2015 Networking Summit Facilitator Biographies
Sedley Abercrombie
Teacher Librarian
Davidson County
sedleyabercrombie@davidson.k12.nc.us
A 6th year teacher-librarian in Davidson County, Sedley Abercrombie is currently in the shared media center for a MS/HS. She is a SymbalooPD Pro Educator, Common Sense Media Certified Educator, TED-Ed Club facilitator, conference presenter, and founder of the weekly twitter chat for NC teacher librarians, #nctlchat.
Keith Beisner
Teacher Librarian
A.L. Stanback Middle School
wkeithb@alumni.unc.edu
Keith Beisner is currently a teacher-librarian at A.L. Stanback Middle School in Hillsborough, NC. A mechanical engineer in a former lifetime, he earned his MLS from UNC. He worked at NCSSM during the majority of the conversion.
Robin Boltz
Library Director
North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics
boltz@ncssm.edu
Robin Boltz has served as the library director of the NC School of Science and Mathematics for the last three years. She received her PhD in Library Science from UNC, and is an alumna of the ECU Library Science program. She has been a library teacher in elementary, middle and high school, and has taught both graduate and undergraduate students. She currently serves in the Early Literacy section of the Governor’s Education Cabinet.
Amanda Bosch
Director, Curriculum Materials Center
Catawba College
abosch@catawba.edu
A former high school English teacher and elementary school librarian, Amanda now serves as the Director of the Catawba College Curriculum Materials Center as well as serving as the Chapter Advisor for Catawba’s SNCAE chapter. In recent years, she served as President of the North Carolina Association of Curriculum Materials Centers. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram, @CatawbaCMC, and keep up on her SNCAE Advisor blog at http://abosch7.wix.com/advisesncae
Gloria Bradshaw
Lab Manager & Conservation Technician, Joyner Library
East Carolina University
bradshawg@ecu.edu
Gloria Bradshaw has worked as the Conservation Lab Manager of the Preservation and Conservation unit in Joyner Library at East Carolina University since 1993. She is a member of the Joyner Library Disaster Committee and serves as Salvage Coordinator. Gloria oversees all conservation treatments in the unit and is responsible for ensuring all Environmental Health and Safety regulations are followed. Her training and research include art courses at ECU such as drawing and design, Solinet/Lyrasis workshops in Preservation and Disaster planning, Book and Paper repair, Deacidification treatments, Mold Recovery and Library binding for preservation. She received the ECU Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Innovation in 1996.
Sarah Chrisman
Media Specialist
Southern Elementary School
chrisms@gcsnc.com
Sarah Chrisman is currently in her fifth year as the media specialist at Southern Elementary School in Greensboro. She has also taught 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade in the classroom. Sarah received her BS in Elementary Education at The State University of New York at Oswego and her MLIS at The University of North Carolina-Greensboro. Her passion is integrating technology, webtools, and other digital resources into the curriculum to equip students with necessary skills for college and career readiness.
Christine Clark
Media Specialist
Tuckaseegee Elementary School
christinek.clark@cms.k12.nc.us
Christine Clark is a 21st-century educator currently serving on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District Personalized Learning Design Team. She is also a graduate student in ECU’s Master of Library Science program.
Patch Clark
Professor, School of Theatre and Dance
East Carolina University
clarkp@ecu.edu
Professor Patricia “Patch” Clark, is coordinator for the Theatre for Youth and Theatre Education Programs at East Carolina University. She is the founder and Director of the ECU Storybook Theatre which tours to schools, libraries and festivals and appears as part of ECU’s ArtsSmart and Family Fare Series. She also directed the Off-Broadway premiere production of Katmandu at the John Houseman Studio Theatre. She is the author of Intergenerational Arts in the Nursing Home (Greenwood Press) and co-author of Seniors on Stage (Praeger Press.) She recently received the Distinguished Professor for Teaching Award presented by the UNC Board of Governors 2013-2014, The Scholar Teacher Award 2012-2013, and the ECU Alumni Association Award for Outstanding Teaching for 2011-2012.
