Vitae : Karen D. Huffman, MLS

Strengths and Aptitude:

• Futuristic focus coupled with strong organizational, technical, communication, and people skills.
• Consult on best practice solutions related to knowledge management, information architects, portals/knowledge systems, digital libraries, document/content management systems, and metadata/format standards.
• Creatively develop knowledge solutions for intra- and inter-organizational initiatives.
• Actively lead, manage, and participate in efforts related to project-based learning, digital initiatives, and online social networks.
• Coach and train individuals on Web 2.0 tools such as RSS, blogs, wikis, and social bookmarking; best practices for obtaining interns/volunteers and organizing information; and desktop software applications such as Lotus Notes, MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Dreamweaver, Adobe Acobat, digital scanner applications.

Education:

• College of Information Studies, University of Maryland (College Park, Maryland), Graduated December 2001. Master's of Library Science (MLS) with a focus on information technology and digital libraries.
• University of Maryland University College (College Park, Maryland), Graduated Spring 1994.
  Summa Cum Laude. B.A. in Behavioral Social Sciences with a minor in Management.
• The Washington School for Secretaries (Washington, D.C.), Access 6 Program. Graduated March 1985.
• Gettysburg College (Gettysburg, Pennsylvania), September 1981 - June 1983.
• Winston Churchill High School (Potomac, Maryland), Graduated June 1981.

Experience:

• CyberSailors.com, White Plains, MD, 2003 to Present. An independent business with several facets: Consultant and project manager on Web technologies, information architects, and best practices on streamlining and managing business processes; application developer primarily focused on Web-based tools; and applications/technologies coach and trainer.
• National Geographic Society, Washington, D.C., 1985 to Present.
  Information Systems & Technology: Senior Applications & Database Administrator (June 2008 to Present); Libraries & Information Services: Manager of Knowledge Initiatives (March 2005 to May 2008); Senior Librarian (April 2002 to March 2005); and Systems Specialist (April 1998 to March 2002). Administrative Services division: Administrative Assistant with managerial responsibilities (September 1994 to April 1998); Systems Development Specialist (February 1992 to September 1994); Administrative Staff Assistant (January 1989 to February 1992); Senior Staff Assistant (May 1986 to January 1989); and Secretary (May 1985 to May 1986).
• Corley Roofing & Sheet Metal Company, Temple Hills, MD, 2000 to Present. Webmaster for company.
• Martin Luther King Public Library, Washington, D.C., Summer 2001.
  Internship for the Washingtoniana Division. Located, organized, and developed finding aid resources for 19 distinct oral history collections. Reported to the Faye Haskins, Archivist for the division.
• Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., Spring 2001.
  Internship for the Newspaper Section of the Serial & Government Publications Division. Key project involved analyzing, compiling, developing, and building Chronological Index for United States Newspapers 1940-1989. Reported to Mark Sweeney, Head of the Newspaper Division.

Professional Affiliations:

• Information Architecture Institute (2007-2008)
• Knowledge Management Professional Society (2008)
  • 2008: Vice President, DC Chapter, KMPro.org
• Special Libraries Association (member since 1999). SLA membership includes the D.C. Chapter (DC/SLA) and the Knowledge Management division (KM).
• 2008: SLA Learn 2.0 Committee including 23 Things initiative
• 2007 - 2009: DC/SLA Local Arrangements Committee's Communications Chair, 2009 DC/SLA Chapter's Annual Conference Wiki
• 2007 - 2008: Director, Communications, Knowledge Management division
• 2006 - 2007: Web 2.0 integrator/Webmaster for Knowledge Management division
• 1999 - 2006: Information Technology Division (ITE)
• 2004 - 2005: Co-facilitator for several Communities of Practice
• 2002 - 2003: Chair, University of Maryland’s SLA Student Group’s 10-Year Anniversary Planning Committee
• 2002 - 2003: DC/SLA Chapter Chair, Students/Young Professional Committee (including Webmaster for committee's site)
• 2000 - 2001: Student Committee Member and Webmaster for SLA's Student and Academic Relations Committee
• 1999 - 2001: President (2001 only) and Webmaster for University of Maryland’s SLA Student Group
• Honor Societies: Phi Kappa Phi, Alpha Sigma Lambda

Publications and Presentations:

