A fond farewell to Lena Zentall

Please join the California Digital Library (CDL) in celebrating the incredible 22-year career of our much admired colleague, Lena Zentall, who will retire from the University on January 3, 2024.  

Lena joined the CDL in 2002 and has worked in various programs and roles during her tenure. Her impact has extended far beyond CDL, as she has regularly made significant contributions to UCOP-wide, UC-wide and broader professional initiatives.

In Lena’s latest role as Associate Director of Discovery & Delivery, she has worked with colleagues and stakeholders across UC to re-envision collaborative action and systemwide services through a shared, UC-wide enterprise library system, the SILS and UC Library Search. The largest library systemwide project undertaken to date, its success was a testament to the dedication and collaboration of hundreds of individuals over a four-year period, earning it the prestigious Silver Sautter Award in 2022; Lena’s enthusiasm, pragmatism and expert organizational and facilitation skills helped guide SILS project management through multiple phases of work, spanning business modeling, a request for proposal process, and implementation. 

At UCOP, Lena previously served on the UC President’s Advisory Committee on the Status of Women (PACSW), where she helped launch the 12-part Conversations about Women’s Leadership in the Workplace series. The impact of this series was clear: it empowered hundreds of women and men at UCOP to voice their concerns and work collectively to overcome obstacles, and was recognized with a UCOP Innovation & Impact Award for Commitment to Culture & Principles.  

Lena is a caring leader, facilitator and mentor, who brings enthusiasm, joy and clarity to all that she does. Here at CDL, she has been a key collaborator and member on the CDL Program Council and CDL DEI Planning Group. She has also served as a CDL representative on the UC Palace project team, striving to enhance the ebook reading experience for UC, and the Collaborative Work Tools project team, investigating ways to facilitate better collaboration systemwide. She further brought her incredible skills and passion to advancing climate justice with the Digital Library Federation.

With great admiration, we wish a fond farewell to Lena. We will miss her positive leadership, pivotal contributions, and heart for making the world a better place; we do look forward to seeing her at future CDL celebrations (particularly our annual Halloween party). Lena’s last day is Tuesday, January 2, 2024.