diff --git a/packages/openneuro-app/src/scripts/authentication/profile.ts b/packages/openneuro-app/src/scripts/authentication/profile.ts
index 139139443..85bbb89ad 100644
--- a/packages/openneuro-app/src/scripts/authentication/profile.ts
+++ b/packages/openneuro-app/src/scripts/authentication/profile.ts
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import jwtDecode from "jwt-decode"
 export interface OpenNeuroTokenProfile {
   sub: string
   admin: boolean
+  email?: string
   iat: number
   exp: number
   scopes?: string[]
diff --git a/packages/openneuro-app/src/scripts/contributors/__tests__/contributor-list.spec.tsx b/packages/openneuro-app/src/scripts/contributors/__tests__/contributor-list.spec.tsx
index 07c6a4bde..ddc8e7946 100644
--- a/packages/openneuro-app/src/scripts/contributors/__tests__/contributor-list.spec.tsx
+++ b/packages/openneuro-app/src/scripts/contributors/__tests__/contributor-list.spec.tsx
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@ import { MockedProvider } from "@apollo/client/testing"
 import { ContributorsListDisplay } from "../contributors-list"
 import { GET_USERS } from "../../queries/users"
 import type { Contributor } from "../../types/datacite"
+import * as profileModule from "../../authentication/profile"
+import { vi } from "vitest"
 
 describe("ContributorsListDisplay", () => {
   const baseContributors: Contributor[] = [
@@ -34,13 +36,15 @@ describe("ContributorsListDisplay", () => {
       result: {
         data: {
           users: {
-            users: [{
-              id: "1",
-              name: "Jane Doe",
-              avatar: "",
-              orcid: "",
-              __typename: "User",
-            }],
+            users: [
+              {
+                id: "1",
+                name: "Jane Doe",
+                avatar: "",
+                orcid: "",
+                __typename: "User",
+              },
+            ],
             totalCount: 1,
             __typename: "UsersResponse",
           },
@@ -55,13 +59,15 @@ describe("ContributorsListDisplay", () => {
       result: {
         data: {
           users: {
-            users: [{
-              id: "2",
-              name: "John Smith",
-              avatar: "",
-              orcid: "",
-              __typename: "User",
-            }],
+            users: [
+              {
+                id: "2",
+                name: "John Smith",
+                avatar: "",
+                orcid: "",
+                __typename: "User",
+              },
+            ],
             totalCount: 1,
             __typename: "UsersResponse",
           },
@@ -81,6 +87,17 @@ describe("ContributorsListDisplay", () => {
     },
   ]
 
+  // Mock getProfile so hasEdit === true
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    vi.spyOn(profileModule, "getProfile").mockReturnValue({
+      sub: "123",
+      email: "test@example.com",
+      admin: false,
+      iat: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000),
+      exp: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000) + 3600,
+    })
+  })
+
   const renderComponent = (props = {}) =>
     render(
       <MockedProvider mocks={mocks} addTypename={false}>
@@ -95,14 +112,12 @@ describe("ContributorsListDisplay", () => {
 
   it("renders contributors list", async () => {
     renderComponent()
-    // Match Jane Doe
     expect(
       await screen.findByText((content) =>
         ["Jane", "Doe"].every((part) => content.includes(part))
       ),
     ).toBeInTheDocument()
 
-    // Match John Smith
     expect(
       screen.getByText((content) =>
         ["John", "Smith"].every((part) => content.includes(part))
@@ -136,9 +151,10 @@ describe("ContributorsListDisplay", () => {
     const addButton = await screen.findByText("Add Contributor")
     fireEvent.click(addButton)
 
-    expect(
-      await screen.findAllByPlaceholderText("Type name or ORCID (or add new)"),
-    ).toHaveLength(3)
+    const nameInputs = await screen.findAllByPlaceholderText(
+      "Type name or ORCID (or add new)",
+    )
+    expect(nameInputs).toHaveLength(3)
   })
 
   it("shows an error when trying to submit with empty name", async () => {
diff --git a/packages/openneuro-app/src/scripts/contributors/contributors-list.tsx b/packages/openneuro-app/src/scripts/contributors/contributors-list.tsx
index 823a7ddc8..9d5746bbd 100644
--- a/packages/openneuro-app/src/scripts/contributors/contributors-list.tsx
+++ b/packages/openneuro-app/src/scripts/contributors/contributors-list.tsx
@@ -1,12 +1,16 @@
 import React, { useEffect, useState } from "react"
+import { toast } from "react-toastify"
 import { gql, useMutation } from "@apollo/client"
 import * as Sentry from "@sentry/react"
 import type { Contributor } from "../types/datacite"
 import { SingleContributorDisplay } from "./contributor"
+import ToastContent from "../common/partials/toast-content"
 import { Loading } from "../components/loading/Loading"
 import { ContributorFormRow } from "./contributor-form-row"
 import { cloneContributor } from "./contributor-utils"
 import { CREATE_CONTRIBUTOR_CITATION_EVENT } from "../queries/datasetEvents"
+import { useCookies } from "react-cookie"
+import { getProfile } from "../authentication/profile"
 
