2019-20 Election Results

2019-2020 MiALA Board of Directors

President

Beth Martin

Brief biography
Beth has been a professional librarian for twenty years, having worked in corporate archives, public libraries, school libraries and academic libraries. Since 2013, she has held the position of Head of Professional Programs at Grand Valley State University, where she leads a team of librarians who liaise with professionally focused, liberal arts academic programs, as well as a librarian who is contracted to work for the Van Andel Institute in Grand Rapids. Prior to 2013, Beth was the Library Director at Finlandia University, the Director at Lake Linden-Hubbell School/Public Library, children's librarian with the St. Clair Shores Public Library, and a contract archivist for the General Motors Media Archive. She is married to a fellow librarian, Mies Martin, they have two sons and live in Grand Rapids, MI.

Vice President

Ashley Blinstrub

Brief biography
I have been the Research and Assessment Librarian for the past three and a half years at Saginaw Valley State University. Prior to that I was the Research and Instruction Librarian at the University of Southern Indiana. I graduated with my MSI from University of Michigan in 2013. I also attended University of Michigan for my undergraduate education, earning a B.A. in English with a minor in Environmental Science.

I am passionate about being an Assessment Librarian because I get to assist making library spaces and services more usable through data-driven practices. Serving as the library liaison to Occupational Therapy, Kinesiology, Athletic Training and Health Sciences gives me opportunities to connect with several students and faculty members throughout SVSU's campus.

In my free time I love riding my bike, walking my dog, taking piano lessons and travelling with my book club.

Past-President

Paul Gallagher

Brief biography
Paul Gallagher is the Associate Dean for Resources and Digital Strategies with Western Michigan University Libraries, and serves in a key leadership role in support of the Libraries’ mission, vision, and strategic goals. His efforts work to expand support for technology, collections, and scholarly endeavors, and to develop collaborations among collections, technologies, and scholarship.

Paul has over ten years’ experience an academic setting, previously serving as the Assistant Dean of Libraries with Wayne State University and as an adjunct faculty member in the School of Information Sciences. Before his time in libraries, Paul worked in the private sector with roles focused on technology education, application development, and systems management.

Paul is a 2009 graduate of Wayne State’s School of Information Sciences and was part of the IMLS sponsored “Fine and Performing Arts Librarianship” grant where he implemented library technology for Detroit’s cultural institutions, including the Detroit Symphony and the Michigan Opera Theatre. Paul serves on the elected boards of the Michigan Academic Library Association (MiALA) and the Midwest Collaborative for Library Services (MCLS).

Secretary

Preethi Gorecki

Brief biography
Preethi Gorecki is a Library Faculty Diversity Fellow at Grand Valley State University, where she primarily serves the function of Business Liaison Librarian. Preethi holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from Concordia University in Montréal, Québec, Canada and a Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) degree from the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada. While completing her MLIS degree, Preethi served as a Project Coordinator at the University of Waterloo Library in Ontario, Canada. During that time, she worked on a renovation project to create accessible student spaces, various process refinement initiatives, and co-lead a student ambassador program. Her research interests include best practices for diversifying librarianship, project and task management tools and techniques for everyday academic librarianship, and student engagement as a strategy for increasing student wellness

Treasurer

Clayton Hayes

Brief biography
I am a Digital Publishing/STEM Librarian who has been working at Wayne State for just over two and a half years. I received my MLIS from Wayne State in 2013 and, before that, obtained a Master's degree in Mathematics from the same institution. I joined MiALA in 2015 and have been an active member ever since, serving on the Advocacy Task Force upon its creation in December of 2015 and, when it became a committee in 2016, serving as its first chair. I have also served on the Communications and Marketing Committee as an at-large member, and am finishing up my term as the User Experience section Secretary.

Publicly Funded University Representative

	Helen Look
	Brief biography I am the Collection Analyst for the University of Michigan Library and have worked for almost twenty years in academic libraries. Most of my experience has been at UM-Ann Arbor where I have collaborated with faculty, staff, and students within rapidly evolving areas (science, multimedia creation, health sciences, open access, collection assessment, and DEIA initiatives). Throughout my professional work, I have remained consistent in fostering a critical perspective of our library practices and higher education.
	Elaine Meyer
	Brief biography Hello! I'm Elaine Meyer, I'm the Engineering and Math Librarian at UM Dearborn. I also support data management efforts for the engineering school. I've been working in library related jobs (ProQuest, Gale, MCLS and now UM Dearborn) for ~10 years and I was an engineer for also about 8 years (time flies!). I graduated from the University of Michigan School of Information with concentrations in both Library and Information Services and Human Computer Interaction. I live in Detroit and volunteer at the Michigan Humane Society and the Redford Theatre, and love to ride my bike around Detroit.