Cynthia Crowdus
Digital Learning Systems Consultant
North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
cynthia.crowdus@dpi.nc.gov
Cynthia Crowdus is a digital learning systems consultant and the lead for Schoolnet and OpenClass at the NC Department of Public Instruction.
April M. Dawkins
Doctoral Student & Graduate Teaching Assistant
University of South Carolina
adawkins@email.sc.edu
April Dawkins is currently a doctoral student in the School of Library and Information Science at the University of South Carolina. April is part of the NxtWave program funded by an IMLS grant, a national cohort of PhD students whose focus is school librarianship. As a graduate teaching assistant with SLIS, April is teaching Information Literacy and Young Adult Materials. Prior to her doctoral studies, April served for fifteen years as a high school media specialist. She is also a past president of the North Carolina School Library Media Association and currently serves on the NCSLMA Young Adult Book Award Committee and as chair of the Leadership Development Committee.
Jewel Davis
Education Librarian
Appalachian State University
davisja5@appstate.edu
Jewel Davis is the Education Librarian at Appalachian State University. She began her career as a high school English teacher after receiving a Master of Arts in Teaching and a BA in English from UNC-Chapel Hill. After receiving her MLIS from UNC-Greensboro, she began working in Belk Library’s Instructional Materials Center where she teaches pre-service teachers and collaborates with College of Education faculty.
Angela Finn
Library Department Chair & Middle School Librarian
Ravenscroft School
afinn@ravenscroft.org
Angela Finn is the Library Department Chair and Middle School Librarian at the Ravenscroft School in Raleigh, NC. She received her Master in Library Science from East Carolina University, where she was awarded the Outstanding Graduate Student of the Year from the School of Education. She has been teaching information literacy skills for more than 12 years and her teaching centers on developing global citizen leaders of the future. She is an integral part of her school’s community, assisting with co-curricular planning, as well as providing professional development and leadership to empower students and teachers alike.
Joanna Gerakios
District Media Facilitator
Pitt County Schools
gerakij@pitt.k12.nc.us
Joanna Gerakios works for Pitt County Schools as the district School Library Media Facilitator. She is also the current President of the NC School Library Media Association. Joanna has an interest in bringing books and technology together to energize education and empower students. Previous to her current position, Joanna was a middle school media coordinator and taught 8th grade language arts and social studies. She has a BS in Middle Grades Education and an MLS from East Carolina University.
Margaret Gregor
Instructional Materials Center Coordinator
Appalachian State University
gregormn@appstate.edu
Margaret Gregor is the Instructional Materials Center Coordinator at Appalachian State University. She has worked as a school media center librarian, a young adult librarian, and as a community college and university librarian. She holds an MALS from the University of Kentucky and an Ed.D. from the University of Virginia.
Monica Gropp
Media Specialist
Rolesville High School
mgropp@wcpss.net
Monica Gropp is a media specialist at Rolesville High School and working towards a Master of Library and Information Science at North Carolina Central University. She has previously worked as a teacher for seven years and is in her first year as a media specialist.
Kim Gugino
Teacher-Librarian
Durham School of the Arts
kimberly.fawks-gugino@dpsnc.net
Kim Gugino prefers the title teacher-librarian and is thrilled to support the students and staff at Durham School of the Arts. She holds a M.Ed. from UNC-Greensboro, an MLS from East Carolina University, and is a National Board Certified Media Coordinator. She is enjoying working on the NCSLMA Young Adult Book Award Committee. She has facilitated at numerous school, district, and state conferences, including the 2012 Librarian to Librarian Networking Summit and NC Social Studies Conference. Kim is a lover of all things Google and is thrilled with the roll out of their learning management system, Google Classroom, which can be used by both classroom teachers and teacher-librarians in a variety of innovative ways.
