President
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President-Elect
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Past President
Jenny UmbargerJennyumbarger@ncslma.orgJenny Umbarger is the librarian at Rogers-Herr Middle School in Durham, and currently serves as the Middle School Cohort Media Lead for Durham Public Schools. She earned her BA in Middle Grades Education (Social Studies & Science) from UNC-Chapel Hill and her MLS from North Carolina Central University. She earned National Board She has served on the NCSLMA Board as Secretary, Archives Chair, AASL Standards Chair, Marketing Director, and President. She completed the School Library Supervisor certification in 2016 and is a Lilead Fellow (2017-2018 Cohort). | .jpg "Jenny Umbarger") |
Treasurer (Appointed)
Bitsy GriffinBitsy Griffin has served as school librarian and technology facilitator since she received her MLS from East Carolina University in 2012. She has 25+ years experience in elementary, middle, and high schools as a math teacher and librarian. She has served on the on the NCSLMA Board as Advocacy and Governance Director, President Elect, President, and Past President. In addition, Mrs. Griffin served as a councilor-at-large for ALA (2019-2021), and as the Region 4 Rep for AASL Chapter Assembly (2018-2020). She writes for AASL’s Knowledge Quest, and you can follow her on the following social media: |
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To meet state requirements and keep fees cost at a minimum, this position has no length of term requirements.
Secretary
Scott Summers
Scott Summers is the Assistant Director of the Media and Education Technology Resource Center (METRC) in the College of Education at NC State University. Prior to this role, he was an English teacher and school librarian at Apex High School in the Wake County Public School System. He earned his BA in English from Michigan State University and his MLIS from UNCG. Scott enjoys helping educators transform their teaching with technology and connecting readers with books they will enjoy. When he isn't working, you can find Scott playing with his two year old daughter, preparing for the March arrival of his son, crushing the leaderboard on Peloton, and tracking his favorite reads/providing his hot takes on Twitter @RealMrSummers.
Lead Regional Director
Lori MunroeI currently work as the librarian at Wake Forest Middle School in Wake County where I have been for the past twelve years. Before coming to Wake County, I worked in Hinesville, Georgia as a high school English teacher. I earned my MLS at ECU in 2011, and I have been a National Board Certified Teacher since 2012. I was a part of the 2020-21 leadership cohort. |
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Region 1
Meredith Hill
After completing six years as a reading specialist and eleven as a school library media coordinator, I am beginning my fourth year as the District Media Specialist for Pitt County Schools. I served as the inaugural Intellectual Freedom chair for NCSLMA, was the 2015 NCSLMA Media Coordinator of the Year, and served on the ECU MLS Advisory Board. Providing professional opportunities for media coordinators to grow, advocating for students' right to read, and creating a safe space for all students in the media center are some of my passions.
Region 2
Sara LevinSara Levin is going on her 16th year as a Media Coordinator and 19th year as a librarian. A graduate of the ECU MLS Program, Sara has presented curriculum, collection development, robotics, and grant writing sessions at NCSLMA, NCTIES, and the Joyner Library L2L Networking Summit. Sara is the Media Coordinator at Kinston High School and currently serves as a HBOB Committee member for Region 2 and is a member of the 2021 NCSLMA Leadership Academy. She believes that collaboration is the key to an effective learning environment and loves teaching research skills. In her spare time, she enjoys puzzles, reading (of course!), hanging with her family, and snuggling cats. |
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Region 3
Chris Tuttell.JPG)
I am excited to serve as the NCSLMA Region 3 Director for 2023 & 2024. I began my educational career in 2000 as an elementary school teacher. In 2012, I obtained my MLS at North Carolina Central University and I have served as both an elementary and high school librarian. In 2016, I completed my course work at East Carolina University in Instructional Technology and I became a NBCT librarian in 2021. I have worked for the Wake County Public School System since 2007 and I am currently a librarian at South Garner High School.
I have two goals for the 2023 school year:
- Understand the needs of the Region 3 librarians and build a program of support to meet those needs
- Grow the NCSLMA Membership in Region 3
Region 4
B.J. Johnson
I have been an elementary media coordinator for 20 years and have coached a Battle of the Books Team for most of those years. I am National Board Certified and in addition to the required master’s degree for librarians, I hold a master’s degree in Educational Technology. Prior to becoming a librarian, I taught vocational education courses to Cumberland County high school students. I entered the CCS system as a bookkeeper and transitioned to teaching from there. As a librarian, my goal is to create a love of reading and books for all students and encourage them to explore reading for enjoyment as well as reading for informational purposes.
