Deborah Hicks is an assistant professor at the School of Information at San Jose State University. She holds a PhD from the University of Alberta. Her research is focused on the professional identity of information professionals and how this identity informs the work they do, the organizations they run, and the relationships and communities they build. Her research has been published in journals including Library Quarterly, Library Trends, and Canadian Journal of Information and Library Sciences. She has presented at conferences in North American and Europe.