We’re excited to introduce some new faces to the Clements Library staff. From development to digitization, these members bring passion and expertise in their respective fields. We hope you’re as thrilled to meet them as we are!
Brinni Gentry – Archival Engagement Intern
Brinni joins us as the Archival Engagement Intern through the Rackham Doctoral Intern Fellowship Program. She’ll be assisting with instructional meetings, helping out with teaching classes and touring, and, most importantly, contributing to an ongoing effort to overhaul and update our subject guides. Through her work on the subject guides, Brinni hopes to adjust the templates, improve our public exposure, and add additional guides using materials focusing on Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) and Indigenous persons. As a doctoral candidate in the Film, Television, and Media department, this ties into her dissertation on continental America’s perception of Hawai’i sonically and through film.
While studying English literature and Asian studies at Rice University, Brinni fell in love with primary source research, and started doing online and digitization work with materials. She later got a master’s degree in film studies and history from Columbia University and worked as a research assistant, where she focused on women’s early cinematic work outside of acting positions. She later worked at Strand in New York as a bookseller on the Art and Children’s floor, where she learned about cataloging and repairing rare books for purchase, and as an inventory specialist.
Brinni’s interest in primary source research drew her to the Clements. She is passionate about engaging undergraduate students in in-person primary source research, and the Clements’ use of collection materials while hosting undergraduate classes stood out to her. She visited the Clements with Professor Matthew Solomon’s film class and saw the students’ delight at handling the materials. Although she had previously instructed students using digital materials, she’s looking forward to helping students interact with physical materials face-to-face.
Fun fact: Brinni recently adopted a kitten, Myrna, named after famed actress Myrna Loy.
Ella Johnson – Digitization Specialist
Ella joins us as a Digitization Specialist working with fellow photographer Chris Ridgway to digitize our collections. Her responsibilities include scanning and leafing through materials, creating metadata that allows researchers to more easily access the materials they need, and processing the images you see on our digitized collection page. Ella is a recent graduate of Carleton College in Northfield Minnesota, where she majored in art history and worked on various digitization projects in the archives there. She also did digitization work for her local historical society, the Greater Kent Historical Society, in high school. Ella was drawn to the Clements because of its status as a research library. A wide variety of individuals access the Clements’ materials, including students, researchers, and enthusiasts of history, all of whom benefit from Ella’s work digitizing materials.
Fun fact: Since moving to Ann Arbor, Ella goes line dancing on Thursdays!
Marc-Gregor Campredon, Office of University Development, Regents of the University of Michigan
Heather Goodchild – Human Resources Generalist
Heather is the Human Resources Generalist for both the Clements and Bentley Libraries. She wears a lot of hats, including assisting managers with the hiring process and onboarding, managing timekeeping, and working with HR systems. She’s also a great resource for staff for questions and support.
The opportunity to be a resource for others led Heather to human resources. After graduating from Michigan State University with a degree in business management, her mentors encouraged her to enter the field and she’s been enjoying it ever since. She enjoys helping others solve problems and being a resource to make their lives easier.
Heather has long been interested in working for the University, and she felt that her new position was a perfect fit, as it combines her HR expertise with her
interest in history. Heather’s family has an assortment of historical materials, including late 19th and early 20th century pamphlets, magazines, family photographs and documents, and a desk with a hidden written date of March 18, 1888, and the Clements holds many similar materials.
Fun fact: Heather and her family lived in England!
Helen Harding – Business Manager
After working as a generalist in the development office since 2023, Helen has stepped into the role of Business Manager! She works with our HR generalist Heather, handles finances for the library, and manages our facilities, including our North Campus storage facility. Her development background makes her well-suited to support the library’s mission of collecting and preserving primary sources, making them available for research, and supporting and encouraging scholarly investigation of our nation’s past.
Upon graduating from U-M with a bachelor’s in American culture, Helen started a successful catering company and restaurant, called EAT. Throughout her career she has successfully run and managed various small businesses, but turned her attention to the nonprofit sector when she pursued a Master’s in Public
Administration with a concentration in nonprofit management. Helen applied for the role of Business Manager after our previous manager, Shneen Coldiron, announced her retirement after 27 years with the Clements. Thank you Shneen, for your dedication, and a warm welcome to Helen!
Fun fact: Helen grew up in a family of musicians, and she and her kiddo are both musical people. Leroy plays the violin; she plays the guitar and is learning the autoharp.
Marc-Gregor Campredon, Office of University Development, Regents of the University of Michigan
Katie Jaede- Assistant Director of Development
Our new Assistant Director of Development, Katie Jaede, joins us from the development team at Cranbrook Art Museum. She’ll assist with fundraising, supporting our mission, and working on annual giving, stewardship, and event planning. She enjoys connecting donors and visitors with collection items of interest or that coincide with their philanthropic goals, and she loves developing and maintaining relationships with both donors and colleagues.
Katie’s educational background makes her incredibly apt for this role. At Michigan State University, she received a Bachelor’s in history of art and visual culture, and a Master’s in arts, cultural management, and museum studies. She’s always had a passion for history, art, and the humanities. She enjoyed promoting
and helping to steward the collections of the Cranbrook Art Museum, and she’s excited to bring that same enthusiasm to her work at the Clements!
Fun fact: Katie is a fraternal twin; her twin’s name is Gwen.