Today is Trisha Cruse’s last day at DataCite. There will be many memories, but this being DataCite, we wanted to preserve some of those under a DOI. Below you’ll find some final words from current staff and board members. Goodbye Trisha, you will be missed!

DataCite Board
Irina Sens
Trisha was very important for the founding of DataCite. For the foundation of a German Association you need 7 members and ANDS was not on time in London. So, Trisha decided that CDL becomes a member spontaneously and DataCite could be founded.


Marco Marsella
We (ITPGRFA) became a Datacite Member thanks to Trisha’s support. Due to legal issues, FAO failed to reach an agreement with CDL (for EZID) and the negotiation was abandoned after over three months. With very short time left, we decided to become a Datacite Member and Trisha was so helpful that we really managed to join in a snap! It is still difficult for me to imagine Datacite without Trisha, but I am sure she would like Datacite to succeed regardless, so we need to make this happen as a way of thanking her for leading us here!
Mark Hahnel
My first time talking with Trisha, I was expecting a suit and tie style meeting about business, we went for a drink and she told me fun stories about her time in Alaska. Since then, it’s been a pleasure to be involved with DataCite with Trisha at the helm – A perfect mix of getting the job done to the highest level, whilst not taking life too seriously – I’ve learned a lot from Trisha.
Viv Hutchison
Trisha lights up a room when she is present. Her energy, ideas, and her ability to mix in humor are things I will remember fondly of working with Trisha. I met Trisha through the National Science Foundation’s DataONE project, and followed her career as she transitioned to DataCite. She always contributes so much integrity and leadership to everything she becomes involved in, making it such a pleasure to have been in her presence. One favorite story from DataONE days was at a group dinner of the leadership team, Trisha asked the whole table to go around and reveal their childhood nickname…the things you learn about people! The answers remained sources of laughter and bonding for years! 🙂 Best of luck, Trisha!! You’re awesome!!
John Chodacki
Since the early days of the Making Data Count project to our recent search for her successor, Trisha has helped guide the way I work and the way I problem solve. She has been a friend and a mentor. I really admire her ability to approach complex issues with a friendliness that allows everyone a place at the table. I will miss our day-to-day work together and wish her the best in her retirement!
Adrian Burton
Trisha has a whole suite of landmark achievements to be really proud of – particularly scaling DataCite up to be a credible services and support organisation as well as biting the bullet on the transition to financial sustainability. And she has done it all with such a big smile and infectious energy that the journey has been a pleasant one indeed. All the best for future!
DataCite Staff
The DataCite team said goodbye to Trisha during our last team meeting in Hamburg in June. Together we ate cake (photo below), went out for dinner, and reminisced about all the adventures we had together. During Trisha’s farewell dinner we decided to have one more adventure: we condensed the agenda for the last day and used the afternoon to go to Hamburg’s train museum together. This is a great example of what it was like to work with Trisha: she wanted work to be fun and always made the most of our f2f time.


Trisha, none of us would be here if it were not for you. We are immensely grateful for the trust you put in all of us to join you on this fantastic journey. It has been said that a team is a reflection of its leadership. Rest assured that we will continue reflecting the values of your leadership.
Not only are DataCite members located all over the globe, but the DataCite staff works completely remotely, with nine staff members in eight cities and five countries, spanning nine time zones. Trisha, you managed this challenge with a smile, even if it involved many very early morning calls (6 AM was not too early to talk to the team regularly) and lots of travel.
The energy you have brought to our early morning team meetings, your great sense of humor successfully cooled down our intense discussions e.g. around roadmap priorities, your positive spirit in very-early-morning or in-flight budget talks, the way you made sure that everyone in the room was heard……YOU will be missed! Your DataCite team

“What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.” – T.S. Eliot
