UPCOMING ULC EVENT
Virtual Summit: Empowering Libraries to Strengthen Civic Health and Democracy
United States
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Public libraries play a crucial role in fostering civic health by providing spaces for community engagement, promoting informed citizenship, and facilitating access to resources that support democratic participation and social equity. As the U.S. approaches a significant presidential election this fall and Canada prepares for an expected federal election next year, the Urban Libraries Council is hosting a virtual summit to explore how libraries are strengthening civic health and democracy in their communities.
Join us on Tuesday, September 17 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern for an array of programming, including lightning talks from guest speakers, a panel discussion with library leaders, and breakout discussions with other attendees. Throughout the two-hour virtual summit, we will explore themes related to how libraries encourage an active citizenry and help facilitate civil discourse. Speakers and panelists will address how libraries are leading efforts to counter misinformation and disinformation, promoting race equity, and fostering socioeconomic mixing.
Speakers:
- Myke Atkinson, Service Design Lead, Calgary Public Library
- Vickery Bowles, City Librarian, Toronto Public Library
- Leander Croker, Deputy Director, Greensboro Public Library
- Allison Grubbs, Director of Libraries, Broward County Government
- Shamichael Hallman, Director of Civic Engagement and Economic Opportunity, Urban Libraries Council
- Kristin Hansen, Executive Director, Civic Health Project
- Brooks Rainwater, President and CEO, Urban Libraries Council
- John Sarrouf, Co-Executive Director and Director of Program Development, Essential Partners
- Lisa Kay Solomon, Designer in Residence, Stanford d. school
- Deanna Troust, Founder, Truth in Common
QUESTIONS? Contact [email protected] for help with this event.
Myke Atkinson, Service Design team, Calgary Public Library
Myke Atkinson joined the Service Design team at the Calgary Public Library in 2019. His focus is building a spirit of creativity and innovation in adult patrons and supporting civic engagement. Prior to joining the Library Myke worked in the local tech and not-for-profit arts scenes, most recently managing the community radio station CJSW. He has sat on several boards and committees for organizations like Sled Island, Music Calgary and his local community association, and has a steadfast belief in the power of volunteer commitment to city building.
Vickery Bowles, City Librarian, Toronto Public Library
Vickery Bowles is the City Librarian at Toronto Public Library (TPL), which delivers services through a network of 100 branches and online channels. Vickery has worked in a number of leadership positions, spearheading service development to support capacity building, civic engagement, economic development and social cohesion. Vickery is working to advance TPL’s new strategic plan focused on access to public spaces, digital access and inclusion, workforce development, support for democratic values and development of an innovative service culture.
Leander Croker, Deputy Director of Public Services and Strategic Initiatives, Greensboro Public Library
Leander Croker serves Greensboro Public Library as the Deputy Director of Public Services and Strategic Initiatives. Since beginning her library career in 2007, Leander has been a passionate advocate for the vital role of librarians and library workers in building the equity bridge between knowledge and resources in the communities they serve.
Prior joining Greensboro Public Library, Leander spent five years with Durham County Library, where she focused on integrating library services with entrepreneurial support. She holds an undergraduate degree from Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) and a Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). Leander's leadership is driven by her deep belief in the transformative power of libraries and the professionals who make them accessible to all.
Allison Grubbs, Director of Libraries, Broward County Government
Allison Grubbs is the Director of Broward County Library. She began serving Broward communities in 2019 when she was hired as Broward County Library’s Assistant Director, and since then has provided steadfast leadership through several challenges for the staff and local residents and visitors, especially with the onslaught of a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic. While Director, BCL has achieved momentous milestones that benefit Broward residents and visitors, such as going fine-free. Allison represents South Florida libraries in her work with the Florida Library Association, American Library Association, and the Urban Libraries Council. Previous to her roles in Broward, Allison worked in special and public libraries serving rural, suburban, and urban communities of all sizes throughout Washington and Georgia. She received her undergraduate degree in history at North Georgia College and State University (now University of North Georgia), and her Master of Library and Information Science at Valdosta State University. Allison’s love language is caffeine.
Shamichael Hallman, Director of Civic Engagement and Economic Opportunity, Urban Libraries Council
Shamichael is a social, civic and tech innovator. As a '23 Loeb Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, he explored how urban design and planning can make for socially inclusive cities. He has served as the Senior Library Manager with Memphis Public Libraries where he guided the reimagining of the historic Cossitt Library. His 2020 TEDx talk "Reimagining the Public Library to Reconnect the Community" garnered international acclaim. In 2021 he co-founded Libraries as Bridges which focuses on evaluating how libraries build social cohesion, promote civic renewal and advance the ideals of a healthy democracy.
