Lester Carver

Data Services Specialist

Lester Carver has a geospatial analysis, data management, discourse analysis, and data-based communications background. They hold an MS degree in Geographic Information Science from Clark University. Lester has instructed on GIS tools, geospatial analysis methods, and spatial database development. They worked on projects such as the Just Urban Futures project, where they used nighttime satellite imagery to explore police surveillance around public housing developments. They also developed a web-map documenting scraped tweeting activity about the 2022 escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War over. Before coming to Boston College, Lester worked in the non-profit sector doing knowledge management, evaluation, and project management. They are most excited by projects that help users interact with and make meaning of data in accessible ways.

Melanie Hubbard

Head of Digital Scholarship and Data Services, Co-Director of the Graduate Certificate in Digital Humanities

Melanie Hubbard has a background in film, literary studies, history of the book studies, and library and information science. Her library career began while earning her MA in English at Loyola Marymount University (LMU), where she first held a position in the Department of Archives and Special Collections and became LMU’s first digital scholarship librarian after earning her MLIS from Syracuse University. Before working in libraries, she was a filmmaking industry professional, initially working in post-production and then in the art department, where she spent most of her time. Her creative background heavily influences her approach to DS methodologies and practices, management style, and vision for DS and the digital world more broadly.

Antonio LoPiano

Digital Humanities Program Specialist

Antonio LoPiano, PhD has developed a suite of skills in digital approaches to scholarship through his research into the archeology of the ancient Mediterranean, including mapping, 3D scanning, and creating virtual exhibits. He holds an MA in Mediterranean Archaeology from the University of Tennessee and a Ph.D. in Classical Archaeology from Duke University. At Duke, Antonio assisted faculty on interdisciplinary research projects incorporating GIS and photogrammetry, such as the Mapping Occupied Krakow Project, as part of the Digital Art History and Visual Culture Research Lab. He also has a wealth of experience teaching students how to utilize these skills in the classroom at Duke and in the field as a Vulci 3000 Archaeological Project field supervisor. Recently, Antonio planned and executed a remote sensing survey project at the ancient Etruscan City of Doganella and published a smartphone app that guides visitors to the archaeological park of Vulci through the ground penetrating radar collected there. He enjoys creating projects that enhance the impact of data, expand access, and facilitate scholarly collaboration.

Joanna Schroeder

Data Services Librarian

Joanna Schroeder specializes in finding and using data in creative ways to provide insights into complex problems. Previously, she worked as a data science research specialist at the University of Virginia’s Biocomplexity Institute, where she applied data discovery, analysis, and visualization skills to provide local, actionable metrics on topics like food security, broadband availability, and access to health services. For projects like the Status of Women and Girls in Fairfax County, she combined multiple data sources to paint a picture of well-being with an emphasis on intersectional identity and spatial equity. She has experience teaching and mentoring students through the Data Science for the Public Good Young Scholars Program. She received her MLIS from Drexel University and completed an internship with the Center for Library Science of the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

Ashlyn Stewart

Digital Scholarship Specialist

Ashlyn Stewart, PhD specializes in textual data, especially creating and maintaining digital archives and editions. She has a dual background in both digital humanities and nineteenth-century American literature, history, and culture. She completed her PhD in English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), where she also earned a graduate certificate in Digital Humanities, worked on the Walt Whitman and Charles W. Chesnutt Archives at UNL’s Center for Digital Research in the Humanities, and taught courses for the UNL’s English department. While she loves to work on projects anchored in American literature and history, Ashlyn enjoys designing and implementing durable digital projects based on any textual collection.

Dave Thomas

Digital Scholarship Specialist

David Thomas has taught, presented, and published at the intersection of ancient history and digital humanities, as well as digital scholarship more broadly. He holds an MA in history from Brown University and Northern Illinois University. Before coming to Boston College, he was an instructor of digital humanities and ancient history at the University of South Florida. He was the sole developer of the Networks of Roman Eleusis project, which tracked and visualized information about hundreds of ancient inscriptions and individuals from an Athenian religious sanctuary. He has also published packages in Python, including a module that makes performing text analysis on Latin and Greek texts easier for students. He has worked in text analysis, network analysis, and other areas, but most of all, he is a full-stack web programmer who focuses on helping students and faculty build digital projects for the web in a sustainable way.