SLA Welcomes New Executive Director
The Special Libraries Association (SLA) has announces that it is “welcoming a new executive director, Amy Lestition Burke, MA, CAE. Amy is a 15-year veteran of association and nonprofit management and a thought leader in membership engagement, recruitment, and retention, areas that will be of particular emphasis for SLA in the months ahead.
Amy brings a wealth of association experience to SLA. In 2006, after joining MCI USA (formerly the Coulter Companies), she was named executive director of Association Media & Publishing, where she led successful membership, program content, and fundraising initiatives. Since 2012, she has served as chief operating officer of the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association and its affiliated Foundation.
When SLA hired MCI USA earlier this year, Amy was named vice president of success, responsible for professional education and development activities. She found that she enjoyed working with SLA volunteers and staff and decided to apply for the position of SLA executive director. She was one of three finalists (from among 79 initial applicants) interviewed by an executive director search task force comprising five SLA members: Richard Hulser, Elaine Lasda Bergman, Patricia Cia, Dee Magnoni, and Chris Vestal. The task force was impressed by Amy’s ideas and expertise and recommended that she be hired as the new ED.
Amy has already engaged with a number of SLA unit leaders during her tenure with SLA, and she is excited to meet everyone in person while onsite in Philadelphia for our 2016 Annual Conference.
Also joining the SLA staff is Ann Marie Ruskin, SLA’s senior director of learning & success. Ann Marie joined MCI USA in 2010 as manager of association programs for the National Child Support Enforcement Association (NCSEA), and brings to SLA extensive experience and expertise in volunteer management and program development. While with NCSEA, Ann Marie expanded the organization’s professional development offerings, including the introduction of NCSEA U, an enhanced educational opportunity for emerging leaders. We’re thrilled to welcome her to the staff.
Leesa Aiken accepts SCSL Agency Director Position
Leesa Aiken became the Agency Director of the South Carolina State Library May 16, the latest milestone in her nearly nine years of service to the state agency.
Aiken said that she was “grateful and excited” to be offered her new position, adding that she enjoys creating programs that have a statewide impact and that provide equal access to information for all South Carolinians.
“The State Library is a high-performing workplace with innovative, creative, service-oriented staff who genuinely want to provide essential resources that impact South Carolinians’ personal and work lives in positive ways,” Aiken said. “My work at the South Carolina State Library has been both rewarding and meaningful. I believe in the programs that we offer and the products that we provide…the South Carolina State Library is a premier institution and I am honored to be associated with it.”
Before accepting her new positon Aiken worked at the SCSL in other capacities, including a Deputy Director position responsible for human resources, finance, administration, library development, and talking book services.
Aiken has also served on numerous boards, including FirstSteps, Rolling Readers, International Public Management Association, South Carolina State Employee Association, Partnership Among South Carolina Academic Libraries, K-12 Technology Board, and several others.
Aiken received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Child and Family Studies with an emphasis on Early Care and Education from Columbia College, a Master of Arts degree from Columbia College in Organizational Change and Leadership and a Master of Library and Information Science degree from the University of South Carolina…”
United for Libraries Board Member Stielow appointed to Center for the Future of Libraries Advisory Group
ALA News reports that “United for Libraries: The Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations, is pleased to announce that United for Libraries Board Member Fred Stielow has been appointed to the Center for the Future of Libraries Advisory Group.
Stielow engaged 64 boards and orchestrated automation for 45 rural libraries while director of New York’s Mid-Hudson Public Library System. This former board member of the Charles Town (W.V.) Library now serves as trustee for the Anne Arundel County (Maryland) Public Library.
An Indiana University Ph.D., Stielow’s career extends to teaching at Catholic University and the University of Maryland, plus adjunct for the University of Illinois, University of Puerto Rico and Israel’s Galilee College. Stielow was Distance Librarian of the Year in 2014 and a and Fulbright Fellow. He recently retired as American Public University System’s vice president and dean emeritus.
Stielow created a state-of-the-art digital library for a fully online university. He is a pioneer in this field. He was also a Delphi Oracle for the American Alliance of Museums’ Future of Museums project…”