Immersion Program Facilitators

Veronica Arellano Douglas is currently the Interim Associate Dean for Research & Student Engagement at the University of Houston Libraries. When she’s not interim-ing she is the Head of Teaching & Learning. She holds an MLS from the University of North Texas and a BA from Rice University. Her research interests include critical information literacy, inclusive pedagogy, and relational-cultural theory in libraries. You can read her writing at veronicaarellanodouglas.com.

Anna Boutin-Cooper is the Research and Instruction Librarian at Westfield State University, where she also curates and manages the zine collection. She holds her MLIS from Simmons University and a BA from Emmanuel College. She has published several book chapters, articles, and reviews on a variety of topics within librarianship including feminist and critical pedagogy, disability studies, and visual literacy. In addition to her work as a teaching librarian, she is a practicing textile artist and an adjunct art instructor at WSU. 

Melissa Bowles-Terry is a professor and library liaison to the College of Sciences. Melissa is the former Director of the Faculty Center at UNLV, where she coordinated programming to support faculty teaching, research, and career development. She also previously served as Head of Educational Initiatives at UNLV Libraries. Melissa earned a Master's degree in Library and Information Science at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and a Master of Arts in English at Utah State University. Melissa's research interests include the impact of libraries on student success, assessment of student learning, and information literacy instruction. She is the co-author of Classroom Assessment Techniques for Librarians, published by ACRL in 2015.

Mary Broussard is the Arts & Humanities Librarian at Bucknell University where she teaches information literacy to undergraduate students. Mary is the author of a number of publications on topics including pedagogy in libraries, workplace wellbeing, and disability studies. In addition, she is the creator of several library games including the online plagiarism education game, “Goblin Threat.” She serves as an ACRL Research and Instruction mentor. Mary received her MLS from Indiana University, a masters in instructional design from Bloomsburg University, a BA in French and German, and is an alumna of the 2015 Immersion Program Track.

Carlos Duarte is the Associate College Librarian for Public Services at Colorado College where he oversees the library instruction program and is liaison to Southwest Studies, Race Ethnicity & Migration Studies, and Anthropology.  He earned his MSIS from the School of Information at the University of Texas at Austin. Carlos’s interests include critical librarianship, information literacy, and student success.

Jessie Loyer is Cree-Métis and a member of Michel First Nation. She's the Indigenous Engagement Librarian at the University of Alberta, in Edmonton, Canada. Jessie is interested in Indigenous information literacy in her research and teaching. You can read her chapter on kinship as an ethic of care: "Indigenous information literacy: nêhiyaw kinship enabling self-care in research." She asks participants to situate themselves and their work toward Indigenous communities and the land where they live in a workshop she's given for various organizations, including the Centre for Evidence Based Library and Information Practice (C-EBLIP), the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), and for the Council of Prairie and Pacific University Libraries (COPPUL). She is involved in curriculum development, revitalization of Indigenous languages, community-centred digitization, and building capacity for oral history sharing for youth and elders.

Derek Malone is the Dean of Olin Library at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, where he provides strategic leadership for Olin Library, the Tutoring & Writing Center, and Student Media. With nearly two decades of experience in academic libraries, he has developed a deep appreciation for information literacy instruction, instructional innovation, and the role of libraries and librarians in education. Derek has led initiatives that advance inclusive teaching and learning, including expanded liaison partnerships, open educational resources and affordability efforts, immersive learning experiences, and the use of custom GPTs in instruction. His scholarship and professional interests include critical information literacy, first-year student success, immersive and game-based learning, and the thoughtful integration of emerging technologies into educational practice. He holds graduate degrees in library and information science and business administration and is completing a Doctor of Education in Instructional and Performance Technology.

Rebecca Miller Waltz is the Associate Dean for Learning and Engagement at Penn State University Libraries in State College, Pennsylvania. A 2012 ALA Emerging Leader, Rebecca earned an MAEd in instructional design and technology from Virginia Tech in 2014, an MSLS from the School of Information and Library Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2007, and a BA in English and Religion from the College of William & Mary in Virginia in 2004. She has served as an adjunct instructor for Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies and a facilitator for the ACRL Information Literacy Immersion Program since 2017.  Rebecca has been active in regional, state, and national library organizations and has authored and coauthored a number of publications on teaching, learning, and instructional technologies in libraries, including The New Instruction Librarian: A Workbook for Trainers and Learners (2015; 2nd edition 2025). 
 

Sarah Morris is a librarian, educator, and curriculum designer whose research and work focuses on critical information, media, and AI literacy, mis/disinformation, civic engagement, and library and information science education. Sarah is currently the Assistant Director of Academic Engagement at the University of Georgia Libraries. She holds an MA from the University of Chicago and an MSIS from the University of Texas at Austin, and is an alumna of the 2014 Immersion Teacher Track. In addition to her work in libraries, Sarah has worked on media literacy curriculum projects with partners that include the Mozilla Foundation, the National Science Foundation, and The Carter Center and has taught courses on critical information literacy topics with ALA eLearning. 

Brandy Whitlock has served as the Instruction Librarian at Anne Arundel Community College, located near Annapolis, Maryland, for more than 20 years. She holds her B.S. in accounting from Virginia Tech, her M.A. in English from Miami University in Ohio, and her M.L.I.S. and M.F.A. in creative writing, both from the University of Alabama. She has developed a variety of classes and workshops for undergraduates, including library instruction one-shots in every nearly every academic discipline and credit courses in student success, composition, creative writing, critical thinking, and information literacy. She has also taught for many years an information literacy credit course for the University of Maryland Global Campus, and she was invited to develop and teach a course on academic libraries and a course on evidence-based practice in Dominican University’s graduate program for the School of Information Science. Prof. Whitlock is a founding facilitator and the current coordinator of ACRL's Assessment in Action (AiA) RoadShow, and she has delivered presentations and workshops on teaching and assessing information literacy at regional, national, and international venues. Her professional interests include the intersections of information literacy, critical and creative thinking, and critical pedagogy and librarianship.

Jamia Williams serves as a Program Manager at the ACT (Activate, Connect, Transform) Center at the University of Rochester Medical Center. With a background in health sciences librarianship, her work centers on advancing equitable access to health information. She holds a Master of Library Science from North Carolina Central University. Williams has written, taught, and presented extensively on diversity, equity, and inclusion; health equity; social justice; trauma-informed care; and evidence-based practice.