MDAH Announces Two Promotions in Archives and Records Services Division
The Mississippi Department of Archives and History has announced two promotions within its Archives and Records Services Division.
Julie Dees will succeed current ARS Director David Pilcher, who will retire December 31, after 40 years with MDAH. Ally Mellon, the division’s director of library services, will become the division’s first deputy director.
Dees, who had served as head of electronic archives, has been with MDAH since 1996, when she was hired in an IT support role. Dees has a bachelor’s degree in English and history from Millsaps College and a master’s degree in English from the University of North Carolina.
Mellon joined MDAH in 2019. Previously, she worked for the Mississippi Library Commission. Mellon has a bachelor’s in English and journalism from the University of Mississippi and a master’s degree in library and information sciences from the University of Southern Mississippi.
“These promotions will help form a strong leadership team in ARS, which is vital to preserving Mississippi history,” said Katie Blount, director of MDAH. “They’ll succeed David Pilcher, who has dedicated four decades to preserving Mississippi’s archives and the stories they carry.”