Erik Bauer serves as the Archivist for the Diocese of Olympia and Saint Mark’s Cathedral, working at the cathedral on Fridays. Erik holds degrees from Cornell College, Mt Vernon, Iowa (Bachelor of Special Studies in History and English), Salem State University (MA in History), and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (MLIS).
As Archivist, Erik implements standard archival practices to receive, appraise, arrange, describe, and preserve archival materials, and create finding aids. He also proposes and manages policies for personal privacy and confidential records to meet ethical and legal requirements, and he trains volunteers and educates staff on the archives.
Erik has published general and peer-reviewed articles on diocesan history, deaccessioning, and archival studies. He is active in the archival profession and previously served on the Society of American Archivists as co-chair of the 2025 Program Committee and chair of the Archivists of Religious Collections Section. In 2026, the American Association for State and Local History named him a History Leadership Fellow. Before moving to the Pacific Northwest with his family in 2020, Erik worked as the archivist at the Peabody Institute Library and archives manager at the Haverhill Public Library.