Growing Connections, Growing Impact: Stacie Powell’s Data Services Journey

Earlier this year, Stacie Powell was fortunate to receive two competitive travel awards that allowed her to grow as Clemson’s Data Services Librarian and connect with national leaders in research data management (RDM). These awards gave her the chance to attend the CURATED Fundamentals Workshop at the National Institute of Health (NIH) in March, and later present at the NSF-sponsored Building Research Innovation at Community Colleges – Research Data Management (BRICCs-RDM) conference in July.

Both opportunities highlighted the power of professional networks and the importance of investing in data services at research institutions. At NIH, the CURATED workshop, organized by the Office of Data Science Strategy in partnership with the Data Curation Network, immersed participants in hands-on curation exercises with real datasets. The peer-to-peer format was a highlight for Powell, fostering rich conversations among librarians and data professionals from universities, research foundations, and government agencies. Despite the varied institutional sizes and infrastructures, they discovered they were navigating many of the same challenges: rising expectations for data services, increasing demand for research data support, and the ever-present constraints of funding.  She left Bethesda with sharpened curation skills, strategies for advancing Clemson’s data repository efforts, and new collaborators whose perspectives continue to inform her work.

The BRICCs-RDM conference built on that momentum and offered her a unique opportunity to engage with the broader data community.  Powell presented a paper co-authored with Associate Dean Elias Tzoc titled “Rebuilding an RDM Program from the Ground Up: Strategies, Lessons, and Seizing the Little Wins,” and she also served as a panelist on a data preservation session. The conference brought together librarians, cyberinfrastructure operators, researchers, data curators, faculty, and industry partners (groups that rarely sit at the same table) to examine data holistically, share challenges, and explore practical strategies for building a sustainable ecosystem for research data management.  Conversations with colleagues from Texas A&M, Northwestern, and the University of Tennessee sparked new ideas for strengthening RDM policy, governance, and training at Clemson.  What stood out most to her was the chance to hear so many different perspectives and to openly exchange lessons learned and insights that can shape the future of RDM.

Winning these competitive travel awards mattered.  They made it possible for Powell to both deepen her technical expertise and share Clemson’s story on a national stage.  Just as importantly, they allowed her to grow the network of professionals she can draw on as we continue building open, sustainable, and forward-looking data services for our campus.

“We’re lucky to have Stacie on the Libraries’ team, in just one year, she’s been instrumental in leading several initiatives including: revamping our campus partnerships with the Division of Research and CCIT; implementing the rebranding of the Data Visualization Lab; leading the creation of a new Research Data Commons website; and networking and engaging with national organizations like the Data Curation Network.” — Elias Tzoc, Associate Dean for Teaching, Learning, and Research, Clemson University Libraries