Deanna Harris
Media Coordinator
East Cary Middle School
deeharris@wcpss.net
Deanna Harris is a National Board Certified Teacher and has been an educator for twenty-two years. Deanna has been a middle grades language arts teacher, an educator-on-loan at the NC Department of Public Instruction, and a middle grades media and technology coordinator. She has presented at workshops and facilitated presentations for her school and local district as well as other districts, and also for state and national organizations, including NCSLMA, AASL, and NSDC. She writes the Monday Means Leadership posts for the AASL blog. She graduated from Meredith College with a BA in English and completed her MLS at NC-Central University.
Elizabeth Hartnett
Doctoral Student, School of Library and Information Science
University of South Carolina
ejhart@email.sc.edu
Elizabeth Hartnett is currently a doctoral student in the School of Library and Information Science at the University of South Carolina. She teaches a course on children’s literature and has recently been studying how makerspaces in libraries impact creativity and critical thinking. Prior to her doctoral studies, Elizabeth served as an elementary school media specialist in Georgia.
Chelsea Hauck
Graduate Student, Program in Maritime Studies
East Carolina University
hauckc10@students.ecu.edu
Chelsea Hauck is a graduate student in the Program of Maritime Studies at East Carolina University. She has been working in the Preservation/Conservation Lab at Joyner Library as a graduate assistant for the last 3 years. She works primarily with special and rare materials.
Kimberly Hirsh
Managing Editor, LEARN NC
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
kimberlyhirsh@unc.edu
Kimberly Hirsh is a former high school Latin teacher, middle school librarian, and current managing editor of LEARN NC, an outreach program of the School of Education at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Mollee Holloman
Media Specialist
Manteo Elementary
hollomanmo@daretolearn.org
Mollee Holloman has earned a degree from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in Comparative Literature, and a Master of Library Science from East Carolina University. She has been the media specialist at Manteo Elementary since 2012, where she helps students discover their interests, collaborates with teachers, and uses technology in meaningful ways such as Augmented Reality book reviews, and Google Hangouts with schools in neighboring districts. Her 21st-century, skills-driven lessons have awarded her two instructional highlight lessons for the Board of Education visits to her school. Mollee has presented at the Dare County technology conference in 2013 and 2014 on Web 2.0 tools for the classroom, Collaborative projects with Media specialists and Technology facilitators, and Virtual Field Trips.
Gail Holmes
Educator-on-Loan
North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
gail.holmes@dpi.nc.gov
Gail Holmes (@ghholmes) has been in public education for 35 years. She has taught grades 6-12, led CTE courses for North Carolina Virtual Public Schools, and worked as a technology facilitator, an instructional technology coach, an adjunct professor at UNC-Greensboro in the department of Library Science and, presently, as an Educator-on-Loan for NCDPI’s Digital Teaching and Learning Division. She is a 2011 Kenan Fellow. Her project, “E-Teacher Training: 21st Century Training for the Classroom,” focused on integrating technology into the curriculum to empower students and provide teachers with resources to enhance learning and promote digital teaching and learning. Holmes co-authored the journal article “The Kenan Fellows Program for Curriculum and Leadership Development: Teaching Students to Think Outside the Book,” published in the International Journal of Technology, Knowledge and Society. She is an Intel Teach senior trainer for North Carolina.
Siedah Holmes
Cheryl Lederle
Educational Resource Specialist
Library of Congress
cled@loc.gov
Cheryl Lederle is an Educational Resource Specialist at the Library of Congress, where she develops classroom materials, contributes to the blog “Teaching with the Library of Congress,” and works with teachers to incorporate the Library’s digitized primary sources into high-quality instruction. Previously, Cheryl taught English and writing at the high school and community college levels.
Vicky Mahoney
Media Specialist
Powhatan Elementary School
victoriamahoney@johnston.k12.nc.us
Vicky Mahoney is a K-5 Media Specialist at Powhatan Elementary School in Clayton. She received her Bachelor’s in Elementary Education from Illinois State University. She received her Master of Library Science from ECU in 2010. She was nominated for Johnston County Schools Media Specialist of the Year in 2014.
