Biographical Statement Elaine Paul has been the Director of Visual Resources in the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Colorado Boulder since 1997. During her time in this position she has overseen the digital transition of an academic slide collection to a facility that houses a multimedia digital library; provides resources, training, and support in digital imaging and image presentation software; offers equipment for use in creative work and documentation; and supports a number of classrooms within the department. Additionally, Elaine has been involved with the creation of the system-wide University of Colorado Digital Library since its inception. She received a BA in Art History from the University of Colorado Boulder in 1997, and an MSLIS from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2011.

Elaine has been an active member of the VRA since 1998. Having attended eleven annual conferences, she has presented papers on topics such as strategic planning, cross-campus collaborations, and social media. Serving on the VRA Membership Committee since 2005, she has been Chair since 2009. Most recently Elaine has been participating on the VRA 2012 Constitution and Bylaws Task Force. As a member of the Art Libraries Society of North America, Elaine regularly attends and has presented at the ARLIS/NA annual conferences. She was Co-Chair of the ARLIS/NA-VRA Joint Task Force on Collaboration from 2006 to 2008.

Statement of Goals as President As a grateful beneficiary of the many rewards of active membership in the VRA, it would be my great honor to serve the Association as President. The knowledge, opportunities for professional development, advocacy, and camaraderie that the VRA has provided me over the years are immeasurable. Like so many other members, the Association has helped guide me through a period of significant professional transition relating to digital technologies. Reflecting the changing needs of its members, the VRA continues to evolve and adapt in serving the increasingly diverse skills and knowledge required of our multi-disciplinary field.

As VRA President, I would work with the Executive Board and the membership at large to continue building our understanding of the ongoing developments in our profession, the needs of those we serve, and the ways that the Association can best support our members. As a profession, and consequently an organization in transition, we must serve the next generation of members by listening to them, responding to their needs, and providing them with a place to develop professionally and carry us forward into the future. Active outreach to the newly formed Visual Resources Emerging Professionals and Students (VREPS) group is an excellent place to begin this process.

Seeking fresh perspectives from a broader range of disciplines is another way to strengthen the VRA as we move forward. While several excellent precedents exist, there are numerous opportunities for building on and developing new collaborative projects with other organizations. These will continue to bring the mutual benefits of information sharing, and will also provide potential sources for the new members that the VRA needs to remain viable. As President I would seek to reinforce ties with our historically affiliated and allied organizations such as ARLIS/NA, while also exploring ways that we may create stronger connections with other organizations representing fields that relate to our evolving collective identity.

Steven Kowalik is the Art Librarian at Hunter College of the City University of New York. In addition to his duties as managing librarian of the Zabar Art Library, he is responsible for collecting, developing, managing, and providing access to the print and electronic resources required to support the research, study, and teaching of visual culture at Hunter College. During his time at Hunter he has administered all aspects of providing visual resource access to the college community, from the supervision of a large analog based collection to the implementation and present management of a local digital image database. He received a BA in Art History in 1978 and a MLS degree in 1981 from Wayne State University.

Mr. Kowalik has been a Visual Resources Association member since its inception, and was one of the founding members of the Greater New York Chapter, serving as its Treasurer for a number of years. Maintaining an active participation at the national level, he has served on the Membership Committee and the editorial staff of the Images Newsletter, and has presented papers at two VRA conferences. He served as the Development Committee Co-chair for four years, and is presently on the VRA Executive Board as Vice President for Conference Program. In the latter capacity, he was responsible for the general coordination of the program for the 2012 VRA Conference in Albuquerque, and is currently working on the same concerns for the 2013 VRA Conference.

We are all aware that the technological revolution and the more recent economic downturn have profoundly altered our roles as visual resources professionals. Acknowledging these changes, the VRA Board has been extremely successful in providing many conduits through which the membership can pursue career goals. One of these conduits is the annual VRA conference. My professional background, my past experiences with organizing Vendor Slams, and my current VRA Executive Board experience as the Vice President for Conference Program have provided me with the skills necessary to continue my commitment as Vice President for Conference Program. If re-elected to this important position, I promise to commit myself to providing VRA members with the continued opportunity to engage in stimulating and beneficial conference programs with an emphasis on content related to our professional evolvement.

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Stephanie Beene is the Visual Resources Coordinator at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. Stephanie received her BA in Art and Art History from Colorado State University in 2005 with a Minor in Spanish. She completed her Masters in Art History from the University of California, Riverside in 2007 focusing on modern and contemporary U.S., Latin American, and Border Art, especially those artists working with identity politics and verbal visual interplay. In 2009, Stephanie earned her Masters in Science in Information Studies from The University of Texas at Austin, with a focus on visual resources management, and digital curation. Since 2009, Stephanie has developed the Visual Resources Center at Watzek Library on the Lewis & Clark Campus to be a nexus for image and visual media teaching and learning: a place for students and faculty to seek out research and curricular guidance; a resource from which instruction, consultations, and workshops derive; and a source of expertise on a variety of topics, from copyright and attribution of creative works to visual literacy to creative integration of visual resources in the liberal arts curriculum.

Stephanie has been active in the VRA since 2007, although she "lurked" on the VRA-L well before that (c. 2005). She has been an active member of the Pacific Rim Chapter since 2009. She is a current member of ARLIS/NA, and has been an active of various other affiliated organizations (ACRL, MCN, SAA, etc.) since 2007. Stephanie has presented at VRA in 2009 and 2012, and has presented at ACRL, ALA, and SSA (Society of Southwest Archivists). She has also held many workshops at the local and regional level, both with the VRA Pacific Rim Chapter, and for the Faculty Technology Institute at Lewis & Clark College. Stephanie has served on the VRA Intellectual Property Rights Committee since 2009, and the Travel Awards Committee since 2011.

I'll never forget the day I became interested in becoming a Visual Resources Professional. I was working under Madelyn Millen at the University of California, Riverside's Visual Resources Collection. I asked her, "What does it take to do what you do?" She answered me in two parts. One was to complete my MA in Art History and go on for my MSIS (a Library Science or affiliated Masters), which I was already considering. The second, and crucial part, was to become an active member of VRA, and an active member of my local chapter. I remember this in particular, because I hadn't heard of VRA; nor did I know anything about a local chapter. She explained VRA, and told me about the fun they had as the local SoCal chapter. I felt like I had a new roadmap for my career. I have Madelyn to thank for giving me a key that day. Because although the days ahead were not easy, I jumped onto the VRA-L, learned about the most pressing issues facing Visual Resources Professionals, pursued membership, and entered my second graduate degree with a clear purpose.

Similarly, when I received my position at Lewis & Clark College, I knew I was stepping into enormous shoes. My predecessor, Margo Ballantyne, had established Visual Resources at Lewis & Clark College and had worked here for 19 years. She had also helped establish the Pacific Rim chapter and was a leader in VRA. Like Madelyn, she became a mentor to me. I decided I would need to carry on her legacy of leadership, not only to keep Visual Resources alive at Lewis & Clark College through changing Administrations, but for small liberal arts colleges around the United States.

As we all face tightening budgets and the need to advocate for our salaries, our departments, our resources, and our people, I hope to do justice to these two mighty women who put their faith in me early on in my career. I hope to carry forth the VRA goals and objectives. I hope to carry our message to College and University Administrators, other Associations, and the world about the value of Visual Resources. I am excited to be a part of the changes that lay ahead, and know that Visual Resources Professionals will remain authorities in the field even as we look to changes and challenges in the years to come.