Cast Your Vote!
The ballot for the 2022-2023 election is now available. Members must log in to access the ballot and vote. Voting is open through Tuesday, April 12, and results will be announced in early May.
Candidate names appear below in alphabetical order.
Election Overview
| President-Elect: | Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe | Cason Lynley | Randy Townsend |
| At-Large Members: | Chhavi Chauhan | Mike Di Natale | Patrick Franzen |
| Hannah Heckner | Tao Tao |
Candidates for President-Elect
Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe, Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Bio: I am a Professor and the Coordinator for Information Literacy Services and Instruction in the University Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I am also an affiliate faculty member in the University’s School of Information Sciences and Center for Global Studies. In the SSP community, I am probably best known as a “chef” in The Scholarly Kitchen and a current member-at-large of the SSP Board. I also volunteer as an SSP mentor. I was the President of the Association of College and Research Libraries (2010-2011) and currently serve on advisory committees for GetFTR and Seamless Access, the editorial boards of Learned Publishing and Communications in Information Literacy, and the ORCID Board of Directors. For more information: https://lisahinchliffe.com
Vision Statement: I am honored to be nominated as a candidate for SSP President. SSP is an organization with a compelling vision that puts its values into practice. As a “chef” in The Scholarly Kitchen, I came to appreciate the breadth of SSP’s activities. As a Board member-at-large, and in liaison roles to C4DISC: Coalition for Diversity and Inclusion in Scholarly Communications and the Funder Task Force, my appreciation for this community has only deepened.
The pandemic has been a difficult time. But, throughout it all, SSP did not falter in its resolve to meet the challenges and support our members. SSP continues to innovate and develop new programs. The association has set a trajectory for sustainable growth with a diversified revenue portfolio to ensure we can invest in our priorities. As SSP President, I will work with staff and other leaders to grow member engagement and industry impact. Personally, I enjoy the work of association governance. I look to facilitate open and constructive dialogue and to support the development of our members at every career stage in achieving their goals.
I believe SSP is poised for an exciting future and I would be honored to work with you as we achieve it.
Cason Lynley, Director of Marketing, Sales, and Finance, Duke University Press
Bio: I have worked in various facets of the publishing world since college before finding my home in scholarly publishing. In 1999, I joined Duke University Press and found a career in which I feel both deeply engaged and continually challenged to grow and learn. At the Press, I’ve held several roles that have built upon one another, leading to my current role as Director of Marketing, Sales, and Finance. My career has intersected with many aspects of the scholarly publishing world, and I love to see the ways our community works together and to identify additional areas to advance together.
SSP has played a huge role in my career and growth, providing a larger context for me to fold into my work at Duke as well as to share back with the scholarly publishing community in turn. I started volunteering for SSP in 2008 and have served on a number of different committees, including on the Annual Meeting Program Committee, first as committee member and then for four years as co-chair. This year I am co-chair for the newly formed Audit Committee, a member of the Career Development committee, and a member of the SSP/AUPresses Task Force on Career Progression. I have also regularly participated in the SSP mentorship program as a mentor as well, mentoring an SSP fellow. I was incredibly honored to be awarded the SSP Distinguished Service Award in 2021.
Vision Statement: From my first annual meeting in the early 2000s, SSP has provided a broad framework that underpins my work at Duke University Press, exposing me to the wider scholarly communications community and allowing me the opportunity to work alongside colleagues from diverse organizations and backgrounds. During the past two years of the pandemic, I was particularly struck with how SSP pivoted to provide opportunities for virtual connection and learning that were a real source of support and joy during such a challenging time. Rather than being stymied, we came together as an industry, shared ideas, and took advantage of virtual options that removed the hurdle of travel expense for participants. I believe deeply in the values of community, adaptability, inclusivity, and integrity embodied by SSP. And I am proud of the strides we have made toward a more inclusive and diverse industry as well as the focus on supporting early career development. I am grateful to be an SSP member, volunteer, and committee co-chair and, to serve as your President, would allow me to give back to a society that has given me so much.
If elected, I would work with the SSP staff, board, and committees to build on the strong foundations already in place. I would work to further expand programs for collaborative international outreach, career development, and diversity and equity in our industry and to ensure SSP remains a resource for generations to come.
