WEBINAR
Title: Networking at Professional Conferences…and Beyond
When: 14 January 2026, 1:00 pm-2:00 pm EST
Where: Virtual (MARAC Zoom)
Instructor: Kate Juhl, Senior Program Director, University of Maryland-College Park
Cost: FREE, but registration is required
Registration Limit: 50
Webinar Description:
Networking is a powerful tool for expanding your connections, learning about new innovative practices, and broadening your opportunities for future career growth. Despite these advantages, networking tends to be a misunderstood and sometimes feared process. This session will demystify networking at professional conferences and beyond. Learn and practice key tips for making networking work for you. Maximize upcoming conference opportunities and learn ways to network online as well. Introverts welcome! This webinar will not be recorded so please plan to attend live.
About the Instructor:
Kate Juhl is the Senior Program Director of the University Career Center/College of Arts & Humanities at the University of Maryland-College Park. Kate has spent nearly 20 years on liberal arts career development, working first for 5 years at a small liberal arts college and, for nearly 15 years, at the University of Maryland. In her current role, Kate champions career development in the College of Arts & Humanities, working closely with students, faculty, alumni, and employers. Each semester, Kate coordinates networking events and advises students and alumni on effective networking practices. An introvert herself, Kate understands networking can be a scary word and she enjoys demystifying this process for students, alumni, and fellow colleagues.
ARCs: NA
Register online at https://marac.memberclicks.net/networking_webinar
Questions? Contact Karen Clausen-Brown at [email protected] or Gillian Mahoney at [email protected].
JANUARY CAUCUS CONVERSATION
Hosted by the Pennsylvania Caucus
Title: Archives Outside the Institution: A Review of Archival Needs and Impact in Small Arts Organizations
When: January 23, 2026 at 12:30 PM ET
Where: Virtual (MARAC Zoom) - see your membership emails for Zoom invitation
Speaker(s): Katherine Barbera, Founding Partner and Lead Archivist, Bright Archives and David Bernabo, Founding Partner and Lead Producer, Bright Archives
Cost: Free
Attendance Limit: 100
Presentation Description:
Small organizations working to preserve their records and history face myriad challenges, including limited funding opportunities, finite resources, and gaps in staffing or expertise. Despite these obstacles, some choose to take on this important work because the alternative is far worse: seeing their records discarded, their stories misrepresented, or their history lost entirely. In this conversation, drawing on both our own experiences and extrapolating from research on community archives, we explore archival work happening outside traditional institutions. We’ll focus on small-sized organizations in the arts—from artist collectives to performance groups—highlighting their needs, which often go beyond conventional archival practice, and showing how they can benefit from archival activities. We’ll also explore ways in which the field can better support these organizations and others like them.
This presentation will not be recorded but the presentation slides will be shared in MARAC’s digital repository. Caucus Conversations are quarterly webinars developed and sponsored by MARAC’s state caucuses. Attendance is open to all and not limited to specific caucus members.
About the Presenter(s):
Katherine Barbera is a founding partner of Bright Archives, which offers archives, oral history, and creative media services, combining archival expertise with storytelling solutions. Previously, she served on the faculty at Carnegie Mellon University, where she was an Archivist in the University Archives and led several programs, including founding the Oral History Program and overseeing the Robotics Project. She holds a MA in Public History from Duquesne University and is a Certified Archivist (CA) and Digital Archives Specialist (DAS). She is an active member of the Society of American Archivists and the Oral History Association, where she is currently serving as chair of the Membership Committee.
David Bernabo is a founding partner of Bright Archives and an oral historian, musician, artist, and independent filmmaker. His filmwork has documented western Pennsylvania food systems, climate change, the studio practices of composers and artists, and the histories of iconic arts institutions like the Mattress Factory. He is most noted for Moundsville, a documentary co-directed with author John W. Miller, which screened on PBS for three years, and the biographical documentary Just For The Record about avant-garde composer “Blue” Gene Tyranny. Prior to Bright Archives, he worked at the Carnegie Mellon University Oral History Program, where he conducted oral histories and co-produced the Cut Pathways podcast. He holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Carnegie Mellon University.
