Amber Cushing

Associate Professor Amber Cushing is a faculty member at the School of Information and Communication Studies, University College Dublin (UCD), where she teaches and conducts research in digital curation, personal information management (PIM), and digital preservation. She earned her PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an MLIS from Simmons College, and a BA in History from Mount Holyoke College. Her interdisciplinary research bridges information science, cultural heritage, and social justice.

Her research focuses on how individuals and institutions maintain digital information over time, with an emphasis on identity, inequality, and care. She investigates PIM behaviors across diverse populations, including LGBTQ+ families, nonbinary individuals, and doctoral students. Her work explores how digital systems—such as birth certificates—can reinforce social inequalities and how AI is reshaping archival expertise. She has led major projects like Walk1916, a mobile app for public access to cultural heritage, and has published extensively on digital preservation education in Ireland.

Her recent publications (2020–2024) reveal a strong trend toward ethical, inclusive, and socially conscious information practices, particularly in the context of AI, identity, and participatory heritage. Her work frequently employs qualitative methods and is published in top journals such as Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, Journal of Documentation, and Archives and Records.

She has received multiple honors, including:

• Finalist, European Award for Excellence in Teaching (2021)
• UCD College Teaching Award (2018)
• Finalist, DPC Digital Preservation Awards for Teaching and Communications (2018)
• Best Short Research Paper at I Conference (2018)
• Finalist in GradIreland and European Digital Skills Awards (2017)

She actively mentors students, develops curriculum, and leads funded research projects. She has advised on digital curation education and serves on professional committees, including the Society of American Archivists and the Digital Preservation Coalition. Her teaching includes modules on digital curation, personal information management, and research methods, with a focus on real-world applications and project-based learning.

She has led several significant grants, including those from the Irish Research Council and UCD, supporting initiatives in participatory heritage, AI in preservation, and digital skills development. She is deeply involved in professional service, including conference organization (e.g., I Conference, Virtual Heritage Network), peer review, and public engagement on open data ethics.