University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign    Master of Library and Information Science           2016
Middlebury College                                          Master of Arts in Spanish                                         2010
University of Southern California                  Master of Professional Writing                                2009
Pepperdine University                                     Bachelor of Arts: Communication, Spanish          2006
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Librarian for African American & African Studies, Univ. of Virginia, Charlottesville              2020-

• Provide research, instruction, orientation, outreach and collections services as the library liaison to the Carter G. Woodson Institute for African American and African Studies
• Mentor and orient recent library and information science (LIS) graduates and undergraduates interested in the LIS field
• Author and publish journalistic, testimonial, and research-based articles and reviews for a variety of platforms including Information Today, Vinegar Hill Magazine, Resources for Gender and Women’s Studies, Archiving the Black Web, and up//root
• Ideate, create, design, develop, lead, and participate in dynamic and thematic digital programming via the University of Virginia Library, the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), We Here, the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries (ASERL) for a library worker audience highlighting themes of genealogical research, LIS labor, LIS career trajectories, and higher education culture
• Communicate essential library announcements regarding new library developments, acquisitions, and services to my primary liaison group
• Field, represent, and advocate for library collections requests for electronic and print materials in budgetary decision-making processes
• Create, shape, maintain, and promote thematic research guides for Africana studies
• Accept and honor invitations for speaking and instructional engagements for a variety of audiences including the Society of American Archivists, the Virginia Black Public History Summer Institute, the University of Illinois’ iSchool’s graduate students, the Africana Librarians’ Council, and more
• Consult with library staff on shaping programming events for ongoing professional development initiatives, including the Subject Enhancement Initiative
• Authored, crowdsourced, and modeled readers’ advisory for books and films to coincide with several commemorative and cultural heritage months for one calendar year, garnering a Workplace Contribution Recognition Award
• Served with success on the search committee to recruit and hire the library’s first senior leadership role for Associate Dean for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Accessibility
• Collaborated with university faculty of diverse disciplines to design a K-12 teachers’ training institute for local educators seeking to expand Black diaspora pedagogies
• Served on the University of Virginia’s Inclusive Excellence fund’s inaugural committee to determine and evaluate grant-awarding policies, schedules, and applications with an aim to support diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts campus-wide

Literatures & Cultures Librarian, Middlebury College                                                                 2017-2020

• Provided research assistance to seven campus groups including the Language Schools and the multicultural student center through information literacy instruction, programming, consultation, et al
• Authored critical reviews of fiction, memoir and anthologies in print and audiobook format, graphic novels, blogs, film, television and music for the American Library Association’s Booklist, the University of Wisconsin at Madison’s Resources for Gender and Women’s Studies and the weekly, college newspaper column “The Librarian Is In”
• Promoted collections via displays, strategic acquisitions and social media
• Created library programming for selected campus groups and staff outreach events
• Consulted and counseled college community members on library engagement projects
• Secured annual grant funding from the Korea Foundation for a specialized database
• Deselected scores of print copies of reference materials in subject-related disciplines

 
Diversity Resident Librarian, University of Wisconsin, Madison                                               2016-2017

• Shaped a collaborative development campaign for the Ethnic Studies Collection
• Translated Sub-Saharan African comics to develop the Africa Cartoons database
• Steered marketing initiatives by committee to develop print and digital advertising

Fellow,  West African Research Center , Dakar, Senegal                                                           Summer 2016

• Authored a collection development policy identifying high priority acquisitions and quality standards for future donations
• Deselected library items based on infrequent circulation/use, condition, relevancy and currency
• Created  400 digital records for newly donated acquisitions