Webcast Speakers

Speaker

Sarah Logan
Teacher-Librarian and Washington Library Association Board President

Sarah Logan is the Teacher-Librarian at Dorothy Fox Elementary in Camas, Washington. The recipient of Washington Library Association School Library Division’s Elementary Teacher-Librarian of the Year award for 2024, Sarah has a reputation for creating an engaging, student-centered school library program that has resulted in an authentic reading culture at Dorothy Fox.

Speaker

Carolyn Norman
Library Consultant

Carolyn F. Norman has experience in advancing initiatives at the local, state and national level. As Coordinator of Library and Learning Resources Programs for the California Community College Chancellor’s Office she led the development, implementation and management of the Library and Learning Resources Programs in the 100+ institutions in the California Community College system.

Speaker

Joy M. Doan
Professor of Practice, University of Tennessee Knoxville

Joy Marie Doan is a practicing member of the faculty in the School of Information Sciences at the University of Tennessee Knoxville (UTK). Prior to joining the faculty at UTK, Joy Marie held positions at University of Miami, Northwestern University, California State University, Northridge and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).  She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Music from the University of Michigan, an M.A. in Music History from Case Western Reserve University, and a Master of Library and Information Science degree from San Jose State University.

Speaker

Nichelle M. Hayes
Founding Director of the Center for Black Literature and Culture

Nichelle M. Hayes, a smiling Black woman with braided hair wearing pearl earrings and a pearl necklace.

Nichelle M. Hayes MPA, MLS is the leader of the Center for Black Literature & Culture (CBLC), Indianapolis Public Library. Hayes graduated from Indiana University – School of Library & Information Science (SLIS) with her MLS.

She began her library career as a Library Media Specialist at an Elementary School in Indianapolis. Later she worked as an Adult Reference Librarian Specializing in Business.

Speaker

Shauntee Burns-Simpson
Associate Director for the Center of Educators and Schools at the New York Public Library

Shauntee Burns-Simpson (MLIS) is the Immediate Past-President of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association. She is the Associate Director for the Center of Educators and Schools at the New York Public Library. An ambassador for libraries and youth librarianship, Mrs. Burns-Simpson enjoys connecting people to the public library and its resources. She works closely with at-risk teens and fosters a love of reading & learning with her innovative programs.

Speaker

James A. Hodges
Assistant Professor, San José State University

James A. Hodges studies the history of computing and software interfaces, with a particular interest in digital archives and preservation. He is currently an assistant professor in the School of Information at San José State University, as well as senior fellow in the Andrew W. Mellon Society of Fellows in Critical Bibliography at Rare Book School (University of Virginia), and senior book reviews editor for Information & Culture journal.

Speaker

Richard Sneed
28th Principal Chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians

Richard G. Sneed life’s work has been one of public service advocating for youth, community building, and cultural preservation. The son of a businessman and former councilmember, he knows that hard work and a community-centered focus enable collective opportunity. In this vein, he has worked throughout his career to ensure that Cherokee people have equitable access to quality education and can put these skills to work in a community they can be proud of.

Speaker

Jennifer Himmelreich
Senior Program Officer, Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)

Jennifer Himmelreich is a senior program officer at the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Rooted in and raised on the Navajo Nation in northwest New Mexico, she began working at the local public library to support herself as she completed her undergraduate degree at Fort Lewis College. Jennifer continued working in libraries and museums, developing a commitment to centering cultural memory on Native American, Alaskan Native and Native Hawaiian ways of being and doing.

