Meet Victor Flores, Outreach Specialist with Elisha D. Smith Public Library in Menasha, Wisconsin. Victor uses his bilingualism to inform families about literacy, media, and libraries as an institution. He reminds us of the importance of having proximate leaders to create solutions that bring real change and move communities toward antiracism.

Meet Emely Villanueva, Teen Services and Engagement Librarian with the Appleton Public Library in Wisconsin. Applying her professional background in higher education, she launched the College and Career Pathway Series in early 2020. The series collaborates with colleges and professionals to provide assistance and resources that educate teens and families on college processes and career options.

Meet Nikhat Jehan Ghouse, Associate Librarian at the American University and founder of Jehan Consulting in Washington D.C. Drawing on her 20+ year career in libraries and experience as an organization development consultant, she shares advice on navigating the workplace as BIPOC professionals. Nikhat discusses ways to identify compatible employers, advocate for oneself, and more!

Meet Yer Vang, Hmong American Library Assistant for the Fresno County Public Library System in California. Yer discusses a service she developed for Hmong families, Family Literacy Storytelling Project, that reflects Hmong values and strives to improve literacy through storytelling. Families engage in activities and receive free books to build their own library collections at home.

Meet Norma Oliveras, born and raised in Puerto Rico and the Hispanic Family Outreach Specialist with the Appleton Public Library in Wisconsin. Norma relates to the barriers and struggles of immigrants and refugees resettling in a new community. She discusses her role along with outreach strategies, programming ideas, political challenges, and more!

Meet Jameka Lewis, Senior Librarian for the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library in Denver, Colorado. Jameka discusses the importance of having cultural institutions, building trust with black communities, and ensuring libraries’ efforts live up to their potential of being democratic spaces for all.

Co-Creator of Libraries in Bloom, Pa Ja Yang, takes the stage to share an exciting community project she led in celebration of Hmong American Day and Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in May 2021. The project, Community Chords: Engagement through Music and Art, brought the community together through a shared love of music, art, and literacy!

Meet Dominic Davis, a Black, white, Native American queer man from the eastern upper peninsula of Michigan. He is currently a Library Assistant at the Pinney Library within the Madison Public Library system in Wisconsin. Dominic sits as the co-chair of their internal Racial Equity Change Team and project manager for the BIPOC Affinity Group. Dominic gives critique and discusses progress within both internal groups.

Meet Betsy Kowal, Library Assistant in Children Services at the Appleton Public Library in Wisconsin. Betsy designs storytimes that teaches teach children to embody the power of music and connect musical elements to a culture. She hopes to break the cycle of English folklore music historically used in storytimes and ensure families that their ancestor’s music are valued and uplifted at the library.