Home   »   News
11.13.2018 | SSP News & Releases

The Society for Scholarly Publishing is pleased to announce that Mary Beth Barilla has been named as the organization’s Program Director

November 13, 2018 – Oakbrook Terrace, IL – This week, the Society for Scholarly Publishing welcomes Mary Beth Barilla as the newest member of the SSP team.

“We are delighted to have Mary Beth join SSP as our Program Director. Mary Beth has a broad range of experiences in the industry and a deep familiarity with SSP’s programming due to her extensive volunteer work,” said Melanie Dolechek, SSP Executive Director. “Because of her background and experience, she is well suited to work with our leadership and committees to help shape future training and development opportunities for scholarly communication professionals.”

The Program Director is a part-time position which works collaboratively with SSP’s programming-focused committees, the Executive Director, and the Board, in setting strategic direction for development of all educational programing of the Society, including the annual meeting, seminars, webinars, regional events, and training activities. Barilla will be responsible for providing continuity, guidance, support, and standards for the SSP committees that are charged with developing educational and informational programs. She can be reached at mbarilla@sspnet.org. Barilla succeeds Helen Szigeti who held the positon since 2016. Szigeti resigned her post to focus on her consulting work full-time but remains an active volunteer for SSP.

Barilla has more than 20 years of experience in the scholarly publishing community and brings a wealth of knowledge and a broad perspective on advancements within the information industry. Her unique experiences working for all different types of publishers and suppliers as well as her training in research-based educational approaches, will help her guide SSP’s committees to develop programming that appeals to a diverse group of stakeholders: publishers, librarians, researchers, suppliers, students, and funders.  During her career Barilla has worked at RedLink, Inc. as the Publisher Relations Director, Emerald Publishing as Sales Manager, and in various sales and marketing roles at Cambridge University Press, Blackwell Publishing, and Indiana University Press.  She has been an active volunteer, co-chairing SSP’s Annual Meeting Program Committee in consecutive years and leading the SSP Programming Audit Task Force. Barilla has a MA in English from Indiana University, a MA from Simmons College in Teaching English as a Second Language and a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of North Carolina. 

 “As a volunteer, I’ve met many people who look to SSP for information and guidance on issues and trends in our industry, so I’m excited to join the organization in a professional capacity,” said Barilla. “I’m looking forward to working with the SSP leadership and volunteer committees to continue to provide those opportunities for communication, collaboration, and education so valued by the scholarly communications community.”

About SSP – The Society for Scholarly Publishing (SSP), founded in 1978, is a nonprofit organization formed to promote and advance communication among all sectors of the scholarly publication community through networking, information dissemination, and facilitation of new developments in the field. – See more at: https://www.sspnet.org.

View Comments

Be the first to write a comment!

Join the Conversation