The Team
Mariangeles Arce H., PhD
Executive Director, Center for Systematic Biology and Evolution (CSBE), Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University
Mariangeles Arce H. oversees the research agenda of CSBE and provides the resources for curators and collection managers to align with the institutional science goals. Arce H.’s background is in ichthyology, taxonomy, phylogenetics, and systematics. She was a collection manager for 10 years at the Academy prior to this role. Arce H. Is the executive sponsor for the Digital Collections Infrastructure (DCI) signature initiative and works directly with the project lead to liase with the project team and Academy senior leadership.
Briana Giasullo
Cataloging and Digital Resources Librarian, Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University
Briana Giasullo started in the administrative offices of the Free Library of Philadelphia (FLP). Inspired by the FLP's mission, she decided to become a librarian and earned a master's degree in Library and Information Science from Drexel University. She then volunteered in the FLP archives, worked at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania (HSP), and learned about library and archives digitization. She loved finding creative ways to make collections accessible on the internet, and combined this with her passion for nature when she joined the Academy of Natural Sciences in 2023. She is excited to be leading this project to expand access to biodiversity collections.
Jessica M. Lydon
Brooke Dolan Archivist, Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University
Jessica M. Lydon is chiefly responsible for the stewardship of the Academy’s Archives including collections care, development, cataloging, research and reference services, and facilitating use of archival materials, art, and artifacts in teaching, museum exhibitions, and programs. Before joining Drexel, Lydon worked in various academic and museum archives, and special collections libraries in the Greater Philadelphia region. She is committed to initiatives that diversify the materials held in archives and the people who steward them and building archival awareness and expanding discovery and access to special collections generally.
Dr. Alejandra Martinez-Melo
Collection Manager of Invertebrate Paleontology, Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University
Alejandra Martinez-Melo is a Marine Biologist whose passion for Evolution naturally led her into the field of Paleontology. She holds a PhD in Marine Biology from UNAM (Mexico) and currently serves as the Collection Manager of Invertebrate Paleontology at the Academy of Natural Sciences. Her work is driven by two deep passions: exploring the evolutionary history of echinoderms and supporting scientists around the world through the stewardship and accessibility of scientific collections. Alejandra is dedicated to fostering collaboration and advancing research through the rich resources of the paleontological record.
Dr. Pedro M. P. Raposo, DPhil
Interim Head of University Libraries, Drexel University Libraries
Martha Hamilton and I. Wistar Morris III Executive Director, Library and Archives, Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University
Invited Professor for the History of Science, Department of History, Drexel University
Pedro M. P. Raposo oversees Drexel’s Hagerty Library, which serves an academic community of +30,000 students, faculty, and staff, plus the Academy’s rare book collection, archives, and extensive reference library, which constitute one of the most significant libraries in America in the fields of biodiversity and environmental science. Raposo holds a degree in biology and geology with a specialization in education and a master’s degree in history and philosophy of science, both from the University of Lisbon, Portugal, and PhD in history of science from the University of Oxford, United Kingdom, where he was awarded the Magellan Prize for his doctoral project on the history of 19th-century astronomical observatories. Before joining Drexel, Raposo was a postdoctoral fellow and lecturer at the University of Lisbon, a visiting scholar at the Max Planck institute for the History of Science in Berlin, and Curator and Director of Collections at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, where he was responsible for the Planetarium's renowned collections of rare books, scientific instruments, and archives.
Joseph H. Resnick
Sr. Director, Technology and Infrastructure, Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University
Joseph Resnick has been an integral part of the Academy since 1998, initially spearheading our Y2K preparation efforts. Over the years, he has contributed in various capacities, primarily focusing on technology in a variety of roles, and more recently, on facility and other operational services. Despite his diverse responsibilities, his passion for Information Technology and computing remains unwavering. Resnick holds a Master's degree in Emerging Technology from the University of Pennsylvania. He is dedicated to supporting faculty and staff by implementing innovative technologies that enhance their research capabilities.
Chelsea R. Smith, PhD
Collections Manager, Botany Department, Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University
Chelsea Smith, PhD, is the collections manager for the PH herbarium. Dr. Smith’s research revolves around the phylogenomics of the plant family Apocynaceae, the milkweed and dogbane family, and its co-evolution with Danainae, the milkweed butterflies. In addition to the herbarium, Dr. Smith has also worked in the diatom collection and the invertebrate paleontology collection. A primary focus of her tenure as herbarium collection manager has been the digitization and resulting data curation of the 1.4 million specimens in the collection. To date, over half of the specimens have been digitized including, fully, the algae, fungi, lichen, and bryophyte collections.
