Fellows & Experts

The Fellows Program serves as a means to draw on nationally-recognized researchers, practitioners, and policy advocates in LIS or allied areas to strengthen the Washington Office’s involvement in national policy discussions. Fellows may have expertise in core LIS areas or in a wide range of other relevant areas that include telecommunications, intellectual property law, computer science, management and organizational behavior, political science, public policy and government, economics, and sociology, among others. Fellows work to increase the awareness and level of discourse on issues important to the LIS community by publishing issue papers and articles, and by participating in conference sessions, symposia, workshops, and interviews.

Marjory Blumenthal, Senior Policy Fellow

September 2022 - Present

Marjory Blumenthal is a science and technology policy and strategy expert, currently advising public and private sector clients as a Principal at MSBlumenthal LLC. Previously, she was Executive Director of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology under President Barack Obama, and Executive Director of the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. She also served as Associate Provost at Georgetown University and has held roles with the RAND Corporation and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Blumenthal earned an A.B. from Brown University and an M.P.P. from Harvard University. 

Megan Cusick, Senior Civic Engagement Fellow

February 2025 - Present

Megan Cusick is the founder of OnCue Strategies, helping individuals and organizations make their voices heard through strategic advocacy. A former staff member in ALA's Public Policy and Advocacy office responsible for state and local advocacy, Megan continues to help the team plan and implement civic engagement initiatives, including ALA's Reader Voter Ready campaign, and to cultivate national partnerships with allied organizations, such as the League of Women Voters. In her prior work as a librarian and educator, she integrated action civics into curricular and extra-curricular programming, facilitated engagement with elected officials and community leaders, served as service-learning coach, prepared new voters, and secured grant funding for civic enrichment programs that centered youth voice. Megan earned an AB Honors in English Literature from Loyola University and a Masters in Library and Information Science from Dominican University. She is a member of the National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation and active in multiple civic organizations in her hometown of Chicago.  

Denise Davis, ALA Senior Fellow for Research and Data

October 2024 – Present

Denise Davis has extensive experience in library research and data, especially from her tenure as the director of ALA’s former Office for Research and Statistics, and as director of Statistics and Surveys for the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (now part of the Institute of Museum and Library Services). Davis has numerous articles published related to research and data in Public Libraries, Public Library Quarterly, and other outlets. Davis will provide advice on the re-establishment of a research and data function for ALA. Enabled by generous grant funding from the Mellon Foundation, ALA is developing a plan and strategy for research and data for the Association as a whole, with subsequent recruitment of a staffer to lead this function.

Dr. Christopher Harris, Senior Policy Fellow

September 2022 - Present

Dr. Christopher Harris is an innovative library leader specializing in technology and gaming. He is currently the Director of the School Library System for the Genesee Valley Board of Cooperative Educational Services in Western New York. Dr. Harris is a longtime ALA leader, from his participation in the first ALA Emerging Leaders Program in 2007 to his service on the Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP) advisory committee and as a Fellow for the OITP Youth and Technology Policy Issues program. He earned a B.A. from Hobart and William Smith Colleges, an M. Ed. From North Carolina State University, an M.L.S. from the University of Buffalo, and an Ed.D. from St. John Fisher University. 

Alan S. Inouye, Senior Policy Fellow

March 2025 - Present
Alan S. Inouye is Principal at The Policy Connection, a research and consulting firm focused on the policy implications of technological change. Previously he served in a range of roles in ALA's Public Policy & Advocacy Office, most recently as Interim Associate Executive Director for Public Policy & Advocacy.

James G. Neal, Senior Policy Fellow

March 2019 - Present

Jim Neal is University Librarian Emeritus at Columbia University and past president of the American Library Association (2017-2018) and of the Association of Research Libraries. Previously, he served as the Dean of University Libraries at Indiana University and Johns Hopkins University. His leadership positions within ALA include serving on the Council and Executive Board, and he was ALA Treasurer (2010-13). Neal has received numerous honors for throughout his career, including ALA’s Joseph W. Lippincott Award for "distinguished service to the profession of librarianship” (2015). Neal has represented the American library community in testimony on copyright matters before congressional committees; served as an advisor to the U.S. delegation at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) diplomatic conference on copyright; and was a member of the U.S. Copyright Office Section 108 Study Group (2005-2008). Neal is a frequent speaker at national and international conferences, consultant and published author, with expertise in the areas of scholarly communication, intellectual property, digital library programs and library cooperation.

Larry Neal, Policy Corps Fellow

February 2018 – Present
Larry Neal is the director of the Clinton-Macomb Public Library, a district library serving 180,000 residents in suburban Detroit, Michigan. He has 35 years of public library experience, holds a BA in Spanish and German and an MBA from Oakland University as well as an MSI-LIS from the University of Michigan. He is a past president of the Michigan Library Association, a past president of the Public Library Association and a Library Journal Mover & Shaker. In 2011, he helped restore library services for his home city of Bloomfield Hills through three millage campaigns in three years and a successful renewal in 2014. His current projects include developing two massive open online courses for the University of Michigan, overseeing the design and construction of a new 25,000-square-foot library branch scheduled to open in 2020, and serving as president-elect of the Rotary Club of Mount Clemens.

Jon Peha, Senior Fellow

September 2017 – Present
Jon a professor in the Department of Engineering and Public Policy and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. He has served as the chief technologist at the Federal Communications Commission, assistant director in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, a legislative fellow on the House Energy & Commerce Committee and team leader and fellow in the U.S. Agency for International Development. In industry, Peha has been the chief technical officer for three high-tech companies and a member of technical staff at SRI International, AT&T Bell Laboratories, and Microsoft. He is a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Peha will provide ALA with counsel on the broad range of telecommunications issues from net neutrality and network engineering to spectrum and universal service.
 

Marijke Visser, Policy Fellow for E-Rate and Digital Equity

September 2023 - Present
Marijke Visser is director of Library Development at the Maine State Library, where she has served since 2021. Previously, she worked for ALA for 12 years, leading ALA’s engagement with the Federal Communications Commission on the development and modernization of the E-rate program, which provides federal broadband subsidies for libraries and schools. As ALA’s E-rate expert, Visser was instrumental in the successful long-term advocacy campaign to expand E-rate eligibility to more Tribal libraries and nations, increasing access to stable, high-speed internet across Indian Country. She also edited multiple editions of ALA Policy Perspectives, including “Built by E-rate” (2020), which highlights the development of Tribal-owned fiberoptic broadband infrastructure in New Mexico, a project enabled with E-rate subsidies following the program’s 2014 modernization, which itself was shaped in part by Visser and ALA’s advocacy.

Robert Bocher, Senior Fellow

July 2009 – Present
Bob Bocher was the Library Technology Consultant with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction’s Division for Libraries and Technology (the State Library Agency). Bob retired from full-time work in 2012, but still works part-time for the department providing support for Wisconsin’s libraries and schools on the E-rate program and broadband connectivity. In 2014, Bob co-managed a project to get fiber connectivity to 362 public libraries in the state and, as a result, 95% of libraries now have fiber. Bob has an MLS from the University of Wisconsin and has been working in the area of libraries and information technology for over 40 years. Mr. Bocher assists the Office for Information Technology Policy in a number of areas including serving on the E-rate Task Force since 1999 and serving on the OITP’s Advisory Committee. In addition, Bob assists OITP on filings with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on the E-rate, Net Neutrality and other issues related to Internet access and broadband connectivity.