CHARLOTTESVILLE, Virginia—In a competitive application process consisting of 80 candidates, Katherine Barbera has been selected as a participant in the 2025 Archives Leadership Institute (ALI).

Katherine Barbera is a founding partner of Bright Archives, an independent archival production house. Her work combines archival and public history methods to capture human experiences, preserve knowledge for future generations, and inspire audiences through creative media. Previously, she served on the faculty at Carnegie Mellon University, where she was the Founding Director of the Oral History Program, Lead Archivist for the Robotics Project, and Archivist in the University Archives. Over the years, her work has explored complex materials across a wide range of fields, including experimental film, punk culture, computer science, robotics, artificial intelligence, architecture, higher education, and folklore. She holds an MA in Public History from Duquesne University and is a Certified Archivist (CA) and Digital Archives Specialist (DAS). She is also an active member of the Society of American Archivists and the Oral History Association, where she currently chairs the Membership Committee.

ALI is a grant program funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, a statutory body affiliated with the National Archives and Records Administration, and is being hosted at the University of Virginia for the years 2024-2026. The Archives Leadership Institute at the University of Virginia (ALI@Virginia) will provide advanced training for 25 archivists and memory workers, giving them the knowledge and tools to transform the archival profession in practice, theory, stewardship, and care. In support of the project, the University of Virginia Library was awarded $300,000 by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, the granting agency of the National Archives and Records Administration.
Participants were selected for the 2025 ALI@Virginia program based on their exceptional leadership skills and potential, the ability to influence change within the archival field, a strong commitment to the archival profession, demonstrated professional organizational involvement and service, a collaborative and innovative spirit, and representation and/or support of diversity within the profession.
The leadership institute held at the University of Virginia is a weeklong immersion program that embraces a distraction-free, focused opportunity for archival leaders to develop necessary theories, skills and knowledge. Participants will engage in classroom and experiential learning focusing on individual growth and building capacity as a leader; organizational leadership; and responsible stewardship and partnerships. The ALI@Virginia experience will be grounded in context and place, so the cohort will explore leadership through the lens of the unique emotional and historical landscape that the University of Virginia offers.

To learn more about ALI@Virginia see www.archivesleadershipinstitute.org or contact director@archivesleadershipinstitute.org.