Description:  As SPARC’s Executive Director since 2005, Heather has focused the organization’s efforts on sharing knowledge. Under her stewardship, SPARC has become the leading advocacy organization promoting innovative open and equitable global systems of research and education. She leads SPARC’s strategic work, which has resulted in a fundamental shift in public policy towards open knowledge sharing, including the establishment of the landmark White House Memorandum requiring open access to all U.S. federally funded research outputs in 2022.  

She has provided guidance and advice to both public and private funders through her service on national boards and committees ranging from the U.S. Department of Commerce Data Advisory Council to the National Institute of Standards Research Data Framework Committee and has worked to incentivize knowledge sharing by spearheading the establishment of the U.S. National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine’s Roundtable an Aligning Incentives to Support Open Science. Heather has worked on initiatives and consultations promoting the open sharing of research outputs from the United Nations to the World Bank. Through SPARC’s global network of affiliates in Europe, Asia and Africa, she is an active collaborator on projects that support community-developed and controlled solutions for knowledge sharing. 
 

International Open Access Week 

Open Access Week is an annual scholarly communication event focusing on open access and related topics. It takes place globally in many locations both on- and offline. This year’s 2024 theme continues the call to put “Community over Commercialization” and prioritize approaches to open scholarship that serve the best interests of the public and the academic community. 

Light refreshments will be provided.