Forty participants selected for fifth ALA Leadership Institute

CHICAGO — Forty mid-career librarians have been selected from a highly competitive pool to participate in Leading to the Future, ALA’s fifth four-day immersive leadership development program for future library leaders.

The 40 participants for the August institute are: Ashley Biggs, Heather Blicher, Bernard Bulemu, Derrick Burton, Michelle Callihan, Emily Clasper, Rebecca Crawford, Kate Cummings, Sonya Durney, Katie Frey, Ella Galbreath, Jason Homer, kYmberly Keeton, Kelly Klober, Lee Koenigs, Christina Kuntz, Carla Land, Jane López-Santillana, Denyce Malone, Elisabeth Marrocolla, Talitha Matlin, Jennifer Mayer, Catherine McGoveran, Anne Murphy, Alea Perez, Heather Propsum, Christina Pryor, Elizabeth Psyck, Ted Quiballo, Cynthia Romanowski, Kwabana Sarfo, Tom Spicer, Heather Stephenson, Kit Stephenson, Bethany Stone, Barbara Svoboda, Magan Szwarek, Carrye Syma, Mita Williams, Christen Wiser.

More about their current roles and locations will be found on the ALA Leadership Institute page.

The selection committee, headed up by LLAMA, looked for a diverse participant mix based on type of library (public, academic, school, special), organizational responsibility, geography, gender and race/ethnicity, as well as demonstrated leadership potential, readiness for increased responsibility, professional achievement and community or campus involvement.

Led again by ALA Past President Maureen Sullivan and library and leadership consultant Kathryn Deiss, the ALA Leadership Institute is designed to help participants develop and practice their leadership skills in areas critical to the future of the libraries they lead, and allow them to form a vibrant learning community and network. With content based on real world cases and nuanced situations, participants will explore topics related to the greatest challenges and possibilities of leading into a future marked by turbulence and ambiguity.

Participants are expected to return to their institution with greater self-awareness and self-confidence, equipped with better skills for leading, coaching, collaborating, and engaging within their organizations and in their communities, and prepared to identify, develop, and implement solutions which will benefit all stakeholders. Previous Institute participants rated the experience and its applicability to their work situations highly.

Further information is available on the ALA Leadership Institute page.