Randy Townsend, MPS, Director, Publishing Operations, PLOS; Editor in Chief, GW Journal of Ethics in Publishing
Bio: At PLOS, Randy Townsend, MPS, (he, him, his) translates organizational vision and mission into clear priorities and practical goals to ensure alignment and collaboration. He has been a leader in policy implementation and journal strategy. Randy serves as a judge for the EXCEL Awards, is a member of the Associations Council Advisory Board, sits on the Executive Advisory Board of AM&P Network where he also chairs the organization’s Diversity and Inclusion initiatives and serves on the Awards Committee. He is Chair of the Webinar Subcommittee for the Council of Science Editors (CSE), a member of ALPSP’s Programming Committee and an at-large SSP Board Member. Randy is also the inaugural Editor in Chief for the GW Journal of Ethics in Publishing and is an Associate Professor of the MPS in Publishing program in the College of Professional Studies at George Washington University.
Vision Statement: SSP has consistently remained the cornerstone of our industry, meeting shadows of uncertainty with the beacon of unwavering guidance, and trusted leadership in the elation of accomplishment. Like many of us, publishing was my accidental profession and I stumbled into this world that I love through sheer luck. I started as a temp, embracing the possibilities of fresh perspectives with curiosity and enthusiasm. It’s a special irony to be an associate professor at George Washington University, teaching students in the same program where I received my master’s degree in Publishing. As our community reflects on the challenges introduced in recent years, we should all be proud of our commitment to one another, unselfishly sharing individual expertise, inspired collaborations, and creative innovations.
I am honored by my longstanding service to SSP, the heartwarming relationships developed with peers that sincerely welcomed my whole self, and my contributions towards advancing the future of scholarly communications. I hold my commitment to the future leaders of SSP sacred, with consistent dedication endorsed by my years as an SSP mentor and instinctive supporter of the Generations Fund. My devotion to the tenets of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility drew me to volunteer for SSP’s D&I Task Force, to serve as co-chair DEI Committee, and rigorously support C4DISC, where I helped develop and promote several freely available resources that offer data and advisement to the broader scholarly publishing community.
Nelson Mandela said “What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others.” As SSP President, I will build on the legacies of resilience, respect, and responsibility penned by my predecessors, and remain committed to engaging existing members, attracting diverse voices, and encouraging visionary approaches to shared questions. I will continue celebrating opportunities to ensure SSP remains an inclusive space that honors the value of every contributor, regardless of any box they may choose to check. Much work lies ahead of us to expand our initiatives to secure financially responsible and sustainable futures for our organizations. I recognize the trust placed in me by this nomination and will approach the SSP presidency with authenticity, vulnerability, and humility.
Candidates for Member-at-Large
Chhavi Chauhan, Director of Scientific Outreach, American Society for Investigative Pathology; Director of Continuing Medical Education Program, The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics
Bio: Dr. Chhavi Chauhan is Director for Scientific Outreach at the American Society for Investigative Pathology and Director of the Continuing Medical Education (CME) Program at the Journal of Molecular Diagnostics. She is a leader of the Women in AI Ethics CollectiveTM and an expert at the AI Policy Exchange.
She is a biomedical researcher, expert scholarly communicator, and a sought-after mentor in the fields of scientific research, scholarly publishing (has served on several SSP cohorts), and AI Ethics, especially for women and minorities. She is a thought leader, a renowned international speaker, and a strong advocate for equitable and accessible healthcare and is a Co-Chair of the SSP’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. She sits at the intersection of scientific research, scholarly communications, science policy, medical education, and responsible tech in healthcare.
Her vision is to provide equitable personalized healthcare to all, beyond geographies, and despite socioeconomic disparities.
Vision Statement: You cannot go wrong no matter who you pick on this ballot, as each and every future leader listed here is yearning to give back to the SSP community that has enriched their professional experiences and empowered them in ways unimaginable!
With a backdrop of a pandemic that upended our lives in unforeseen ways and a looming war that is unfortunately raging now, it is time that all leaders and organizations remain extremely flexible and are prepared for the unprecedented. Any changes, big or small, even in a geography far away from ours, can have deep and lasting global impact. Our own actions, reactions, and efforts can have unsurmountable effects in other regions. It is time that we extend SSP’s footprint globally, to support inclusive worldwide efforts in the scholarly publishing landscape to enrich the experiences of all scholarly publishing professionals.
