Events, Medias, Projects - 20 February 2017

Libraries Without Borders’ Inaugural Committee of Advisors

Today, Libraries Without Borders launched its inaugural Committee of Advisors. This diverse team of practitioners and experts will work with Libraries Without Borders staff to fulfill its mission to expand access to information and education to the world’s most vulnerable communities. We are honored to formally welcome these extraordinary individuals to the Libraries Without Borders team today on the UN’s World Day of Social Justice, which recognizes the need to tackle poverty, social and economic exclusion, unemployment, and other pressing global issues. With the support of this new Committee of Advisors, Libraries Without Borders commits to continue “expanding social well-being and justice for all.”

The inaugural Committee of Advisors consists of leaders hailing from a range of disciplines across industries – from librarians to publishers, and from program officers to educators working in classrooms. Members of the Committee will leverage their expertise to advise Libraries Without Borders staff and partners, supporting the organization’s efforts to innovate and implement programs that reach the highest standards of efficacy, efficiency, and sustainability.

“We are thrilled to have these experts engage more deeply with our mission,” said Patrick Weil, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Libraries Without Borders. “These are community leaders, innovators, and education experts that share our dedication to expanding access to information and education for the world’s most disadvantaged communities.”

Members of the inaugural Committee of Advisors are listed alphabetically below:

  • Axel Brachet, Finance Director, Emerging Products, Google
  • Eric Chung, Student, Yale Law School, Student Director for the Education Adequacy Project and Supreme Court Advocacy Clinic
  • Katharine Freeman, Executive Publicist, Riverhead Books
  • Alex Gil, Digital Scholarship Coordinator, Humanities and History Division, Columbia University Libraries
  • Kelly Grogg, US Peace Corps Librarian
  • Karen W. Jaffe, Head of the Young Readers Center, Library of Congress
  • Lois Lerner, Attorney & former U.S. civil servant,  Internal Revenue Service 
  • Alison MacKeen, Agent at Sterling Lord Literistic, Inc.
  • Zola Maddison, Organizing Committee, Emerge Washington
  • Alane Salierno Mason, Vice President and Executive Editor, W.W. Norton & Company
  • Nathaniel Naddaff-Hafrey, Team Lead, Google Marketing Solutions
  • Mahesh Rao, Author, The Smoke Is Rising 
  • Loriene Roy, Professor, The School of Information, The University of Texas at Austin
  • Liz Phipps-Soeiro, Founder, Cambridge Book Bike, School Librarian
  • Sonya Vinson, Community School Site Coordinator, Southwest Solutions
  • Marina Walne, CEO, EduStart LLC