Advisory Council

Gracen Brilmyer is a white, queer, non-binary (pronouns: they/them), Disabled person. They are currently an Assistant Professor at McGill University's School of Information Studies and the Director of the Disability Archives Lab. They received their PhD from the Department of Information Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), with a Certificate in Gender Studies. Their current research lies at the intersection of disability studies, archival studies, and the history of science, centering on the history of natural history museums and their archives. Their research often centers around the broad question: "How do we tell the history of disability when there is little or no archival evidence?"

Alex Eddings is a vibrant creative with a passion for art, biking, and design. After receiving a late diagnosis of autism (and adhd), she embarked on a personal journey of self-discovery, determined to unravel the intricacies of her own mind. Inspired by her experience, she hopes to help others navigate their own paths, offering support and guidance to those on a similar journey of understanding and acceptance.

Michael Marlatt (he/him) is a disabled film archivist, PhD candidate at York University, and archival accessibility consultant based in New Brunswick, Canada. His work addresses accessibility gaps in the media archive, primarily in education and employment. When not telling his cats Sonnet and Dexter that it’s too early for dinner, he enjoys filling up his home with books and antique A/V equipment, visiting the local café, and walking by the water.

Miriam Meislik has been an archivist for over 30 years. She currently serves as the media archivist for the University of Pittsburgh Library System where she oversees all managerial aspects of the audiovisual collections including the preservation of oral history projects.  Miriam has previously taught in areas of archival preservation, collections conservation, and audiovisual collection management.

Nicki Pombier (she/her) is an oral historian, writer, and educator. Her work in oral history is largely focused on disability, arts, and social change, with a particular interest in how oral history might center the knowledge of people who communicate in ways that challenge traditional approaches to the interview. She has worked as an oral history artist with the Institute on Disabilities at Temple University since 2013 on a range of public history projects about the intellectual disability rights movement, most recently File/Life: We Remember Stories of Pennhurst. She is a Part-Time Faculty member at The New School University, where she won the 2021 Distinguished University Teaching Award, and an adjunct faculty member at the Oral History Master of Arts program at Columbia University, of which she is an alum.