Elected or not, I eagerly look forward to supporting all SSP’s current efforts, and initiate and lead efforts to take its impact across the North American boundaries.
Mike Di Natale, Publishing Technology Manager, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Bio: I’ve spent my career in scholarly communications at the intersection of publishing and technology, looking for ways to help organizations take advantage of new tools to strengthen their publishing output. Most recently this path has led me to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) where I helped lead a platform migration for the Science family of journals as Publishing Technology Manager.
I came to this career, after a brief interlude in local journalism, via Aries Systems where I worked in client services and product management before transitioning to nonprofits. Including BioOne where I served as Director of Technology and Operations and eventually to AAAS.
SSP has been an incredible resource for me, enhancing my career with professional development, connecting me to a wide range of industry professionals, and creating lasting friendships. I have been fortunate to co-chair the Communications and Membership committees, organize annual meeting sessions as part of the Early Career Subcommittee, help the Chefs prepare for events as part of The Scholarly Kitchen Cabinet, and most recently serving out a one-year term on the Board of Directors opened by a vacated seat. Serving this community has been, and continues to be, one of the highlights of my career.
Vision Statement: SSP is a tremendous resource to the young professionals of our community. I came to this industry late and participation in SSP was critical in shaping my career, providing introductions and opportunities. A decade on, I know that I was only able to take advantage of what SSP offered because I was surrounded by people who cared about my development. I want to make sure others in our community, particularly those just starting out, have the same or better opportunities to develop professionally and are welcomed into the SSP community.
Serving on the Board of Directors over the past year has been a privilege. I’ve been able to help shape the organization for the better and contribute to our community and help modernize our code of conduct. As this year comes to an end, I am seeking election to a full term to continue this work and build my experience so that I can continue to serve the SSP community.
Working with the Early Career Subcommittee was a rewarding experience and as a member-at-large of the Board, I have attempted to be a voice for early-career concerns which would extend from this group’s efforts to promote and support early-career professionals in the industry. Coming out of the disruption of the pandemic years, SSP must redouble its efforts to engage with our next
generation of volunteers and leaders and help them be engaged and active in the community. The future of SSP is secured by continuing to attract new and diverse voices to the membership.
SSP has excellent Fellowship and Mentorship programs already and we must continue to lead in this area. Our events and programming offer a wide range of professional development opportunities and must find ways to extend out into virtual spaces, allowing for broader inclusion and impact.
Patrick Franzen, Director, Publications and Platform – SPIE, Society for Optics and Photonics
Bio: I am currently the Director, Publications and Platform at SPIE, the Society for Optics and Photonics, where I am responsible for all publications activities including proceedings and conference content, journals, and books. Prior to joining SPIE, I was the Senior Director, Professional Publishing for Lumina Datamatics, a global content, technology, and commerce company. I am the co-chair of SSP’s Membership Committee and an elected member of COPE Council, and previously served as co-chair of SSP’s Marketing & Communications Committee and served on the 40th Anniversary Task Force.
Vision Statement: SSP is all about community and the future success of the society will be driven by strengthening and diversifying our sense of community. This includes increasing participation outside of North America, engaging with individuals and organizations across the scholarly publishing ecosystem, and creating connections with the next generation of scholarly publishing professionals. SSP should be recognized by the global scholarly publishing community as the first place to turn to for information and dialogue on current and emerging issues in scholarly communication, as the source for educational and professional development resources, and most importantly, as the backbone of our community.
The past two years have tested our sense of community and emerging from the pandemic brings with it both challenges and questions. At SPIE, we are working through the same challenges and questions confronting SSP. As a member-at-large I will leverage my experience as a society publisher and a commercial vendor to tackle these challenges and address these questions, to ensure that SSP continues as the thought leader in scholarly publishing and emerges with a strong sense of community. I look forward to the challenge.
Hannah Heckner, Director of Product Strategy, Silverchair
Bio: As Director of Product Strategy at Silverchair, I funnel industry trends, current customer feedback, sales prospect desires, integrator needs, and internal colleague feedback to identify, organize, prioritize, and execute on areas for development of the Silverchair platform. This work is an incredibly rewarding mix of internal and external collaboration and problem solving in which I am constantly learning new things and getting to stay in the loop on the exciting projects and transitions our client set, and the industry at large, are undertaking.
