At a moment when libraries across the nation face unprecedented demands and constrained resources, PLA must remain a powerful source for strategic guidance, connection, and support for systems that are adapting creatively while staying true to their core missions.

If elected President, I will ensure PLA is aligned with the most urgent needs of libraries today: advancing digital equity, strengthening community partnerships, advocating for sustainable funding, and equipping libraries with the practical tools that are necessary to navigate rapid societal and technological change.

My leadership is grounded in decades of service across major urban library systems, including Broward County Library, Queens Public Library, and San Francisco Public Library. I have led LA County Library since 2016, overseeing a $230 million budget and 87 libraries that serve more than 3.6 million customers. Throughout my career, I have prioritized community voices through Visioning Sessions, ensuring that individuals and families directly inform library priorities, services, and programs. From adopting a fine-free model and launching in-person tutoring for school-age children to forging strategic partnerships that deliver life-saving services, I have cultivated a breadth of skills and experiences that I am eager to share with colleagues across the field.

I am also deeply committed to strengthening libraries as places that foster communities of readers and writers, a place where all stories have a home. I continue to make myself available to front line team members through Skye Sessions because alI team members should have access to leadership. I look forward to working alongside the library community and its workers to explore approaches that nurture welcoming spaces where curiosity thrives, creativity is encouraged, and all community members feel invited to engage fully in the cultural and civic life around them.