Laura Mangum
School Library Media Coordinator
North Pitt High School
manguml@pitt.k12.nc.us
Laura Mangum is the School Library Media Coordinator at North Pitt High School. She also has several years’ experience as a SLMC in a K-8 school. She was Pitt County Schools’ Media Coordinator of the Year in 2012. In the spring of 2013 Laura was awarded a local grant to create a model “forward thinking” media center for the district. Her proposal included both makerspace and learning commons concepts with an emphasis on collaboration with classroom teachers. Through this venture she has begun implementing green screening, 3D printing, electronics exploration, and more.
Lisa McElwee
Media Coordinator
Rock Ridge Elementary
lisa.mcelwee@wilsonschoolsnc.net
Lisa McElwee is an educator of 18 years—11 of these years as a media coordinator. Until recently, her experience was only in the middle school setting. This year, she has “switched” to the elementary level and serves as the media coordinator at Rock Ridge Elementary School in Wilson, NC.
Abby Moore
Education Librarian
University of North Carolina-Charlotte
amoor164@uncc.edu
Abby Moore is an Education Librarian at UNC Charlotte. For three years prior to joining the library faculty, she was the Education Librarian at the University of South Dakota. Before the transition to academic libraries, Abby was a high school librarian in the Bronx, a New York City Teaching Fellow, and taught high school English. When she isn¹t working, Abby can be found outside, reading, or exploring.
Rebecca Newland
Teacher in Residence
Library of Congress
rene@loc.gov
Rebecca Newland is the 2013-2015 Library of Congress Teacher in Residence. She comes to the Library from Virginia Beach where she has been both a high school English teacher and a middle school librarian. She has experience with curriculum writing, facilitating professional development with teachers and librarians, and recommending books to kids that they end up loving. She holds a BA in English from Albright College in Reading, PA, as well as MSEd from Old Dominion University.
Michele Oros
Director of Grants and Development
Beaufort County Schools
moros@beaufort.k12.nc.us
Michele Oros has been employed as the Director of Grants and Development for Beaufort County Schools in Washington, North Carolina since March 2003. Professional duties include coordination of library media programs for the school district. Prior to her position as grant writer, she served as media coordinator at the elementary and high school levels for 14 years. Michele earned an Ed.S in Curriculum and Instruction from East Carolina University and an MA in Library and Media Services from Appalachian State University. She holds certifications in supervision, administration, media supervisor, and media coordinator.
Kathy Parker
School Library Media Consultant
North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
kathy.parker@dpi.nc.gov
Kathy is a Raleigh native who answered the calling to be a lifelong educator. She graduated with English and history degrees from North Carolina State University and earned ESL certification and a Master of Library Science from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She began her career in education as a high school English teacher before transitioning to school library media. In 2008, she earned National Board Certification in library media. Joining the NC Department of Public Instruction in 2012, she is currently the state’s School Library Media Consultant in the Division of Digital Teaching and Learning. Kathy is also available by phone at 919-807-3267 and on Twitter, @kparkerslmc.
Colleen Pinyan
Media Specialist
Brooks Global Studies Elementary
pinyans@gcsnc.com
Colleen Pinyan is in her fourth year as librarian at Brooks Global Studies Elementary School in Greensboro, N.C. She focuses on making the library a welcoming place filled with books that appeal to all types of readers and on using her instructional time to empower students to be global learners in a 21st century world. She received her BA from Wake Forest University and her MLS from East Carolina University. She has previously presented at the Librarian to Librarian Networking Summit, World View, and the Guilford County Schools Global Conference.
Louise Price
Media Coordinator
Fike High School
louise.price@wilsonschoolsnc.net
Louise Price is the Media Coordinator at Fike High School in Wilson, NC. She is a National Board Certified teacher and has experience as a media coordinator at both the elementary and secondary levels.
