DuraSpace’s Chief Financial Officer, Valorie Hollister, will be ending her 12-year tenure with DuraSpace this month. The transition marks a tenure of significant improvement in the financial transparency of the organization.
Since the early days at one of DuraSpace’s predecessor organizations, the DSpace Foundation, Ms. Hollister has shown leadership, versatility, and fiscal savviness. Focused on community building and outreach, she launched and led several community groups, organized user group meetings, played a key role in developing community project governance and elections. She also coordinated professional development offerings, like the DLF/CLIR E-Science Institute.
For the last 5 years, Ms. Hollister has been at the helm of DuraSpace’s financial strategy and management and a key business partner to both the DuraSpace Executive Director and DuraSpace Board of Directors. Tyler Walters, President of the DuraSpace Board of Directors and Dean of University Libraries at Virginia Tech, says, “As a direct result of Valorie’s effort and skill DuraSpace is in the strongest fiscal position in its history, with both the net income and cash flow improved significantly. She provided financial clarity and transparency to the Board of Directors and the broader community. I appreciate and highly value her versatility, dedication, and willingness to take on whatever the organization has needed over the years.”
In her tenure Ms. Hollister developed and managed $1.3M annual fundraising campaign with 198 members from around the world. She was also in charge of the human resources and business management functions, ensuring the DuraSpace team and supporting infrastructure could operate at peak efficiency. Over the past year she led the fiscal and human resources due diligence work for the merger with LYRASIS. Erin Tripp, DuraSpace Executive Director, says “Valorie’s efforts provided the DuraSpace Board of Directors with a comprehensive review of key financial and human resource information. Her efforts were a critical component of the merger process, equipping the Board with in-depth analysis and lines of inquiry that were essential for our Board discussions and decisions.”
In parting Ms. Hollister says, “I have relished my years collaborating with an amazing team of colleagues, the DuraSpace members, the DuraSpace Board of Directors, and the broader user community. I look forward to seeing the DSpace, Fedora, and VIVO projects thrive in the newly combined organization at LYRASIS.”
The DuraSpace team and Board of Directors extend their extend heartfelt thanks to Ms. Hollister for her leadership and wish her the best as she begins the next phase of her career.