VOTING IS 5 PM MOUNTAIN TIME, Sunday, April 30, 2017.
 

Candidate Biographies and Vision Statements

Devon Thomas (Candidate for President Elect)

Biography

Devon has been a professional indexer since 2005. She indexes in a wide range of topics with special interests in literary studies, history, cooking, and education. In addition to traditional back-of-the-book and embedded indexing, she has worked on many database indexing projects.

She is completing a term as a member of the ASI board of directors. She has also served as an officer of the Heartland Chapter in a variety of positions, including President and Vice-President. She has been part of a panel presentation at the 2011 ASI National conference as well as participating in local panels. She has also published articles in Key Words and The Indexer and reviews books for Library Journal.

Vision Statement

I believe that ASI has much to offer indexers, publishers, and students. From newbies to old-hands, continuing education is one of the most important missions of ASI. I personally have benefited from ASI's many education opportunities, from publications and workshops to webinars and online learning. To me, ASI is the best resource for encouraging better indexing practices and more successful indexing businesses.

We must also educate our clients and potential clients. ASI's ability to speak for the profession is even more important in this time of continuing change in the publishing industry. Finding ways to reach out to the industry is a real challenge but together we are better able to be heard than as separate voices.

Communication is key to our success. Coordinating the needs and interests of isolated workers is a challenge, especially given the changing landscape of professional organizations, but a worthy one and one that enriches both the field and the members.

Lisa DeBoer (Candidate for Secretary)

Biography

Lisa DeBoer has been an indexer since 2010, as owner of DeBoer Indexing and as an associate of Colleen Dunham Indexing. She has an MA in women’s history and an MLS in library and information science, and completed the UC Berkeley course in Indexing: Theory and Application.

A generalist in the humanities and social sciences, with specializations in women’s studies, history, LGBT studies and race/ethnic studies, Lisa’s indexing experience includes scholarly and trade books, as well as database indexing of public policy journals and periodicals for Public Affairs Information Service, Inc. (PAIS).

Lisa has been President of the Western New York Chapter since 2013 and lives in Ithaca, NY. She has two children, ages 7 and 22. Her eldest teaches English in Japan, and her youngest is in the first grade.

Vision Statement

I believe that collaboration among indexers is vital to the success of our profession. By working together, particularly in organizations such as ASI, we have created best practices for indexing, educated new indexers, developed our skills as experienced indexers, and displayed our professionalism. I hope to contribute to ASI’s success as a member of the Board of Directors.

Joan Shapiro (Candidate for Director)

Biography

I started Shapiro Indexing Services seventeen years ago, after working for more than a decade as a video producer in a telecommunication research company. I have focused on back-of-the-book indexes for trade books, college textbooks, and scholarly books, and recently started embedding indexes. The subjects I index include a wide range of subjects but most often cover communication (my undergraduate area of study), business, law, history, self-help topics, social sciences, and culinary arts. In the past few years I returned to school, earning a master of library science in 2014. I am a former president of the ASI New England chapter, co-editor of Starting an Indexing Business, 4th edition (published by Information Today for ASI), and I recently joined the ASI membership committee. I live in Connecticut with my husband and we have two grown sons.

Vision Statement

When I first considered indexing as a career I turned to my local chapters of ASI (first New York City, then New England). I continue to evolve my indexing practice by participating in ASI conferences and webinars, and by reading Key Words and books published by ASI. Professional development is important to indexers at every stage of our career and I see ASI membership as a crucial component in that development. As a member of the ASI Board I would like to help increase our membership, support educational and networking opportunities for new indexers and experienced indexers alike, and to help raise awareness about the need for professional indexing among our client industries.

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