Pamela Sands
Media Coordinator
New Century International Middle School
PamelaSands@ccs.k12.nc.us
Pamela Sands holds a BS in secondary English education grades 6-9, an M.Ed. in elementary grades K-6, and an MLS grades K-12. She taught high school English and journalism for seven years, 5th grade for three years, and has been a media coordinator at the elementary and middle school levels for seven years. She is currently the Media Coordinator at New Century International Middle School in Cumberland County. Mrs. Sands is the 2014-2015 NCSLMA Media Coordinator of the Year, along with being the MCOY for Cumberland County Schools and the Piedmont East Region.
Cal Shepard
State Librarian of North Carolina
cal.shepard@ncdcr.gov
Cal Shepard is the State Librarian of North Carolina. Prior to this she was Program Director of Consulting Services at LYRASIS and also managed the SOLINET Educational Services Program. She was the Chief of Library Development at the State Library of North Carolina and has held several positions in public libraries starting out as a Children’s Librarian at the Nantahala Regional Library in Murphy, North Carolina. She received her MLS from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and is active in the American Library Association.
Aritia Smalls
AIG Consultant
New Century International Middle School
AritiaSmalls@ccs.k12.nc.us
Aritia Smalls has worked as a middle school teacher for years. She has a BS in Middle Grades Education with concentrations in both Language Arts and Social Studies. She also holds an MAEd in Reading K-12. She is currently working as an AIG Consultant at New Century International Middle School. In the past, she has facilitated professional development for Cumberland County Schools and has served on the Sandhills Educational Consortium Curriculum Development Team.
Tom Terrell
Media Specialist
Granville Central High School
terrelltf@gcs.k12.nc.us
Dr. Tom Terrell has been a School Librarian at three high schools, two in North Carolina and one in Florida. In addition, he has taught in graduate programs for school media specialists and other librarians at the University of Central Florida, the University of South Florida, and North Carolina Central University. He holds three degrees, including an Ed.D. from the University of Central Florida.
Christine Tuttell
Media Coordinator
Bugg Creative Arts and Science Magnet Elementary
ctuttell@wcpss.net
Chris Tuttell is in her third year as media coordinator at Bugg Creative Arts and Science Magnet Elementary. Prior to becoming a media coordinator she was an elementary teacher for 12 years. She holds a BA in communication-media arts from Western Connecticut University, a MA in elementary education from University of South Florida and an MLS from North Carolina Central University. She has presented at district conferences and state conferences including NCTIES and NCSLMA. She is a NCSLMA Emerging Leader and a co-host of the weekly Twitter chat #nctlchat.
Joan Vey
Media Specialist
Rolesville High School
jvey@wcpss.net
Joan Vey is a media specialist at Rolesville High School. She graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a BA in History, a B.Ed., and an MLS. She began her career as a public librarian in a research library in Brampton, Ontario where she worked as a reference, multi-cultural, and community information librarian. She has worked for Wake County Public School System for the past ten years in elementary, middle, and high schools.
Judy Walker
Education and Psychology Librarian
University of North Carolina-Charlotte
jwalker@uncc.edu
Judy Walker has promoted the use of technology in the classroom for 35 years, first as an elementary media specialist and then as the curriculum materials librarian at UNC. In her current position she helps students, teachers and librarians discover high quality digital resources and use them effectively in the classroom. Even in her nonprofessional life she uses and encourages others to use a variety of STEM related apps connected to a variety of citizen science projects.
Robin Willis
School Library Media Specialist
Centennial Campus Magnet Middle School
rwillis@wcpss.net
Robin Willis has been a School Library Media Coordinator in North Carolina for 19 years. She is a graduate of The College of William and Mary in Virginia and received her MSLS from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is a contributing blogger at Teen Librarian Toolbox, which is a member of the School Library Journal Blog Network.
Elaine Yontz
Professor, Master of Library Science Program
East Carolina University
yontzm@ecu.edu
Dr. Elaine Yontz is a Professor in the Master of Library Science Program in the Department of Interdisciplinary Professions at East Carolina University. As a librarian, she worked in Cataloging and Collection Development at the University of Florida. Before moving to Greenville, she taught in MLS programs at the University of South Florida and Valdosta State University. She is a graduate of Florida State University and the University of Florida.