Webcast Speakers

nicholae (they/them) is a mixed-race Indigenous (Coharie), queer, nonbinary/gendervoid, disabled knowledge worker at Indiana University, where they are the Librarian for Media Studies, Gender Studies, and Philosophy and liaison to the Race, Migration, & Indigeneity and Native American & Indigenous Studies programs.

Adriana Lebrón White is a librarian at the Seguin Public Library. After being diagnosed with autism in her 30s, she now advocates for more inclusive and accessible libraries.

Much of her work focuses on what librarians can learn from neurodivergent patrons and staff. She has led professional development sessions on topics such as autism-friendly programs and procedures, how to support neurodivergent library staff, and authentic representations of neurodiversity and disability in children’s books.

Theodore Szpakowski works in Musselman Library’s User Services and Scholarly Communications departments. During his tenure, he has completed a variety of projects related to disability justice. These include a disabled authors display, an accessibility audit of the library building and services, and the library’s accessibility information webpage. He is currently working to address some of the barriers identified by the audit in conjunction with the User Services department and the library’s DEIB committee.

Bri Watson (@brimwats) is a disabled, white, queer & nonbinary settler hailing from N’dakina in Aln8ba8dwaw8gan (colonially: New Hampshire), now living in Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh and səlilwətaɬ.

They are a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholar and fourth-year PhD. Candidate at the University of British Columbia’s iSchool. Their research focuses on the multiple histories of information and the contemporary practices of equitable cataloging in galleries, libraries, archives, museums, and special collections.

Devon Murphy (they/them) is a metadata and digital collections professional, overseeing standards, policies, and data models for a variety of library and archive holdings. Current work projects include PANA (Pan-American Authorities project with the University of Florida) to create a Spanish language thesaurus and being a member of the PCC Task Group on Metadata Relating to Indigenous Peoples.

Richard E. Ashby, Jr. is a dedicated librarian and community leader who has made a significant impact in the field of librarianship. His passion for making a difference in people’s lives has driven his remarkable journey.

Let’s explore his accomplishments, awards, and offices held:

Professional Background

Raymond Pun (he/him/his) is the academic and research librarian at the Alder Graduate School of Education. In this role, he supports all library services from research to scholarly communication. With over 17 years of experience, Ray has worked as a librarian in institutions such as Stanford University, Fresno State, New York University Shanghai, and the New York Public Library. He has published and presented extensively and is an active member of the American Library Association.

Hafa adai! With over 32 years of professional public librarian experience, Erlinda Cabrera Naputi is the President of the Pacific Islands Association for Libraries, Archives, and Museums and the Library Director/NMI State Librarian of the Joeten-Kiyu Public Library-CNMI State Library under the Office of the Governor of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Erlinda is passionate about the important role of public libraries, museums, and archives in developing vibrant and engaged communities, and she is actively engaged in numerous local and national boards and advisory groups.