February 9, 2011 -- DuraSpace (external link) , a not-for-profit organization providing open source software and services, announced today that Michele Kimpton will assume the role of Chief Executive Officer, effective March 1, 2011. Kimpton is currently the Chief Business Officer of DuraSpace and formerly the Executive Director of the DSpace Foundation.
The National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program has supported Duraspace’s Duracloud, a pilot program that is exploring the use of cloud computing technologies to test the perpetual access to digital content.
Duraspace CEO Michele Kimpton
Kimpton will succeed current CEO Sandy Payette, who will be entering a doctoral program at Cornell University to pursue a PhD and new research focused on the intersection of technology, society and policy. Payette will continue to work with DuraSpace as strategic advisor to the Executive Team through June 2011. Brad McLean will continue in his current role on the Executive Team as Chief Technology Officer.
"DuraSpace is in a very exciting position, with vibrant open source communities, new technologies and strong leadership," said Payette. "We have planned ahead to ensure a seamless transition and to maintain our strategic focus on communities and new services. Michele is the perfect person to lead DuraSpace in next phase of our mission-focused work."
Kimpton was recently featured by the Library of Congress as a Digital Preservation Pioneer for her work in developing entrepreneurial, community-driven and culturally sensitive approaches to creating tools and strategies in support of digital archiving.