 interface ContributorsListDisplayProps {
   contributors: Contributor[] | null | undefined
@@ -60,8 +64,37 @@ export const ContributorsListDisplay: React.FC<ContributorsListDisplayProps> = (
   const [editingContributors, setEditingContributors] = useState<
     Contributor[]
   >(contributors?.map((c) => ({ ...c, order: c.order ?? 0 })) || [])
-
   const [errors, setErrors] = useState<Record<number, string>>({})
+  const [cookies] = useCookies()
+  const profile = getProfile(cookies)
+
+  const hasEdit = Boolean(profile?.email)
+
+  const handleEditClick = () => {
+    if (!hasEdit) {
+      toast.error(
+        <ToastContent
+          title="Connect an Email"
+          body={
+            <>
+              Connect an email to make contributions to OpenNeuro. See our{" "}
+              <a
+                href="https://docs.openneuro.org/orcid.html#enabling-trusted-access-to-emails"
+                target="_blank"
+                rel="noopener noreferrer"
+                style={{ color: "#007bff", textDecoration: "underline" }}
+              >
+                ORCID documentation
+              </a>{" "}
+              for detailed instructions.
+            </>
+          }
+        />,
+      )
+      return
+    }
+    setIsEditing(true)
+  }
 
   useEffect(() => {
     if (contributors) {
@@ -106,6 +139,7 @@ export const ContributorsListDisplay: React.FC<ContributorsListDisplayProps> = (
       },
     },
   )
+
   const [createContributorCitationEvent] = useMutation(
     CREATE_CONTRIBUTOR_CITATION_EVENT,
     {
@@ -114,6 +148,7 @@ export const ContributorsListDisplay: React.FC<ContributorsListDisplayProps> = (
       },
     },
   )
+
   const handleChange = (
     index: number,
     field: keyof Contributor,
@@ -276,7 +311,7 @@ export const ContributorsListDisplay: React.FC<ContributorsListDisplayProps> = (
         {editable && !isEditing && (
           <button
             className="on-button on-button--small on-button--primary"
-            onClick={() => setIsEditing(true)}
+            onClick={handleEditClick}
             style={{
               width: 60,
               top: -5,
diff --git a/packages/openneuro-app/src/scripts/dataset/components/dataset-event-item.tsx b/packages/openneuro-app/src/scripts/dataset/components/dataset-event-item.tsx
index 7527f23a2..970cd6c75 100644
--- a/packages/openneuro-app/src/scripts/dataset/components/dataset-event-item.tsx
+++ b/packages/openneuro-app/src/scripts/dataset/components/dataset-event-item.tsx
@@ -151,7 +151,7 @@ export const DatasetEventItem: React.FC<DatasetEventItemProps> = ({
       } else if (event.event.type === "contributorCitation") {
         return (
           <>
-            {event.event.resolutionStatus} contributorship
+            Contributor added to authors
           </>
         )
       } else {
diff --git a/packages/openneuro-app/src/scripts/types/event-types.ts b/packages/openneuro-app/src/scripts/types/event-types.ts
index 6ad1077f4..655eb2140 100644
--- a/packages/openneuro-app/src/scripts/types/event-types.ts
+++ b/packages/openneuro-app/src/scripts/types/event-types.ts
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ export const mapRawEventToMappedNotification = (
       needsReview = approval === "pending"
       break
     case "contributorCitation":
-      title = "is requesting"
+      title = "added"
       adminUser = user
       // fallback to rawNotification.user if target is missing (but not the admin)
       targetUser = target ||
diff --git a/packages/openneuro-app/src/scripts/users/notifications/user-notification-accordion-header.tsx b/packages/openneuro-app/src/scripts/users/notifications/user-notification-accordion-header.tsx
index 9a4cc8863..9e85bffc1 100644
--- a/packages/openneuro-app/src/scripts/users/notifications/user-notification-accordion-header.tsx
+++ b/packages/openneuro-app/src/scripts/users/notifications/user-notification-accordion-header.tsx
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ export const NotificationHeader: React.FC<NotificationHeaderProps> = ({
               <>
                 <Username user={adminUser} /> {title}{" "}
                 <Username user={targetUser} />
-                {" be added to "}
+                {" as a contributor to "}
               </>
             )
             : (
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ export const NotificationHeader: React.FC<NotificationHeaderProps> = ({
           <a href={datasetLink} className={styles.titlelink}>
             {datasetId}
           </a>{" "}
-          {resStatus}
+          {type != "contributorCitation" ? resStatus : ""}
         </span>
       )
     }
diff --git a/packages/openneuro-app/src/scripts/users/notifications/user-notifications-accordion-body.tsx b/packages/openneuro-app/src/scripts/users/notifications/user-notifications-accordion-body.tsx
index 3757f0b56..dc2ddfdc8 100644
--- a/packages/openneuro-app/src/scripts/users/notifications/user-notifications-accordion-body.tsx
+++ b/packages/openneuro-app/src/scripts/users/notifications/user-notifications-accordion-body.tsx
@@ -58,6 +58,15 @@ export const NotificationBodyContent: React.FC<NotificationBodyContentProps> = (
     )
   }
 