Kristin Hansen, Executive Director, Civic Health Project
As the Executive Director of Civic Health Project, Kristin is dedicated to accelerating the efforts of academics and practitioners who seek to reduce polarization and improve civil discourse in our citizenry, politics, and media. In addition to her role at Civic Health Project, Kristin serves on the advisory boards of AllSides, Business for America, and Listen First Project. She also serves as a year-round lecturer in Strategic Communications at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Prior to her current work in civil discourse, Kristin held senior executive roles at Intel, IBM, and multiple start-up software companies. She holds a BA in Political Science and an MA in International Policy Studies from Stanford University, and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Brooks Rainwater, President and CEO, Urban Libraries Council
Brooks serves as President and CEO of the Urban Libraries Council, an outcomes-driven research and innovations network of more than 160 leading North American public libraries. Under his leadership, ULC champions the future of public libraries by engaging and uplifting members, focusing intently on equity and inclusion and leading on core policy issues that drive our communities forward. Throughout his career, Brooks has worked to advance urban policies that expand local democracy and provide funding for local programs related to economic opportunity, entrepreneurship, infrastructure and sustainability. Prior to joining ULC in July 2022, Brooks served as Senior Executive & Director, Center for City Solutions at the National League of Cities where he drove the organization’s research agenda and oversaw technical assistance efforts and leadership education. Brooks holds a Master of Public Administration from The George Washington University and a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Jeffrey Rogers, Speaker, Facilitator, Workshop Designer
As a speaker, facilitator, and workshop designer, Jeffrey Rogers brings an interdisciplinary and systems-oriented approach to exploring the question of what it means to live and to lead in an era of accelerating change. Jeffrey is a multi-modal educator and conversation catalyst who creates unique learning experiences that build knowledge while also building community through collaboration, storytelling, and play. He’s been a top-rated moderator of immersive executive education programs and international summits for Singularity University since 2017 and has also been featured as a guest lecturer and workshop leader at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford, and the Empowerment Summit (at ECAL in Lausanne), and Brand Minds 2019 in Bucharest. Previously, Jeffrey spent a decade building learning and development solutions, consulting on a couple of e-learning startups, and designing and delivering experiential youth leadership programs. He’s a social scientist by training (UC Berkeley, UT Austin) and a future-focused educator--with abiding interests in leadership, human ecology & complexity--by calling. He believes the future is too important to be left to the futurists, and he wants to get you involved.
John Sarrouf, Co-Executive Director and Director of Program Development, Essential Partners
John Sarrouf Co-Executive Director and Director of Program Development of Essential Partners. He teaches people how to facilitate dialogue across differences, mediate conflict, and manage interpersonal as well as intergroup challenges in their lives, communities, and workplaces. Over more than two decades working with Essential Partners, John has facilitated dialogues on issues such as the role of guns in American life, police and the Black community, Israel and Palestine, interfaith relations between Muslims and Jewish people, human sexuality in the Christian church, as well as race and ethnic diversity. With Essential Partners, he has helped found sustaining, independent dialogue programs at universities, museums, and civic organizations across the country and has also supported civic participation projects in Massachusetts, North Carolina, Florida, and Utah, among other locations.
Lisa Kay Solomon, Designer in Residence, Stanford d. school
Lisa Kay Solomon is a designer in residence and lecturer at the Stanford d. school. Lisa focuses on bridging the disciplines of futures and design thinking, creating experiences like “Vote by Design: Presidential Edition” and "The Future’s Happening" to help students learn and practice the skills they don’t yet know they need. At the d.school, she teaches classes such as Inventing the Future where students imagine, debate and analyze the 50-year futures of emerging tech, and works closely with the K12 community to make futures thinking a mainstay of 21st-century core curriculum. Named to the Thinkers50 2022 Radar List and one of ixDA’s Women of Design 2020, Lisa co-authored the bestselling books Moments of Impact (Simon and Schuster, 2014)and Design A Better Business (Wiley, 2016), which has been translated into over a dozen languages. Lisa helped start the popular education podcast New View EDU with the National Association of Independent Schools, and created the popular LinkedIn Learning Courses Leading Like a Futurist. She continues to write extensively on helping leaders productively navigate ambiguity and embrace a long term perspective through teachable and learnable practices.
Deanna Troust, Founder, Truth in Common
Deanna Troust is an award-winning communications strategist and founder of Truth in Common, a nonprofit that forwards human-centered approaches for tackling the linked epidemics of mis/disinformation and social division. Deanna leads workshops for community members, develops disinformation-disrupting strategies for organizations, speaks to professional groups and brings communicators to the table in tackling this pressing global issue.