Meet the Mentors, Introduced by the 2025 Cohort

Patrick works as archives and information manager at the City Archives Zaventem (Belgium) whose work bridges traditional archival practices with community-based heritage work.  

Inspired by both a history teacher and his aunt, who planted in him the passion for history and tracing family archives, Patrick pursued history at university and began rethinking the role of the archivist. Rejecting the image of the “closed, protected archive,” he advocates for archives as tools of social and cultural work, touching people through personal documents such as birth certificates or family photos.  

Since Patrick joined the City Archives of Zaventem, he has been seeking to challenge the narrow framing of the town as merely “the airport city,” instead highlighting its histories. For example, Patrick worked on projects linking cemeteries and archives where a new law required cities to inventory graves. He emphasized that archival research alone could not provide a full picture; community involvement was essential to uncover stories, family archives, and lived experiences tied to these sites.  

During the ICA Congress in 2000 in Seville, Verne Harris’s keynote was one of the opening minds moments for him on rigid description frameworks, and invitation to explore ways to integrate community-driven narratives into archival practice.  

For the Heritage Day event that takes place in the city of Zaventem during the summer, Patrick collaborated with residents to collect old photographs, documents, and oral histories that trace a century of social change. He sees archives as a trigger for storytelling, where even small personal items–like a photograph of Arnold Schwarzenegger performing in a local café in 1972–can bring community heritage to life. 

Hinerangi brings a wealth of experience from the cultural heritage sector. Her experience working in the archive and cultural heritage sector for the past thirty years with a specific interest and attention to Māori matters draws on her lived experience. Originating from Te Tai Tokerau in the north of Aotearoa New Zealand, her iwi (tribe) is Ngāpuhi. 

Her journey into the heritage sector began in the 1990s when she worked sole-charge as a Māori Studies librarian and Māori Manuscripts Librarian at the Māori Studies Department, University of Auckland. Since then, she has freelanced as an independent contractor working mainly on Māori cultural heritage and creative design projects as project manager, researcher and facilitator. Her experience includes working with communities as well as senior executives within both iwi and government. 

Hinerangi has extensive experience working with archives, museums and libraries, research projects and land claims. She has worked at Archives New Zealand and is a current board member of Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand. Hinerangi is a founding member of the ICA Expert Group on Indigenous Matters (EGIM). In 2019 the EGIM drafted the Tandanya Adelaide Declaration, the first international archives declaration on Indigenous people and matters. 

Ngoako Marutha is a Professor in the Department of Information Science at the University of South Africa (UNISA). He earned his Master of Information Science in 2011 and a PhD in Literature and Philosophy in 2017, both from UNISA. 

Before, he served as Deputy Director for information and records management in hospitals and later worked at the Limpopo Department of Health and various social security organisations, where he implemented key records management programmes. In 2017, shortly after completing his PhD, he joined UNISA as a Senior Lecturer and became a full Professor in 2021. 

Among other roles in the ICA, he is an elected Executive Member of the International Council on Archives (ICA) Section on University and Research Institution Archives (SUV). He also serves on the National Executive Committee of the South African Society of Archivists, is Editor-in-Chief of its journal, Chairs the Limpopo Provincial Archives and Records Service Advisory Council (LPAAC), and is part of the National Archives Advisory Council (NAAC). 

At UNISA, he supervises Master’s and PhD students in archives, records management, and knowledge governance, and examines theses work for several other universities. His research focuses on archives and records management, including patient and hospital records, electronic records, artificial intelligence, police case records security, and library management. He has published widely in books, chapters, journals, and presented conference papers. 

With an extensive background and more than 15 years of experience, Mary Luna González is specialist in document management, archival education, and project management. In 2020, she co-founded Archiven Soluciones Integrales where, as co-director, she offers consulting, training, and advice in the areas of records and archives management. Prior to this position, she worked in various public offices in Venezuela as an archivist and documentation and information analyst. 

Mary Luna is not only an expert in archives and records management, but also passionate about education and outreach in information management. As a result, she has participated in the creation and implementation of various projects and initiatives to promote professional records management and archival practices in public and private offices, and has co-authored the Special Ordinance on Municipal Archives of the Municipality of Baruta, Venezuela.   

Moreover, Mary Luna has also delivered courses and talks on the importance of records management, archival education and culture, and information technologies. In addition, she is a member of the Asociación Latinoamericana de Archivos (ALA), where she participates in a research project on the history of archival education in Latin America. 

To complement her impressive resume and extensive education, Mary Luna is pursuing her PhD in Management at the Universidad Central de Venezuela. 

Magali Soler is currently the Head of the SCCE (Service Collecte, conseil et encadrement) department at the National Archives of Luxembourg, where she has been based since June 2015. She oversees the workings of the SCCE department, which provides support and advice to various stakeholders such as public agencies in areas relating to records and archival management. She has most recently concluded a major whole-of-government project that involved the implementation of a holistic, end-to-end records and archival management strategy with the objective of operationalising and aligning with Luxembourg’s archival law for public archives. 

With close to two decades of professional experience under her belt, Magali has an extensive career in the archives and records management field. Besides her incumbent post at the National Archives of Luxembourg, she has previously worked for/with notable organisations including Ernst & Young, the European Parliament, and European Institutions in Luxembourg. She also holds a Master’s degree in Art History and a Master’s degree in Archives from Charles de Gaulle University Lille 3. 

Beyond her professional career in records management and archiving, Magali is an all-rounder whose leisure interests including reading, baking and sewing historical costumes. She is also an avid sports enthusiast and even serves as a rugby coach. 

