New Leader Awards Announced
The Association for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T) is delighted to announce that Rawan Almakinah, Lateef Ayinde, Jane Bartley, Hassan Mortada, and Le Yang are the recipients of the 2025 ASIS&T New Leaders Award. The award’s purpose is to engage and retain new members and to identify potential for new leadership in the Association.
Rawan Almakinah is a PhD student in Information Science at the University at Albany, SUNY, specializing in data analytics and human-computer interaction. Her research centers on human-centered AI with a focus on mental health, aiming to design technology that promotes social wellbeing. She is an active researcher in the AI in Complex Systems Lab at UAlbany. She contributes to the field through leadership roles as a NEASIS&T Liaison and a member of the ASIS&T Programming Committee. Rawan’s work is driven by a deep commitment to leveraging technology for meaningful, human-centered impact.
Upon learning of her selection, Almakinah responded, “Winning the ASIS&T New Leader Award is both an honor and a responsibility. It feels like the right time to give back to the community that once gave so much to me, a community that helped shape me into a better person. I’m committed to carrying this recognition forward in service of others.”
Lateef Ayinde is a Graduate Lead Instructor and PhD Candidate at the School of Information Science, Florida State University. His work focuses on several themes at the intersection of social informatics: Artificial Intelligence, information policy, digital government, and the impact of digital transformation on society and institutions. His work combines qualitative and quantitative methods to understand society and the institutional adoption of Gen AI. Having earned his master’s in Information Science from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria, he has worked as an Information Service Professional at Lagos Business School and Pan Atlantic University, and as an Associate Research Fellow at Curtin Open Knowledge Initiative and the Centre for Technology and Culture at Curtin University.
Ayinde acknowledged the award, saying “Leadership is about followership. My leadership style is being a servant leader.” And he quoted Ralph Nader: “The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.”
Jane Bartley is an Information Science PhD student at the University of Buffalo and a full-time digital archivist at Virginia Military Institute. She holds a BS in mechanical engineering from Florida State University, an MS in technical communications from Northeastern University, and an MLIS from the University of Missouri. Her dissertation research relates to disaster studies and focuses on how disaster response genres facilitate intra- and inter-organizational response.
Receiving the news of the award, Bartley said, “I am deeply honored and excited to receive the ASIS&T New Leaders Award! I am grateful for the encouragement and support of my advisors, peers, and the ASIS&T community as I continue to learn and grow in the information science field. This opportunity will allow me to more actively engage with the organization, collaborate with others, and gain valuable insight from my mentor.”
Hassan Mortada is a PhD candidate in Information Science at the University at Buffalo and the Arabic Language Cataloging Librarian at Princeton University. His work bridges metadata creation, inclusive cataloging practices, and global knowledge access. With advanced degrees in Library and Information Science, Nonprofit Management, and Middle Eastern Studies, Hassan brings a multidisciplinary lens to questions of equity and representation in knowledge systems. His current research critically examines how the term “immigrant” is defined and operationalized within library and information science (LIS), arguing for more context-sensitive, power-aware conceptualizations. Drawing from critical theory and postcolonial thought, he explores how empire, biopolitics, and classification systems shape immigrant identities and information behaviors.
Mortada accepted the award, saying, “I’m honored to be part of the ASIS&T New Leaders program and eager to learn from the wide range of perspectives and expertise across the organization. My research examines how concepts like identity and classification shape information systems, and I’m excited to engage with a community that values both critical inquiry and practical innovation in the field.”
Le Yang currently serves as the Associate Vice Provost & University Librarian for Collections, Discovery, and Digital Strategy at the University of Oregon Libraries. He is recognized for his international experience and global perspective, which significantly influence his leadership and strategic vision for academic and research libraries. Le has led transformative initiatives within academic libraries, aligning them with interdisciplinary fields, open science, prospective trends, and the diverse faculty and student populations across international contexts. Le holds a PhD in Library Science with a specialization in Data Governance from Wuhan University. His doctoral research focuses on modeling and governing cross-border academic resources and data. His research interests include digital librarianship, AI applications on open repositories, and open science. Le disseminates his research findings through conferences and journals. Additionally, he contributes as a peer reviewer and editorial board member for multiple Library and Information Science journals and conferences.
Le thanked the award nominators, saying “It is a great honor to be recognized by ASIS&T for this award. I’d like to thank caffeine, deadlines, paranoia, and sheer panic for making this award possible! The same four things I walked away with my doctoral degree.”
All recipients will receive the award during the 2025 meeting of the ASIS&T which will be held 14-18 November 2025 in Crystal City, VA.
About ASIS&T
ASIS&T is the pre-eminent professional association for thousands of researchers, developers, practitioners, students, and professors in the field of information science and technology from 50 countries around the world. For more than 80 years, ASIS&T has been leading the search for new and better theories, techniques, and technologies to improve access to information.