Speaker

Andrew Ysasi
VP of Advocacy, Vital Records Control and MARA Instructor

Andrew Ysasi (EE-SA-SEE), MS, CRM/CIGO, IGP, FIP, CIPM, CISM, PMP, has 25 years of experience in executive leadership and information governance.  As Vice President of Advocacy for VRC, Andrew mentors, educates, and volunteers with the IG community on behalf of VRC.  In addition to VRC, he serves as the Chairman of the ICRM in 2023, is an instructor at San Jose State University’s MARA program, is the President of IG GURU®, and a resume expert with Admovio®, where his work is published on CIO.com.  In the past, Andrew contributed to ARMA’s IGBOK and W

Speaker

Isabel Taylor
Archivist, State Archives of Schleswig-Holstein

Isabel Taylor holds a BA in History, French, and German from Mount Allison University, a Graduate Diploma in Law (Common Professional Examination) from Northumbria University, a Master of Archival Studies from the University of British Columbia, an LL.M with a concentration on archival law from the University of Tübingen, and a doctorate in legal history from the University of Tübingen. Her second book The Crown and Its Records: Archives, Access, and the Ancient Constitution in Seventeenth-Century England appeared in October 2023 from De Gruyter.

Speaker

Maryna Sokolova
Head of the City Library Branch for Children No. 1 of the Boyarka Public Library, Kyiv Region

Since childhood, Maryna Sokolova knew she would dedicate her life to books and reading. So, after graduating from high school, she entered the Kyiv State Institute of Culture and graduated in 1994 with a degree in children’s literature bibliography. Her first job was as a bibliographer at the library of the Mykola Gogol State Institute of Nizhyn. She provided bibliographic references to educators, students, and other staff of the institute, assisted with the selection of literature on versatile topics, as well as kept a file of periodicals.

Speaker

Halena Kapuni-Reynolds
Associate Curator of Native Hawaiian History and Culture, National Museum of the American Indian

Halena Kapuni-Reynolds (Kanaka ʻŌiwi/Native Hawaiian) is the Associate Curator of Native Hawaiian History and Culture at the National Museum of the American Indian. He holds a B.A. in anthropology and Hawaiian studies from the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo (2013) and an M.A. in anthropology with a focus on Museum and Heritage Studies from the University of Denver (2015).

Speaker

Isabel Espinal
Academic Engagement Librarian for African Studies, Afro American Studies, Latin American, Caribbean & Latinx Studies, Native American & Indigenous Studies, Spanish & Portuguese, and Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies at UMASS-Amherst

Isabel Espinal has been a librarian since 1991 and is currently an Academic Engagement librarian for African Studies, Afro American Studies, Latin American, Caribbean & Latinx Studies, Native American & Indigenous Studies, Spanish & Portuguese, and Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass).

Speaker

Marcelo Rodríguez
Foreign, Comparative and International Law Librarian & Professor of Legal Research, University of Arizona Law School

Marcelo Rodríguez works as the Foreign, Comparative and International Law Librarian as well as Professor of Legal Research at the University of Arizona Law School in Tucson, Arizona. Previously, he was the Research and Outreach Librarian at the U.S. Courts for the Second Circuit and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. In the past, he has also worked at Columbia Law Library as well as in different capacities at the Central Library of the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium; the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands; and the Law Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.

Speaker

Elisa Anais Garcia
Supervising Librarian of the MyLibraryNYC Collections at the New York Public Library

Elisa Anais Garcia is the Supervising Librarian of the MyLibraryNYC Collections at the New York Public Library in partnership with the NYC Public Schools and the three public library systems of New York City.  Elisa is deeply committed to creating diverse, accessible, and equitable collections for all readers, and celebrating cultural heritage through literacy.

Speaker

David Lopez
2023-2024 REFORMA National President and Regional Services Manager, Orange County Public Libraries

David Lopez (he/him/él) has over 17 years experience working in public, academic, and school libraries. David is the current President of REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library & Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-speaking and has served on council for the American Library Association. He is also past-president of the OC Chapter of REFORMA and served the organization as a public information officer for several years.

Speaker

Dontaná McPherson-Joseph
Collection Management Librarian, Oak Park Public Library

Dontaná McPherson-Joseph

Dontaná McPherson-Joseph (she/her) is a collection management librarian at Oak Park (IL) Public Library and the immediate past chair of ALA’s Rainbow Round Table. A graduate of SJSU’s iSchool (c/o 2016), she has presented for Library Journal on inclusive collection development and auditing, and is an advocate for reading widely and diversely.