SPARC is pleased to welcome April Clyburne-Sherin as a Senior Manager, Programs & Engagement. In this newly created position, she will play a central role in translating SPARC’s strategic direction into effective, responsive programs for members and the broader community.

Clyburne-Sherin has been an open research consultant since 2017, working with a variety of clients including SPARC, CUNY, Code for Science and Society, Code Ocean, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. At SPARC, she has helped develop member resources, support International Open Access Week, and organize a new community-building model for OpenCon.

“I’ve worked with SPARC for more than ten years and have seen how the organization focuses on the needs of members and really values people,” Clyburne-Sherin said. “I know what it feels like to collaborate with SPARC, and I look forward to being part of the team.”

Clyburne-Sherin attended the first OpenCon in 2014 – and every gathering since. She said it has been an empowering, life-changing experience to connect with fellow early career researchers. As a student, she co-launched the OOO Canada network to promote open access, open data, and open education in Canada.

An epidemiologist by training, Clyburne-Sherin became interested in rigor and reproducibility of science during her graduate degree. She worked at the Center for Open Science as a reproducible research consultant, Code Ocean as a director of scientific outreach and was part of the Community 4 Rigor Curriculum team at the University of Pennsylvania. In 2018, she co-founded Reproducibility for Everyone, a community-led collaborative teaching open research skills.

Transitioning to a full-time position at SPARC, Clyburne-Sherin said she welcomes the chance to think long-term about the needs of members, reinvigorate the OpenCon community, and apply her experience with community-led and peer-production projects.

Clyburne-Sherin has a bachelor of arts degree in history from Mount Allison University and a master of science in epidemiology from the University of Guelph.

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