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July 14 1A: In the Room Where It Happens

Sarah Hunicke presenter

Sarah Hunicke earned her MLIS at URI and is the library media specialist at Portsmouth High School where she puts books in busy students’ hands, helps them rediscover the love of reading, and teaches them information and media literacy skills. Her students run a ProjectLIT Book Club, and she is fortunate to serve as their advisor. When she isn’t reading YA books for the RITBA committee and ProjectLIT, she serves on an AASL awards committee and advocates for school librarians on the RILA Legislative Action Committee and as the SLRI Advocacy chair.

Contact Sarah at hunickes@portsmouthschoolsri.org.

Stephanie Mills, presenter

 

Stephanie Mills was Rhode Island's School Librarian of the Year for the 2020-2021 school year. She is entering her 19th year as an educator and is the school librarian at Park View Middle School in Cranston. Follow her on Twitter @pvmslibraryri.

Contact Stephanie at smills@cpsed.net

Katie O'Kane

Katie O’Kane has worked as an elementary library teacher for the past 9 years. She was the 2018 recipient of the URI Graduate School of Library and Information Science Early Career Alumni of the Year Award. Her recently completed Masters of Education in Educational Technology and National Board Certification has helped her to become a leader within her community as she explores topics related to inclusion, access, and design thinking. Katie has used her position as the library teacher at the PK-3 Primrose Hill School in Barrington to build communities of interest within the library and beyond. You can find her on Twitter @PrimroseLibrary.

Contact Katie at okanek@barringtonschools.org.

Melanie Roy presenter

 

Melanie Roy is a lifelong educator with 17 years of classroom teaching experience and 8 years as a school library media specialist. She has National Board Certification and was the 2019 Rhode Island School Librarian of the Year. You can find her on Twitter @mrsmelanieroy or @BMSLibraryRI, and through her weekly book recommendation blog mrsmelanieroy.com.

Contact Melanie at roym@barringtonschools.org.

Natasha White

 

Tasha White is a school librarian in Providence, RI where she serves two elementary school communities, William D'Abate and Charles N. Fortes. She was an elementary classroom teacher for 13 years prior to becoming a librarian. As a librarian, she is able to support not only the students, but the faculty, staff, and families she works with. Tasha strongly believes that librarians instill a love for reading while empowering their learners to find their own voice and to become valuable contributors to the larger community. Tasha lives in Scituate, RI with her husband, two middle school aged boys, and two pups. She enjoys reading in her hammock, gardening, and laughing as much as she can:) Tasha’s favorite part of being a school Library Media Specialist is the opportunity to learn with and from her students.

Contact Tasha at natasha.white@providenceschools.org.