The OASPA Board have appointed Claire Redhead as Executive Director of OASPA to reflect her role as leading operations and expansion of the association.
OASPA has seen significant support since it was founded in 2008, growing to almost 100 members during this time, and is now firmly established in the open access landscape. In consultation with the Board of Directors, the day-to-day running of the organisation is overseen by Claire, who joined in 2012 as Membership and Communications Manager.
Building on her background in scholarly publishing, Claire’s position at OASPA over the past 4 years has grown to encompass financial management of the association, organisation of OASPA’s growing program of events – including running the annual conference, management of OASPA membership and the application review process and also chairing the Communications Committee.
“Over the past few years Claire has established herself as an essential force behind OASPA and has helped it develop into a truly professional organisation, representing the interests of a wide range of working towards an Open Access future,” said OASPA’s President Paul Peters.
In line with the expansion of the organisation and increased activities, in March 2016 OASPA appointed an Events and Communications Coordinator. Reporting to Claire, Leyla Williams joins OASPA from Columbia University in New York where she was Communications and Web Consultant for the Heyman Center for the Humanities, and previously Communications Coordinator at Columbia’s Center for Digital Research and Scholarship.
“Leyla has a good understanding of the current status of scholarly communication and open access globally from her time spent at Columbia and involvement with key working groups, together with a strong background in communications,” Claire commented. “I am delighted to welcome Leyla to OASPA and to be working with her to further develop the association. I am sure she’ll be an asset to our organisation.”