Private University Representative

	Caryn Noel
	Brief biography Caryn Noel is the Library Director for Walsh College. She comes to Walsh, and its comprehensive business and tax collections, with over a decade of library administrative experience and in a previous career, corporate finance. Most recently Caryn served as the Library Director of Orchard Lake Schools. Caryn holds a Master of Library and Information Science degree from Wayne State University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Arizona. Caryn’s passion is Information Literacy for all of clients - students, faculty and guests. One of her current projects include an Academic Integrity module to inspire students against the pitfalls of plagiarism, the use of custom paper mills and the benefits of learning citation methods, heavily influenced by the ACRL Framework. She remains active with her consortium, the Detroit Area Library Network (DALNET) as a board member and Vice Chair of the Executive Committee. In her spare time, Caryn like to garden and take long walks with her Border Collie, Ian.
	Cynthia Simpson
	Brief biography Cynthia Simpson has been a professional librarian since 2008, when she completed her MLIS at Wayne State University. From 2006 through 2011, she worked in a variety of public libraries as a youth and adult services librarian and interlibrary loan department supervisor. As of 2011, she has been employed at Lawrence Technological University, a small private STEM university in Southfield, and is the Coordinator of Library Access Services. In addition to supervising the student assistant team and managing the Circulation Department, she manages her library’s chat service, teaches information literacy and is the Project Manager for the Albert Kahn Library Collection. She was invited by students to be their Adviser for both the Association of Indian Students and the Muslim Student Association, and was recently elected to a fifth term on the Staff Senate. In 2018, she was selected to participate in ALA’s Leadership Institute and was matched with a year-long mentor through LLAMA’s Mentoring program. This spring she attended the Association of College and Research Libraries' (ACRL) Conference in Cleveland on a Mid-Career Scholarship. Currently she is pursuing a Master’s in Technical and Professional Communication. Cynthia has lived, studied, traveled and worked abroad in over 25 countries and is inherently invested in equity, diversity, inclusion and access. In her free time, she enjoys outdoor activities with her family and rescue Pitbull Bella. She used to really enjoy running until her knee crashed while training for a marathon.

Community College Representative

	Jen Fiero
	Brief biography Jen is a lifelong Michigan resident and lover of books and information. She has a BA in Spanish from Grand Valley State University and received her MLIS from Wayne State University. She has worked at Jackson College's Atkinson Library since 2013. Jen lives in Jackson with her husband and son, and her claim to fame is being a two-day Jeopardy! champion in 2014
	Bethany Kennedy
	Brief biography Bethany Kennedy is the Director of Access Services in the Bailey Library at Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor, Michigan where she focuses on facilitating innovative, collaborative efforts to strengthen her campus and community. Ms. Kennedy earned her Master of Library and Information Science degree from Wayne State University in 2005 and has worked in a variety of academic settings. Her projects include serving as Trustee on the Ypsilanti (MI) District Library board; bringing librarians, business service organizations and business owners together through LibraryBiz Connect, and leading the WCC Entrepreneurship Center Steering Committee. Ms. Kennedy lives with her family in Ypsilanti, MI with two cats and a few surprisingly lovable hermit crabs.

Advocacy Committee Chair

	TBA

Communications & Marketing Committee Chair

	TBA

Conference Planning Committee Chair

	David Scott
	Brief biography Board member of MiALA from 2015-16. Chair of poster sessions 2016 and 2018. Current member of the communications and marketing team responsible for social media. Also similar role at Ferris. Currently am the Outreach and User Engagement Librarian at Ferris. High school sports official for football volleyball and basketball.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Accessibility Task Force

	TBA

Membership Committee Chair

	Alex Hauser
	Brief biography My name is Alex Hauser and I am a Business Librarian at Michigan State University. I have been a librarian at MSU for nearly 3 years and a librarian for nearly 6 years.

Interest Group Coordinating Council (IGCC)

Representative	Grace Haynes
	Brief biography I am the Music Librarian at Michigan State University. Prior to working at MSU, I worked in Public Services and Outreach for the University Libraries at the University of Colorado Boulder. I earned my MLIS at the University of Denver. In addition to MiALA, I am an active member of the Music Library Association.
Representative	Rachel Minkin
	Brief biography Currently Head of Reference Services at Michigan State University, Rachel has also served as a reference and instruction librarian at Lansing Community College and a reference librarian at the Graduate Theological Union's Flora Lamson Hewlett Library (Berkeley, CA). Rachel's earned her MLIS at University of Pittsburgh and also holds a Master of Theological Studies (MTS) from Vanderbilt Divinity School (Nashville, TN).
Representative	Carin Graves
	Brief biography Born and raised in East Tennessee, I received a Bachelor's degree in Anthropology with minors in Classical Civilization, History, and Italian from Indiana University Bloomington in 2013. My research in the Anthropology of Food took me to the University of Chicago where I graduated with a Master's degree in the Social Sciences in 2014. Having developed an interest in liaison librarianship as an undergraduate, I returned to Indiana University to get my MLS, graduating in 2016. As a Social Science Liaison at Michigan State University, my understanding of collections and liaison work emphasizes the diverse modes of scholarly communication, the merging of social science theory and critical librarianship, and social justice in the public university library.
Representative	Brenna Wade
	Brief biography I am currently a Public Services Librarian at Hillsdale College with responsibilities including instruction, reference, supervising interlibrary loan, managing the library’s technology and website, and outreach. I worked as a Technical Services Librarian responsible for serials and electronic resources at Hillsdale College from 2011-2014, and I also have experience as a paraprofessional and intern with special collections before earning my MLS. My professional interests focus mostly on library outreach, student success, and library culture.
Member-at-large	Elizabeth Walker-Papke
	Brief biography Elizabeth Walker-Papke is the Online and Distance Learning Librarian at Spring Arbor University in Spring Arbor, MI, a position in which she has served since June 2012. During these years, Elizabeth has worked with both traditional and non-traditional students and wears a number of different hats: collection developer and liaison for a variety of departments that include Nursing, Sociology, Criminal Justice, Business, and Art, supervisor of a project production lab, reference librarian, educator in information literacy/research, and manager of her library’s 24/7 chat participation in an academic library consortium.