Meet the Planning Team
The overall planning of the MLA Reads Experience is the result of the dedication and commitment of an amazing group of information professionals who lead the overall coordination of the book club program annually.
About the Planning Team
Kelsa is the Education and Outreach Librarian in the Learning, Research & Clinical Information Services Department at the Louis Calder Memorial Library, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Her role includes providing education, research services and support, in addition to outreach and promotion of library services and resources. Kelsa is active in Medical Library Association (MLA), currently serving as Chair on MLA’s Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee. She is also a member of the Journal of the Medical Library Association’s (JMLA) Editorial Board and Equity Work Group. Her research interests include diversity, equity and inclusion in libraries, library marketing, outreach and social media, library instruction and instructional design and also wellness and wellbeing in libraries.
Melissa is the Director of the Strauss Health Sciences Library at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Prior to joining the Health Sciences Library, Melissa was at the Briscoe Library at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center San Antonio. She is active in professional associations at the local (Colorado Council of Medical Librarians), regional (Midcontinental Chapter of MLA) and national levels (Medical Library Association and Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries). Melissa received her Master’s in Library and Information Science from UCLA and also holds a BA in Psychology from UCLA. Her research interests include leadership, staff development, and evolving ways to ensure access to information resources.
Ryan serves as the Head of Research & Instructional Services at the J Murrey Atkins Library, University of North Carolina, Charlotte. In this role he leads, sets priorities and goals and provides leadership to 12 subject librarians. Previous to this he served as the Reference Services Managers, at the Health Sciences and Human Services Library, University of Maryland. Ryan is active at both the local and national level and has served in a variety of roles included Chair of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Medical Library Association, MLA 2017 National Program Committee member, and Chair of MLA’s membership committee. During his time as MAC Chair he established a diversity and inclusion task group to better understand how MAC could better support diversity in the organization and the field. He currently serves as an AHIP mentor to new members of the profession. Ryan’s areas of research interest include systematic review support, design thinking applied to library leadership, and ILS usability.
Don serves as the Health Informationist for the University of Cincinnati (UC) Health Sciences Library. In this position, Don works as the liaison to the UC Medical Center (UCMC). Don assists clinical care staff with grant writing, literature searching, systematic reviews and outcomes-based projects. Don also provides library instruction on clinical data capture tools, library databases and citation management software. Immediately preceding his appointment at UC, Don completed the National Library of Medicine’s Associate Fellowship Program. This early career success was made possible by a strong academic foundation. Don earned two graduate degrees from Kent State University. These degrees include an MLIS and an MS in Information Architecture Knowledge Management with a focus in Health Informatics. Don also holds a BS in Journalism from the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University. Don’s research interests include Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap), library pedagogy and learning outcomes for clinical care staff as well as diversity, equity and inclusion in libraries.
Shannon (she/her/hers) is the Director of Libraries for the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. Shannon is also Director for Region 2 of the Network of the National Library of Medicine, headquartered at MUSC. Before she arrived at MUSC, Shannon worked as the Associate Director for Research and Education for Tompkins-McCaw Library for the Health Sciences at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. Shannon focuses her research on staff recruitment and retention, diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in libraries, and leadership in academic health sciences libraries. In 2018, Shannon co-founded the MLA Reads Virtual Book Discussion Club to provide a forum where participants can learn, discuss, and process the implications of a variety of DEI topics on their work as information professionals and in their personal lives. Shannon is the co-editor of Diversity and Inclusion in Libraries: A Call to Action and Strategies for Success and the forthcoming volume, Cultural Humility in Libraries. She holds an MLS from North Carolina Central University and an M.Ed. in Adult Learning from Virginia Commonwealth University. She is pursuing an Ed.D in Educational Leadership at Charleston Southern University.
Tamara currently serves as Senior Research & Learning Services Librarian and Associate Professor at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, TN. In this role, she manages the Information Desk and serves as liaison to the College of Medicine. She has worked in libraries for thirteen years with over five years in health sciences. Tamara received both her BA and Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Southern Mississippi and holds an Education Specialist degree in Library Media from the University of West Alabama. Tamara is an active member of the Southern Chapter of the Medical Library Association and the Medical Library Association, as well as, several local professional organizations. Her research interests include information services, library instruction, and diversity & inclusion.
Virginia (Ginny) is Director, Research Collaboration and Engagement at University Libraries, Virginia Tech, where she leads a department with two major areas: (1) Research Services for: collaboration and translational science; evidence synthesis; undergraduate research; and research impact and engagement; and (2) Health Sciences, including cross-campus services and three health sciences libraries. Ginny is also liaison to students, staff, and faculty in Life Sciences programs.
Dede is the Director of the George W. Brackenridge Optometry Library at the University of the Incarnate Word. Prior to joining UIW, Dede was the director of the Bruce A. Garrett Medical Library at the Baptist Health System School of Health Professions in San Antonio. She is active in associations at the local (Council of Research & Academic Libraries), regional (South Central Chapter of MLA) and national levels (Medical Library Association and Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries). Dede received her Master’s of Library Science from the University of North Texas, and holds a doctorate in education with an emphasis on leadership in education, and most recently, she an alumna of the NLM/AAHSL Leadership Fellows program. Her research interests include library analytics, scholarly communication, leadership, and student engagement.
Christine is the Director of Knowledge Management & Learning Resources at Shepherd Center in Atlanta, GA. She oversees the Noble Learning Resource Center and provides research assistance to clinicians as well as consumer health information for patients and families. Her research interests include health literacy, library services for people with disabilities, and teaching clinicians how to access and evaluate evidence-based research to be applied in their practice. Christine has been published in multiple library journals. She has taught CE courses for local, regional, and national library associations and at the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine annual meetings. Christine is involved with the Georgia Alliance for Health Literacy, Georgia Health Sciences Library Association, Southern Chapter of the Medical Library Association, the Medical Library Association, and several MLA Sections. She is on the Advisory Board of the Georgia Audible Universal Information Access Service. Christine is a column editor for the Journal of Hospital Librarianship and is the current Editor of MLA News.