Pepita Raventós Pajares has been the Director of the Archives and Records Management at the University of Lleida (UdL) since 2004, where she has led the implementation of a document management system in accordance with the UNE-ISO 30301 standard, making UdL the first Spanish public university certified under this management system. She holds a degree in History and a PhD in Records and Archives Management from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, with a thesis focused on the systemic integration of records and archives management within organizations. 

She has built a strong career in long-term preservation and standardization at both national and international levels. Notably, she has served as Vice President of the Technical Committee CTN/50 Documentation, SC1 Records and Digital Information Management and Preservation, and in GT9 for Digital Information Preservation. She is also a member of the Commission for Archival Description Standards (NEDA) of the Spanish Ministry of Culture and the National Archives Council of Catalonia. 

A member of the International Council on Archives (ICA) and several professional associations, she has delivered lectures, taught courses, and published specialized articles, establishing herself as a leading expert in records management and digital information preservation. She served on the Executive Committee of the Conference of Archives of Spanish Universities (2008–2017) and currently serves on the ICA/SUV Bureau, contributing to the organization of the ICA/SUV-CAU 2025 Conference in Barcelona. 

Chris Cassells is the Head of Archives and Manuscript Collections at the National Library of Scotland. In this role, he leads a team of manuscript curators to develop and promote the Library’s archival collections, which include archival material from the 9th century to the present day, including born-digital records.  

His experience demonstrates a commitment to moving the profession forward. Before beginning his current role, Chris’ work promoted the importance of archives within various organizations as the Business Archives Surveying Officer for Scotland. He also has worked with community archives, appraising, arranging, cataloguing, and managing various collections, including the Spirit of Revolt Archive, the Singer Archive and Sewing Machine Collection, and the Janey Buchan Political Song Collection. Chris continues to support new professionals as Associate Staff at the University of Dundee’s Archives and Records Management MLitt program, where he teaches modules on recordkeeping and supervises dissertations. 

Chris holds a Master of Arts in Philosophy and English Literature, a Master of Science: Information Management and Preservation, and a Doctor of Philosophy: Information Studies from the University of Glasgow. During his education, he conducted research into the recordkeeping practices of the Stasi and the intellectual history of the monad. His current research interests include philosophy and politics of the archive and archival practice. 

Natalia Mendoza Servín is a lawyer from the University of Guadalajara with a master’s in Transparency and Personal Data Protection and a PhD candidate in Law at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). She has specialized training as a Secretary of the Federal Judiciary, in Gender Studies (UPN), and in Administrative Responsibilities and Mexico’s National Anti-Corruption System (TFJA). 

Likewise, she served as Commissioner at the Institute of Transparency, Access to Information and Personal Data Protection of Jalisco (ITEI). She currently leads the Transparency and General Archive Coordination at the University of Guadalajara and teaches there; she has also taught at Tecnológico de Monterrey and UNIR. She is a board member of the Latin American Association of Archives (ALA), where she coordinates ALA’s Archives and Human Rights group. Furthermore, she is a member of the International Council on Archives’ Section on Archives and Human Rights (SAHR). 

As a lecturer and consultant, her interests include transparency, access to information, personal data protection, archives, open government, anti-corruption, legal culture, feminism, digital violence, and access to justice. 

Mina Ibrahim is an anthropologist and archivist from Cairo, Egypt. The throughline in his research includes, but is not limited to, migration studies, cultures and histories of incarceration, archival practices, and human rights, with a focus on the MENA region and Europe. He is currently a visiting professor at Ghent University in Belgium and a postdoctoral researcher in the MeDiMi project “Human Rights Crimes, Norm Entrepreneurs, and the Implementation of the Principle of Universal Jurisdiction in Germany” at the Centre for Conflict Studies at the University of Marburg. Ibrahim’s research traces the relationship between recent German trials of Syrian regime officials and the everyday concepts of justice held by Syrian refugees and former political prisoners. 

In June 2022, he completed his PhD in Cultural Studies and Sciences from the University of Giessen and published his dissertation, Identity, Marginalisation, Activism, and Victimhood in Egypt: Misfits in the Coptic Christian Community. Ibrahim is also the founder of the Shubra Archive, established in 2021, Egypt’s first community-based neighborhood archive. Ibrahim’s goal is to make the archives accessible to the community. Through workshops and programming, the Shubra Archive helps residents organize their own archives and connects them with others who are interested in doing the same. 

Ibrahim earned an M.A. in Social and Cultural Anthropology from Central European University and a B.A. in Political Science with double minors in Anthropology and History from the American University in Cairo. 

Irina Schmid heads the Digitization Center at The American University in Cairo (AUC), where she also serves as Instructor and Digital Collections Archivist. She is responsible for shaping and implementing digital strategies that support the creation, preservation, and access of important collections, enhancing learning, research, and creativity across the university. She develops user-friendly workflows that make it easier to produce, curate, and manage digital content. 

Before joining AUC, Irina worked with cultural and educational institutions in the UK, Singapore, and Russia, gaining extensive experience in archival appraisal, digitisation, and the management of both modern and historical collections. Under her leadership, AUC has become part of international collaborations that strengthen long-term access to digital heritage. 

Her projects include the digitisation of rare Arabic manuscripts, such as 15th-century Qur’anic texts and Ottoman-era prints, as well as the preservation of cultural artifacts like the Voice of America recordings. She has also supported efforts to make AUC’s multilingual collections more accessible worldwide and contributed to initiatives that brought international recognition to the university’s archives. 

Irina’s approach is collaborative and forward-looking, driven by her belief that digital heritage connects people across time and place while encouraging innovation and discovery for future generations.