Sarah JONES (in memoriam)

Sarah Jones (1981-2023) was an essential component of the EOSC Association since its founding, serving as a member of the board of directors from 2021 until her passing. She lived in the Netherlands for the last few years of her life, and has dual Irish and British citizenship.

Sarah was an experienced information professional with a background in Open Science and data management. She held several roles over the past 15 years in data centres, university support services and collaborative projects, including 12 years at the University of Glasgow Library, culminating in the role of Associate Director of its Digital Curation Centre.

For the last three years of her life, Sarah worked at GÉANT as the EOSC Engagement Manager, nurturing NREN activities on Open Science and coordinating their engagement in EOSC.

Sarah’s engagement in EOSC governance began as far back as November 2018, when she was appointed as a European Commission independent expert for the EOSC Executive Board (among other appointments). In this role, she took responsibility for the EOSC FAIR Working Group and contributed to the Executive Board’s Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA). She was instrumental in bringing together the Statutes for the EOSC Association.

Sarah’s colleagues at GÉANT recognized her as a strong community builder who brings an international focus to her work. She studied the German language and the country’s economic and social history at university before pursuing her MSc in Digital Information Management and Preservation. Apart from the Netherlands, Sarah also lived abroad in both Germany and Australia. Through her work, Sarah Jones, built a strong international community of collaborators and thrived in the global, multi-cultural environment of the Open Science community. At the time of her passing, she was a central and catalysing figure in the community.