The American Library Association (ALA) 2015 class of Emerging Leaders (EL) leadership development program is six strong with alumni and a current student from the San José State University School of Information.

Among the 50 total members of the 2015 class are Erwin Camia (2009), Cynthia Orozco (2011), Stacey Nordlund (2012), Valarie Kingsland (2014), and Carmen Sanchez (2014), all of whom earned their master’s degrees in the award-winning Master of Library and Information Science program at the SJSU School of Information. In addition, Jamie Smith, one of the newly named EL program participants, is currently pursuing a Post-Master’s Certificate in Library and Information Science at SJSU.

According to the ALA press release, the goal of the EL program is to “enable library staff and information workers to participate in project planning workgroups, network with peers, gain an inside look into ALA structure, and have an opportunity to serve the profession in a leadership capacity early in their careers.”

Participants in the EL program receive orientation and training at the ALA Midwinter Meeting, participate in virtual collaborations, and, after six months, present their projects at the ALA Annual Conference. 2015 class member Nordlund said that she applied to the EL program because she had heard “wonderful stories” about it from participants in other classes, and that she is excited about “the opportunity to develop a project collaboratively with individuals from diverse professional environments, and to meet and work with others who are passionate about librarianship.”

The ALA stated that nearly 80 percent of this year’s EL participants received sponsorships from ALA divisions and other organizations. According to the ALA, the EL program “puts participants on the fast track to ALA committee volunteerism as well as other professional library-related organizations.”

Applications for the 2016 class of Emerging Leaders will be available in May, and must be submitted by Aug. 1, 2015.

The SJSU iSchool congratulates all the Emerging Leaders!