Dr. Tonia Sutherland is Associate Professor and Associate Dean for Faculty Development in the School of Education and Information Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. Prior to joining the faculty at UCLA, Sutherland was an assistant professor in the Department of Information and Computer Sciences at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and in the College of Communication and Information Sciences at the University of Alabama. Sutherland holds a PhD and an MLIS from the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Computing and Information (formerly the School of Information Studies), and a BA in history, performance studies, and cultural studies from Hampshire College. Global in scope, Suther­land’s research focuses on entanglements of technology and culture, with particular emphases on critical and liberatory work within the fields of archival studies, digital studies, and science and technology studies.

Sutherland is an internationally recognized expert in data futures (particularly data longevity and digital immortality), Black digital archives, and Black Memory Work. Her work critically examines the analog histories of modern information and communication technologies; addresses trends of racialized violence in 21st century digital cultures; and interrogates issues of race, gender, and culture in archival and digital spaces. In her work, Sutherland focuses on various infrastructures–technological, social, human, cultural–addressing important concerns such as gaps and vagaries; issues of equity and inclusivity; and developing more liberatory praxes.