In my current capacity, I joke that I am a recovering publisher, as my career experience preceding Silverchair includes an internship at UNC Press, time with Taylor + Francis across multiple divisions within their Philadelphia journals office, the American Psychological Association on their production team, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science in their Office of Publishing where I was one of the early members of their product function. My transition from publishing organization to technology company in early 2020 was one of the first dramatic transitions of that year. Solutions that may have been discussed across multiple meetings involving many stakeholders in previous positions were now a chat with a couple colleagues, a few (or more) lines of code, and a production release away, but those gripes that I may have had with previous publishers’ technology providers were now arriving on my doorstep. This new perspective has helped me to recognize even more the intricacies of the technological underpinnings of the scholarly communication ecosystem, as well as the opportunities that abound when the stakeholders within this ecosystem can work together with their common goals, and their end users’ needs, in mind. I’ve enjoyed the opportunities I’ve had to participate in such collaborative conversations as a member of the NISO Plus Advisory Board, a participant in the Sloan-funded Reducing the Inadvertent Spread of Retracted Science (RISRS) project, and as a regular NISO and SSP webinar participant, speaker, and moderator.
Vision Statement: I will not forget the first SSP-affiliated event I ever attended, a one-day Open Access workshop occurring in Washington, DC in 2013. I was somewhat new to the Editorial team at Taylor + Francis, just starting to not feel like two toddlers wearing a trench coat whenever I went on a work trip. While I was familiar at that time of the song and dance of attending academic conferences as a representative of a publisher, this was an entirely new experience of attending sessions that were relevant to the industry surrounding my job. In attending those talks speaking about the trends and movements in the Open Access space, conversations that previously seemed narrow in scope, applicable to only a few journals, or relegated solely to annual budget talks, suddenly became far more wide-reaching topics of global import. I looked around and saw other people similar in age to me asking engaging, thoughtful questions about Big Ideas and I wanted to be one of them. Since then, SSP has become at one time a hub for continuing education, a salon for the exchange of (and debate regarding) those aforementioned Big Ideas, and a family reunion. Becoming engaged in this society has allowed me to meet and connect with individuals who have changed my views on the world, create a network of trusted advisors I can call on with questions ranging from my career advancement to new product development, offer a platform to present my thoughts on the changing environment of academic content and its distribution, and stay connected with dynamic and smart professionals. I was honored to be named the 2019 SSP Emerging Leader and I hope that SSP’s members will offer me the opportunity to serve them on the Board of Directors, where I pledge to amplify previously quiet or unheard voices and approach each new opportunity or obstacle with wide eyes, open ears, and with the spirit of collaboration.
Tao Tao, Managing Editor, JACC: Asia, American College of Cardiology (ACC)
Bio: Tao Tao is the Managing Editor of JACC: Asia at the American College of Cardiology (ACC). Previously, she was an independent consultant focusing on the Chinese academic market. She has worked in the scholarly publishing industry for her entire career, starting as Associate Editor of Chinese Medical Journal, the oldest academic periodical in China. Later, she joined The Charlesworth Group, a UK publishing services company, and helped establish their first overseas office in Beijing and held the position of General Manager for 15 years before moving to the US office as Vice President of China Sales. Years of work in China and in the US have given Tao a good understanding of both the Chinese and Western community of academic communications.
Vision Statement: I am lucky to have worked for a Chinese society publisher, an American society publisher, and an international publishing service company that provides service to both academic publishers and libraries. In these experiences, I have always seen gaps, between West and East, between North and South, and between content producers and users. To fill the gaps has always been a challenge. Nowadays we are seeing how incomplete and/or false information cause communities to split, creating new gaps, and how science is not immune to this. As the community of scholarly publishers, SSP forms a club where all parties in the academic communication world can openly discuss any challenges they face, and help each other to find solutions. By writing for The Scholarly Kitchen as a chef, I feel I am contributing a little bit to fill the gaps. I am truly honored by the nomination to run for the Board and look forward to contributing more through my experience and connections.
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