• Huffman, Karen (June 2008). "What's the Buzz about Social Networking?" Presentation for SLA's Annual Conference, Seattle, WA.
• Huffman, Karen and Kaddell, Marie (June 2008). "Playing in Sandboxes: Developing Information Professionals' Toolbox." Hands-on continuing education class built within a wiki offered during SLA's Annual Conference, Seattle, WA.
• Huffman, Karen (April 2008). "Web 2.0 in the Workplace and Beyond: Catching the Wave" (Podcast and PPT). LexisNexis Library Week Government Librarian Breakfast Seminar. (See also handout)
• Huffman, Karen (February 2008). "Web 2.0: Riding the Wave." Lecture for library course at Catholic University.
• Huffman, Karen and Graef, Jean (January 2008). "Adding value with Web 2.0 at National Geographic." Montague Institute Review, Montague, MA.
• Huffman, Karen (November 2007). "Mashups & More: Creating A Positive User Experience." Presentation for KM World & Intranets, San Jose, CA.
• Huffman, Karen (October 2007). Presentation on wikis for the World Resources Institute "Online Communities" course, Washington, DC.
• Huffman, Karen (October and December, 2007). Web 2.0 lecture for library courses at Catholic University and University of Maryland, respectively.
• Huffman, Karen (August 2007). "Building Communities 2.0 @ National Geographic." Presentation given as part of Charles County Public Libraries "Learning 2.0" initiative, La Plata, MD.
• Huffman, Karen (June 2007). "Building Communities" and "Mashups, Remixing Information and Making Data Browseable." Two Presentations given during the Washington Institute of Library Directors "Staying Connected" training session, Fairfax County Public Libraries, Annandale, VA.
• Huffman, Karen (June 2007). "Wikis - Organizing Content and Collaborating on the Web." Continuing education course for SLA's Annual Conference, Denver, CO.
• Huffman, Karen (June 2007). "Knowledge Management Tools and Technologies." Presentation for SLA's Annual Conference, Denver, CO.
• Huffman, Karen (June 2007). "Mashups and Remixes for Government Information." Presentation for SLA's Annual Conference, Denver, CO.
• Huffman, Karen (May 2007). "Measuring Success of Social Media." Web Managers Roundtable. Arlington, VA. Similar presentation given to a special libraries class at Catholic University's library school (June 2007).
• Huffman, Karen (April 2007). "Mashups, Mixing, and Making Data Browseable." Presentation for Computers in Libraries conference, Arlington, VA.
• Huffman, Karen (April 2007). "Building Communities @ National Geographic." Presentation for Computers in Libraries conference, Arlington, VA.
• Huffman, Karen and Jourdan, Michael (February 2007). "National Geographic: Wikis @ Work." Presentation for NIH/NLM-sponsored Wiki Fair, Bethesda, MD.
• Huffman, Karen (August 2006). Web 2.0: Beyond the Concept; Practical Ways to Implement RSS, Podcasts, and Wikis. Education Libraries (EL), Education Division of SLA, Volume 29 (No. 1), pp. 12-19.
• Huffman, Karen and Ferry, Barbara (June 2006). "Hot Topics - Web 2.0: Wikis, Blogs, CoPs, RSS and Podcasts." Presentation for SLA's Annual Conference, Baltimore, Maryland. Also presented for the Defense Technical Information Center, Fort Belvoir, Virginia (August); World Bank/IMF, Washington, D.C. (September); Catholic University SLA-sponsored student chapter event (October); and University of Maryland Knowledge Management class (November).
• Huffman, Karen; Ferry, Barbara; and Williams, Leonard (May 2006). "Podcasting: A Corporate Approach." Presentation for a DC/SLA- and Military Librarians-sponsored event on podcasting.
• Huffman, Karen (March 2006). "Simple Approaches to RSS." Presentation for an OCLC/CAPCON-sponsored panel discussion during Computers in Libraries Annual Conference, presented National Geographic Libraries implementation of RSS and Podcasts.
• Huffman, Karen (2001). "Taking Another Step Forward: Digitizing Historical Newspaper Collections." Unpublished workshop presentation for ALCTS Newspaper Discussion Group meeting at ALA's 2001 Midwinter Meeting January 13. Also see, Historical Newspaper Project.
• Huffman, Karen (March 2001). "What Happens When You Create a Backbone for Your Intranet?" Paper submission for the Joe Ann Clifton Award. Published in b/ITE (August 2001) – Bulletin of the Information Technology Division of SLA, Volume 18.

Honors and Awards:

• 2007: SLA's LexisNexis Innovations in Technology Award.
• 2007: Nielsen Norman Top Ten Intranets for National Geographic's corporate intranet.
• 2003: NGM Masthead, October 2003 to date.
• 2003: SLA's Member of the Year by the Washington, DC Chapter for my efforts to boost DC Chapter membership through active engagement of young professionals.
• 2002- 2003: Through my leadership, organization, and outreach efforts by the Students/Young Professionals Committee, DC/SLA Chapter won 1st place Certificate of Merit Award for outstanding support of student groups by a chapter/division from SLA's Students and Academic Relations Committee.
• 2002: 1st place winner of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference Fredric M. Miller Finding Aid Award for an Oral History Finding Aid created during my internship at the Martin Luther King Library, Washington, DC.
• 2001: College of Information Studies Dean's Award for my Historical Newspaper Project as an example of student excellence that furthers understanding by offering new insights into development of newspaper projects.
• 2001: SLA's Information Technology Division's Joe Ann Clifton Student Award for my paper on the evolution of the NGS intranet, illustrating the use of information technology in a special library.
• 2001: SLA Student Chapter of University of Maryland won two Certificate of Merit Awards from SLA's Student and Academic Relations Committee for "Creative Use of Electronic Resources" and "Leadership."

Personal Activities and Involvement:

• Regular blood donor.
• Artisan projects including stained glass work, quilting and crochet projects.
• 1988 to Present: Race sail in West River PHRF.
• 2006 Open water dive certification.
• 2002: Out of the Darkness Event for Suicide Prevention by Pallotta TeamWorks.  Walked 28 miles from Virginia to Washington, DC, in a night. Raised over $1,300 in pledges.
• 2001: Avon 3-Day Breast Cancer. Walked 60 miles from Frederick, Maryland to Washington, DC, to help the fight against breast cancer. Raised over $3,200 in pledges.
• 1989 to present: Participate in non-spin PHRF sailboat races, Galesville, MD.
• 1997-1999: Pets On Wheel Volunteer, Prince George's County, MD.
• 1996: Earthwatch volunteer for the "Moose and Wolves of Isle Royale" project. Collected research data for Dr. Rolf Peterson.

References:

Available on Request