Heather Joseph is a longtime advocate and strategist in the movement for open access to knowledge. She is the Executive Director of SPARC, an international alliance of libraries committed to creating a more open and equitable ecosystem for research and education. She leads SPARCs policy efforts, which have produced national laws and executive actions supporting the free and open sharing of research articles, data and textbooks, and has worked on international efforts to promote open access with organizations including the United Nations,, The World Bank, UNESCO, and the World Health Organization. Prior to joining SPARC, she spent 15 years as a publishing executive, focusing on new models of science communication. Heather is particularly committed to promoting leadership opportunities for students and early career professionals. She supported the creation of the global OpenCon initiative and the student Right to Research Coalition, creating advocacy opportunities for young leaders worldwide. She frequently donates her time to start-up initiatives dedicated to championing equitable and open access to knowledge. A proud longtime resident of Washington DC, she can regularly be found in the stands at Nationals’ Park.