+  if (approval === "accepted" && isContributorCitation) {
+    return (
+      <div>
+        The following user has been added as a contributor to {datasetId}.
+        {renderContribInfo()}
+      </div>
+    )
+  }
+
   if (approval === "accepted" && isContributorRequest) {
     return (
       <div>
diff --git a/packages/openneuro-server/src/graphql/resolvers/__tests__/user.spec.ts b/packages/openneuro-server/src/graphql/resolvers/__tests__/user.spec.ts
index 25b8b7705..ace282aa3 100644
--- a/packages/openneuro-server/src/graphql/resolvers/__tests__/user.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/openneuro-server/src/graphql/resolvers/__tests__/user.spec.ts
@@ -133,9 +133,24 @@ describe("user resolvers", () => {
   })
 
   describe("users()", () => {
-    it("rejects data for non-admin context", async () => {
-      await expect(users(null, {}, nonAdminContext)).rejects.toThrow(
-        "You must be a site admin to retrieve users",
+    it("returns sanitized data for non-admin context", async () => {
+      const result = await users(null, {}, nonAdminContext)
+
+      // Should return all non-migrated users (same as admin)
+      expect(result.users.length).toBe(6)
+      expect(result.totalCount).toBe(6)
+
+      // Sensitive fields should be hidden
+      result.users.forEach((u) => {
+        expect(u.email).toBeNull()
+        expect(u.blocked).toBeNull()
+        expect(u.admin).toBeNull()
+      })
+
+      // Non-sensitive fields should still be populated
+      const userIds = result.users.map((u) => u.id)
+      expect(userIds).toEqual(
+        expect.arrayContaining(["u1", "u2", "u3", "u4", "u6", "u7"]),
       )
     })
 
diff --git a/packages/openneuro-server/src/graphql/resolvers/datasetEvents.ts b/packages/openneuro-server/src/graphql/resolvers/datasetEvents.ts
index c73efc8e0..0e5c1a1a1 100644
--- a/packages/openneuro-server/src/graphql/resolvers/datasetEvents.ts
+++ b/packages/openneuro-server/src/graphql/resolvers/datasetEvents.ts
@@ -348,6 +348,8 @@ export async function updateEventStatus(obj, { eventId, status }, { user }) {
 
 /**
  * Create a 'contributor citation' event
+ * Immediately adds the contributor to datacite.yml
+ * Automatically sets the resolutionStatus to 'accepted'
  */
 export async function createContributorCitationEvent(
   obj,
@@ -373,6 +375,39 @@ export async function createContributorCitationEvent(
     contributorType: contributorData.contributorType || "Researcher",
   }
 