Region 5
Amy RalphMy name is Amy Ralph and I have been an educator for thirteen years. I am currently in my eighth year as a media specialist in Lexington City Schools. I have a strong passion for teaching both students and teachers. One of my greatest strengths is providing and planning professional development for educators. Over the last 7 years I have provided a monthly professional development for my staff at the school level. I have also presented at our district’s beginning on the year professional development every year. I have helped educators grow using their own expertise by presenting and or organizing Edcamps at the district, state, and national levels. I have presented at nErDcampMI three times, assisted my district in planning our own Edcamp, and I am the primary organizer and a co-founder of @nErDcampNC. I love participating in NCSLMA events. I have presented at the NCSLMA annual conference five times and I was a state expert during the first year of the mentor/mentee program. Currently I am on the professional development team at the district level. I am also a member of the district technology team (I3 team). I have a passion for our profession and believe that we play a major role in supporting the students and educators in our state. |
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Region 6
Robin Williams
robinwilliams@ncslma.org
Hi! I'm Robin Williams the new Region 6 Director. I have been in school libraries since 2006 in the Charlotte Mecklenburg School district. I started my career in middle schools for nine years and have spent the last eight in high schools - I've been at East Mecklenburg High School since 2019. As an MLS graduate of UNCG, I am passionate about kids finding a home in my library where they feel safe and welcome. I am the coach of our High School BOB team (district champs 2022), I advise a small makerclub, the senior class board and teach a help desk class at my school. I have presented at the state level on Makerspaces, Utilizing student helpers in the library, Inquiry in the library, Social Media in the library and I am a National Board Certified Teacher. When not at school I'm running around after my two teenage boys, my scout leader husband or one of my five pets. I also enjoy reading, cooking/baking and crocheting. I can't wait to learn and grow with and from the amazing folks in region 6!
Region 7
Co-Directors: Vanessa Lail
Vanessa Lail
Originally from The Mountain State, West Virginia, I moved to North Carolina in 1999 when I accepted a position at Grandview Middle School in Hickory, NC. I earned my MLS from Appalachian State University in 2009 and became Grandview’s SLMC in 2014. During my time in the classroom at Grandview I taught Language Arts and Science, and I still love fusing those two subjects today in the media center.
I have presented at NCTIES & NCSLMA on topics such as “Tech on a Shoestring”, “Mathemagical Books for Middle School Readers”, and more. I have enjoyed enriching professional activities such as NCSLMA Emerging Leaders, NCDLCN, assisting with edCamp StemWest, and working as a National Board Scoring Director. A strength of my practice has been “making do” with limited resources, along with using grant funds, DonorsChoose, and other fundraising to enrich my program with new materials.
My favorite authors include Marissa Meyer and Isaac Asimov. I enjoy hiking, camping with my husband, training my Australian Shepherd-Golden Retriever puppy, home canning and baking, and stereotypically curling up with my cats and a good book. I look forward to meeting, supporting, and collaborating with my Region 7 colleagues!
Region 8
Maggie Skroski
My name is Maggie Skroski and I have lived in Asheville, NC for about 30 years. I hail from Logan, Utah, started my career teaching high school - mostly with The Department of Defense Dependent Schools, laid out to raise six kids, went back to get my MLS degree, and after a fabulous stint at a high school library I have the dream job I never knew I wanted in an elementary school library. I'm very excited to work with REGION 8!
Region 9
Holly Christensen
I am thrilled to represent Region 9 and excited to help showcase the amazin
g libraries, librarians, and media coordinators in the private and independent schools across North Carolina. Coming from the corporate world and then the classroom, I found my calling in a little school library. It is a joy to go to school everyday where I get to talk about books, help develop readers and thinkers, and create opportunities for learning, growth, and adventure. I am in my fifth year in the Library at St. Pius X Catholic school, where I also coach the Middle School and Elementary BOB teams and implement STEM integration in our classrooms.
