Here are the rest of the members of the new GLBTRT News Committee. Again, we’re very excited to bring you information that we hope proves relevant to the membership of the GLBTRT. Please let us know if you have any suggestions along the way. We’ll be posting a survey opportunity soon!
Sam Leif (pronounced Lafe) identifies as non-binary, and their preferred pronouns are they/them/theirs or she/her/hers. Sam works in systems at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and is proud to recently begin serving as the Chair of the Nevada College & Research Libraries for the Nevada Library Association. They’ve worked in a variety of roles, with a background in social work and counseling serving them well in Librarianship. They earned their MLIS from San Jose State University in 2011 and are currently working on a PhD in Education, concentration in Interaction and Media Sciences (aka human computer interaction) with the hope to identify evidence-based ways to leverage technology to increase literacy and assess services. Sam is an avid table top role player and board gamer, a computer nerd and a lover of all things sci-fi. They’ve been with their wonderful wife for 15 years, domestically partnered for 6 years, and married for 4 years.
elissa mondschein works as part of the Access and Information Services team at the University of Arizona. She has been in Tucson for about 2 1/2 years. Prior to her current job, Elissa was in interlibrary loan at UC Berkeley for about 17 years and worked as a page in the Northern UC storage facility for 4 years. In her job at the University of Arizona, Elissa works the late-night shift, 6 pm to 3 am (they are open 24/5)!
Tricia Boucher is the UX Librarian at Texas State University’s Alkek Library in San Marcos, TX. She came to librarianship after other degrees and careers – and loves it. Tricia is currently having fun with games for learning while serving on the Educause Games and Learning Steering Committee and is hoping to become an allies training facilitator this summer. She lives with her wife and cat (named Squirrel), loves to travel, hike, and kayak, is a mediocre woodworker, and terrible glassblower.
Anna Mattonen is an assistant branch manager with the Johnson County Library in a suburban area of the Kansas City metro. She’s been with the system for just over a month. Anna is part of a management team that is working to open a new 18 million dollar library branch by August 5. She has an MLIS from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a bachelor’s of literature from Missouri State University. Anna was an ALA Emerging Leader in 2016 and has been involved in round table work for about five years. She’s served as a social media liaison for two different library districts and loves generating content of all kinds.
Joel Shoemaker is a public library director for the Illinois Prairie District Public Library, headquartered in Metamora, Illinois with five branch libraries in eight townships in Woodford County. He has a master’s in Library and Information Science from Dominican University and a bachelor’s in Elementary Education from Eureka College. Joel reviews for Library Journal and Library Media Connection and serves on the 2019 YALSA Morris Award Committee. He also serves as chair of this fine committee and on the ALSC Advocacy and Legislation Committee. Joel frequently acts in community theatre, currently in Disney’s The Newsies, and has been a magician for twenty-six years. He met his fiance on May 4, 2017, proposed on May 5, 2018 and will get married on May 4, 2019.
