Project Team

Kristina Shiroma is an Assistant Professor in the School of Information Studies at Louisiana State University. She received her Ph.D. from the School of Information at the University of Texas at Austin. Prior to her Ph.D., she earned her BA in Literary Studies from the University of Texas at Dallas and her MLS through Texas Woman’s University. 

Kristina’s research is focused on aging and health information. Dedicated to advancing health justice, Kristina has worked on NIA and NSF-funded projects in collaboration with local libraries, senior centers, and other community organizations to facilitate eHealth literacy interventions in the community. At LSU School of Information Studies, she will combine her expertise in health information with her passion for community engagement to support healthy aging initiatives in Louisiana. 

Em Lessley is a New Orleans-Based graduate student at Louisiana State University, studying Library and Information Science with a focus in Archival studies. Their goal is to gain more knowledge and experience with audio/visual media formats, and to understand more and better ways to care for digital records for long-term preservation that is accessible and sustainable to the world. 

Additionally, Em has a Bachelor's degree from Oregon State University in Gender/Sexuality studies. During their studies, Em formed a passion for understanding the accessibility of literature within education and how important imaginative narratives and storytelling is to our ways of digesting knowledge, memory, and experiences. This is what helped spark a motivation to pursue Archival studies in their professional career.