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.

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.

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.

Sari Feldman, Senior Fellow

September 2017 – Present
Sari is executive director of the 27-branch Cuyahoga County Public Library in Ohio. She has served as the president of the American Library Association and the Public Library Association. As part of her service to ALA, Feldman served as co-chair of the ALA Digital Content Working Group that successfully advocated for library access to e-books from the largest publishers. She was named one of Publishers Weekly’s “Notable Publishing People of 2014.” She has held other leadership posts in libraries that include deputy director at the Cleveland Public Library. She also served as an adjunct faculty member at the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University. Feldman’s local civic involvement included president of the board of Cuyahoga Arts and Culture and as well as an appointed member of the City-County Workforce Development Board. She currently serves as Chair of DigitalC, formerly OneCommunity. Feldman will provide guidance on e-book and digital content issues as well as library broadband policy and implementation.

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.

Consultants

Jonathan Band

Jonathan Band received a B.A., magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, in 1982 from Harvard College, and a J.D. from Yale Law School in 1985. From 1985 to 2005, Mr. Band worked at the Washington, D.C., office of Morrison & Foerster LLP, including thirteen years as a partner. Mr. Band established his own law firm in May 2005. He is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and California and before the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, Federal, and District of Columbia Circuits.

Amelia Bryne

Amelia Bryne is an applied social science researcher and Director of Strategic Research and Analysis at DeepTech.org. She has particular expertise on the integration of information and communications technologies into society, and co-authored the FCC-commissioned study, Broadband Adoption in Low-Income Communities, which informed the National Broadband Plan. Since 2011, Amelia has worked with the American Library Association’s Public Policy and Advocacy Office, examining issues such as e-book lending, digital audiobooks, broadband access, E-rate, prison libraries, digital literacy, book bans, and the impact of COVID-19 on state and local budgets. Her research and writing support a wide range of policy and advocacy efforts aimed at strengthening libraries and expanding public access to information. Trained in anthropology, Amelia holds a B.A. from Columbia University (Barnard College) and an M.A. from the Joint Programme in Communication and Culture in Toronto, Canada. Her work has been published in journals such as Telematics & Informatics, Policy & Internet, and Public Library Quarterly.

John Windhausen, Jr.

John Windhausen, Jr. is President of Telepoly Consulting, which provides legal and regulatory advice for a variety of telecommunications firms and non-profit associations. From 1999 to 2004, he served as President of the Association for Local Telecommunications Services, the leading trade association representing the facilities-based Competitive Local Exchange Carriers. From 1996 to 1999 he worked as General Counsel for the Competition Policy Institute, a consumer-oriented advocacy organization promoting competition for energy and telecom services. Mr. Windhausen served for 9 years (1987-1996) as Senior Counsel and Counsel to the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee, where he helped draft the 1992 Cable Act and the Telecommunications Act of 1996. He began his career at the FCC as a staff attorney from 1984-87. Mr. Windhausen graduated from Yale University and the UCLA School of Law.

Olga Zhivov

Olga Zhivov, who has worked in design and communications in Italy, New York City, and Washington, D.C., is the head of PivotForm, her own consultancy that helps organizations and businesses design effective communications in the U.S. and abroad.