+  // --- Immediately add to datacite.yml ---
+  const existingDatacite = await getDataciteYml(datasetId)
+  const existingContributors = existingDatacite?.data.attributes.contributors ||
+    []
+
+  const mappedExisting: Contributor[] = existingContributors.map((
+    c,
+    index,
+  ) => ({
+    name: c.name || "Unknown Contributor",
+    givenName: c.givenName || "",
+    familyName: c.familyName || "",
+    orcid: c.nameIdentifiers?.[0]?.nameIdentifier,
+    contributorType: c.contributorType || "Researcher",
+    order: index + 1,
+  }))
+
+  const newContributor: Contributor = {
+    name: finalContributorData.name || "Unknown Contributor",
+    givenName: finalContributorData.givenName || "",
+    familyName: finalContributorData.familyName || "",
+    orcid: finalContributorData.orcid,
+    contributorType: finalContributorData.contributorType || "Researcher",
+    order: mappedExisting.length + 1,
+  }
+
+  await updateContributorsUtil(
+    datasetId,
+    [...mappedExisting, newContributor],
+    user,
+  )
+
+  // --- Log dataset event ---
   const event = new DatasetEvent({
     datasetId,
     userId: user,
@@ -382,7 +417,7 @@ export async function createContributorCitationEvent(
       addedBy: user,
       targetUserId,
       contributorData: finalContributorData,
-      resolutionStatus: "pending",
+      resolutionStatus: "accepted", // auto-approved
     },
     success: true,
     note: `User ${user} added a contributor citation for user ${targetUserId}.`,
@@ -390,11 +425,13 @@ export async function createContributorCitationEvent(
 
   await event.save()
   await event.populate("user")
+
   return event
 }
 
 /**
  * Process a contributor citation (accept or deny)
+ * No longer updates datacite.yml — only logs a response event
  */
 export async function processContributorCitation(
   obj,
@@ -432,6 +469,7 @@ export async function processContributorCitation(
   citationEvent.event.resolutionStatus = status
   await citationEvent.save()
 
+  // --- Only log response event ---
   const responseEvent = new DatasetEvent({
     datasetId: citationEvent.datasetId,
     userId: user,
@@ -452,43 +490,5 @@ export async function processContributorCitation(
   await responseEvent.save()
   await responseEvent.populate("user")
 
-  if (status === "accepted") {
-    const { contributorData } = citationEvent.event
-    if (!contributorData) {
-      throw new Error("Contributor data missing in citation event.")
-    }
-
-    const existingDatacite = await getDataciteYml(citationEvent.datasetId)
-    const existingContributors =
-      existingDatacite?.data.attributes.contributors || []
-
-    const mappedExisting: Contributor[] = existingContributors.map((
-      c,
-      index,
-    ) => ({
-      name: c.name || "Unknown Contributor",
-      givenName: c.givenName || "",
-      familyName: c.familyName || "",
-      orcid: c.nameIdentifiers?.[0]?.nameIdentifier,
-      contributorType: c.contributorType || "Researcher",
-      order: index + 1,
-    }))
-
-    const newContributor: Contributor = {
-      name: contributorData.name || "Unknown Contributor",
-      givenName: contributorData.givenName || "",
-      familyName: contributorData.familyName || "",
-      orcid: contributorData.orcid,
-      contributorType: contributorData.contributorType || "Researcher",
-      order: mappedExisting.length + 1,
-    }
-
-    await updateContributorsUtil(
-      citationEvent.datasetId,
-      [...mappedExisting, newContributor],
-      user,
-    )
-  }
-
   return responseEvent
 }
diff --git a/packages/openneuro-server/src/graphql/resolvers/user.ts b/packages/openneuro-server/src/graphql/resolvers/user.ts
index 2d62e7557..3eee77b27 100644
--- a/packages/openneuro-server/src/graphql/resolvers/user.ts
+++ b/packages/openneuro-server/src/graphql/resolvers/user.ts
@@ -95,13 +95,9 @@ export const users = async (
   },
   context: GraphQLContext,
 ) => {
-  // --- check admin ---
-  if (!context.userInfo?.admin) {
-    return Promise.reject(
-      new Error("You must be a site admin to retrieve users"),
-    )
-  }
+  const isSiteAdmin = context.userInfo?.admin === true
 
+  // Build filter for all users (admin or not)
   const filter: {
     admin?: MongoQueryOperator<boolean>
     blocked?: MongoQueryOperator<boolean>
@@ -120,6 +116,7 @@ export const users = async (
     filter.$or = [
       { name: { $regex: search, $options: "i" } },
       { email: { $regex: search, $options: "i" } },
+      { orcid: { $regex: search, $options: "i" } },
     ]
   }
 
@@ -148,9 +145,18 @@ export const users = async (
 
   const users = await query.exec()
 
+  // If the requester is not a site admin, hide sensitive fields
+  const sanitizedUsers = isSiteAdmin ? users : users.map((u) => {
+    const obj = u.toObject()
+    obj.email = null
+    obj.blocked = null
+    obj.admin = null
+    return obj
+  })
+
   return {
-    users: users,
-    totalCount: totalCount,
+    users: sanitizedUsers,
+    totalCount,
   }
 }