Miriam Tuliao to Participate in 37th Annual Great Saunter to raise funds for the Spectrum Scholarship Program

CHICAGO - Miriam Tuliao has announced that she will participate in the 37th Annual Great Saunter, a 32-mile walk around Manhattan, on May 4, 2024 to raise funds for ALA’s Spectrum Scholarship Program. This is Tuliao's 17th consecutive year organizing an annual fundraiser for Spectrum. 

To support Tuliao’s fundraising efforts, please visit https://ec.ala.org/donate to make your gift and select the Spectrum Scholarship Program as the fund you wish to support. Upon checkout please select the “Add a tribute or memorial to my donation” option on the top and include in honor of the Tuliao Fundraiser and acknowledgement going to Miriam Tuliao in the fields provided.

Each year, in addition to raising funds for Spectrum, Tuliao pays tribute to librarians who have made an impact on her and on their communities. Tuliao shares that she will be honoring the following librarians for their commitment to outreach and special services during the fundraiser:

• Carrie Banks, Brooklyn Public Library
• Adriana Blancarte-Hayward, New York Public Library
• Julia Chang, New York Public Library
• Maria Fung, formerly of BookOps
• Valerie Garcia, New York Public Library
• Fred Gitner, Queens Public Library
• Alexandra Gomez, BookOps 
• Elizabeth Olesh, Baldwin Public Library
• Robin Osborne, formerly Westchester Library System
• Libbhy Romero, BookOps

Tuliao is a senior library marketing manager at Penguin Random House and an adjunct library science instructor at Queens College, City University of New York and Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis. Before joining the publishing world, she served as the assistant director of selection at BookOps, the shared technical services organization of New York Public Library and Brooklyn Public Library.

Tuliao cites a Filipino saying—utang na loob—which means “a debt of the soul.” It’s why she says she feels a strong debt to library colleagues and is inspired to help “provide BIPOC sisters and brothers with an opportunity to fly.”

Tuliao is a United States masters swimmer who has raised funds for Spectrum through participating in events, including the Big Shoulders 5K Swim in Chicago in September 2007 - her first annual Spectrum Fundraiser; the New Jersey State Triathlon; the 5.85-mile Little Red Lighthouse swim; two United States Masters Swimming two-mile Cable Open Water National Championships; a 1.2-K race swimming around the Statue of Liberty, the IGLA Championship Open Water Swim, the Annual Lake Erie Open Water Classic, and the Washington D.C. Sharkfest Swim. 

Support Tuliao's efforts by contributing to ALA at ec.ala.org/donate, selecting Spectrum, and making your gift in tribute to Miriam Tuliao. All donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Through the Spectrum Scholarship Program, ALA advances racial equity by connecting new generations of racially and ethnically diverse librarians with a network committed to mutual support, advancing one another’s leadership, and making social justice part of everybody's everyday work. The Spectrum Scholarship Program actively recruits and provides scholarships to American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, Middle Eastern and North African, and/or Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander students. To learn more about the Spectrum Scholarship Program, please contact ALA’s Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services at spectrum@ala.org or visit www.ala.org/spectrum. 

About the American Library Association

The American Library Association (ALA) is the foremost national organization providing resources to inspire library and information professionals to transform their communities through essential programs and services. For more than 140 years, the ALA has been the trusted voice for academic, public, school, government, and special libraries, advocating for the profession and the library's role in enhancing learning and ensuring access to information for all. For more information, visit www.ala.org.