Staff Bios

Kendra is metadata and information specialist with Internet Scout Research Group at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She holds her MA in library and information studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a MA in arts management from Columbia College Chicago, and a certificate in artifact collection care from the University of Chicago. Prior to joining the Scout team, Kendra taught as adjunct faculty at Columbia, instructing arts management and business writing courses, and served as acting collections manager of Columbia’s fashion study collection. Kendra has a strong interest in the openness movement, particularly as it pertains to cultural objects and datasets that have the potential to help realize positive change in people’s lives.

Jessica grew up in suburban Chicago and attended high school near Rockford, Illinois. When the time came, she decided to attend Southern Illinois University - Carbondale with aspirations of becoming an interior designer. That dream quickly changed, and she ended up receiving a BS in Speech Communication and Public Relations. After having lived in Illinois her whole life, she and her future husband moved to Boise, Idaho for a period of six years. Jessica really missed lightening bugs, so she packed up her whole family and moved back to the Midwest. Jessica is currently pursuing a MA in Library and Information Studies at UW Madison while working at Internet Scout. She spends her spare time attempting to make recipes featured on The Great British Baking Show, retrieving Cheetos out of her daughter's nose, and exploring various "swing-'n-slides" around Madison. 

Hailing from historic Ripon, Wisconsin Molly attended college in Iowa and then headed north to Minneapolis, Minnesota. Here, she spent several years teaching in a variety of settings, most recently as an adult educator. Molly was eventually lured back to her home state by the opportunity to pursue graduate studies. She completed an M.A. in Educational Policy Studies in 2017 and wrote a thesis examining the history of adult education and print culture at the Wisconsin State Prison. She is currently working on her Master's in Library and Information Sciences. When not writing or studying, Molly enjoys listening to new music, visiting the Chazen Art Museum, perusing local bookstores, and exploring new places by foot. 

Michelle grew up in Richland Center, Wisconsin and moved to Madison to finish her undergraduate degree in History and European Studies.  After volunteering at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum for a few years, she decided to pursue a career in archives.  Michelle is now a graduate student at UW-Madison in Library and Information Studies and also works on manuscript collections at the Wisconsin State Historical Society. In her free time she enjoys hanging out with her two dogs, playing the board game Firefly, and reading too many Stephen King novels.

Originally from in a suburb outside of Chicago, Amanda is now starting her second year as an undergraduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Amanda is pursuing her Bachelor of Arts degree in public relations and hopes to attend graduate school after receiving her bachelor's. Along with working at Internet Scout and being a full-time student, Amanda is involved in many organizations on campus including being a writer for the online magazine Her Campus, as well as a member of the Public Relations Student Society of America. In her free time, Amanda enjoys writing, traveling with her family, and visiting the Terrace as much as she can.

Sarah grew up in Glenview, IL, a suburb just northwest of Chicago. Her passion for social justice and research led to pursuing Bachelor of Arts degrees in sociology and communication science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she is currently a junior. She gets the most joy spending time outside, whether that be biking in Madison's parks, canoeing on Lake Mendota (when warm enough to do so!), or traveling as much as possible to far flung natural wonders to backpack. When the cold gets in the way, she enjoys practicing yoga, hanging out with her super cool cat Gio, and jamming to funky tunes. She hopes to do her part to make the world a more compassionate, humane place.