Appointed Directors:
AASL Delegates
Laura Aldridge
Laura Aldridge is the school librarian at Durant Road Middle School in Raleigh. She earned her Master's in Library Science through North Carolina Central University in 2014 and participated in cohort 2 of NCSLMA's Emerging Leaders in 2017. Previously, she worked with literacy non-profits and Wake County Public Library. Her favorite part of her job is to build a more inclusive space for students and their learning. When not working, she loves reading, eating Mexican food, and listening to podcasts. Sarah Justice
Sarah Justice is the media specialist at Rosman Middle and High Schools in Transylvania County, NC. She was the 2016 North Carolina School Library Media Association Media Coordinator of the Year. Mrs. Justice has worked her way across the state of North Carolina in pursuit of her education. She received her undergrad from Appalachian State University, MLIS from University of North Carolina Greensboro, and her MAEd IT from East Carolina University. Her passions include reading young adult literature and stalking authors—all to make her a better media specialist since she has to know what to recommend to the students, right? You can follow her adventures on Twitter at @sarahpjustice Facebook @rosmanmedia and Instagram @rosmanmedia |
Advancement
Faith HuffI've been a middle school educator since 2005 and a school librarian since 2016. I'm a graduate of UNCG with a degree in Middle Grades Education (2005) and MLIS (2019) and Elon University with an M. Ed in Gifted Education (2009). I'm the current school library media specialist at York Chester Middle School in Gastonia, NC. I've also previously worked on the Advocacy Committee at NCSLMA as the Legislative Chair. When I'm not reading or making TikToks that make my students call me "cringey" I'm cuddling with my dogs and serving as the Director of Music at First UMC Maiden. Please find me on all the social medias @teachinaTARDIS. |
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Advocacy & Governance
Susan SawinSusan Sawin has been the Library Media Coordinator at First Flight High School for twelve years. She holds an MSLIS from North Carolina Central University, a JD and a BA in Political Science from UNC-Chapel Hill. She is a National Board Certified K12 Library Media Specialist. Her focus for the last several years has been media and news literacy and civic education. Ms. Sawin is a 2019-2020 NCSLMA Leadership Academy and has served on the NCSLMA High School Battle of the Books Committee for 6 years. When not at school, Ms. Sawin enjoys the company of her four adult children and most adorable grandson. |
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Awards, Grants, & Scholarships
Robin RhodesRobin is a retired librarian who loved all aspects of her library life through the years while serving as media coordinator in elementary, middle, and high school media centers. She has also worked in a public library at different times as head of youth services and as a reference librarian, and was an adjunct professor for ASU’s library science program. She has presented sessions at NCSLMA and NCTIES many times, led professional development for librarians, teachers, and administrators across the state, and been active on the NCSLMA board for several years. Robin is passionate about helping other librarians, living a life of purpose, loving her family, reading, and looking for ways to have fun. |
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Book Programs
Stacy Hersey
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Conference
Heath Radford
Heath Radford has served as a media coordinator for over five years, where he has worked in the Wayne County Public School system. He currently resides at Eastern Wayne High School in Goldsboro, North Carolina. At his school, he also serves as the Beginning Teacher Coordinator. He was part of the 2022 NCSLMA Leadership Academy and has presented the NCSLMA Conference. Heath is also the current Executive Secretary of the Wayne County Historical Association in Wayne County, North Carolina.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Michelle Burton
Michelle has worked as a school librar
Ness Shortley
Ness Shortley is the librarian at George Moses Horton Middle School, a 5-8 grade middle school in Pittsboro. She is currently on the blogging team for Great Graphic Novels for Teens and has previously served on the committees for Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers, Best Fiction for Young Adults, and the Odyssey Award. Ness received her associate degree in print journalism and sociology from the County College of Morris (2005), her bachelor’s degree in journalism and comparative politics from East Carolina University (2007), and her master’s of library science from UNC-Chapel Hill (2018).
Technology -- Website
Terry Fernung has been the librarian at Pickett Elementary School since 2019, as well as Lexington City School's District Media Coordinator Lead. He has had the privilege of serving the students in Lexington City Schools since his educational career began in 1999; serving as a fourth and fifth grade teacher and Assistant Principal. When asked about his favorite position, he will quickly say, with enthusiasm, that being a Media Coordinator is his absolute favorite!
Technology - Social Media
Alicia Luke
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Technology - G-Suites
Jenny UmbargerJennyumbarger@ncslma.orgJenny Umbarger is the librarian at Rogers-Herr Middle School in Durham, and currently serves as the Middle School Cohort Media Lead for Durham Public Schools. She earned her BA in Middle Grades Education (Social Studies & Science) from UNC-Chapel Hill and her MLS from North Carolina Central University. She earned National Board She has served on the NCSLMA Board as Secretary, Archives Chair, AASL Standards Chair, Marketing Director, and President. She completed the School Library Supervisor certification in 2016 and is a Lilead Fellow (2017-2018 Cohort). | |
Technology -- Membership Services
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NC DPI Representative
Kathy ParkerI was "called" to the education profession beginning as a high school English teacher, becoming an elementary then high school SLMC, and transitioning to the Department of Public Instruction. My expertise in school library media derives from my UNCG MLIS, National Board Certification, the many amazing SLMCs that I learn from daily, and my students. I am passionate about and committed to NC's school libraries! They make our children's lives better! |
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ABOUT US NCSLMA is a professional organization dedicated to supporting, promoting, and empowering school librarians across the state as they transform their school communities. | JOIN US Membership is $50 per year and comes with numerous benefits and professional development opportunities. | CONTACT US Mailing address: | CONNECT WITH US We provide various ways to connect with librarians across the state. |