Community Health & Engineering Librarian Highlights

Strategic Communication

In 2017, I led the Biomedical Library's Social Media Task Force, in which I led a group of seasoned librarians and directors in exploring social media platforms. Ultimately, the task force recommended that the Biomedical Library delete its Facebook page and start a Wordpress blog. In 2018, the Biomedical Library launched its first official blog, Biomeditations.

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

In 2018, I chaired the Group On Library Diversity, which serves as the Penn Libraries' diversity, inclusion, and equity committee. Under my leadership, the group grew in membership and held more events than ever before. GOLD also began its restructuring process, in anticipation of the arrival of a new Vice Provost of Libraries. As chair, I attended two national conferences that focused on diversity in libraries and participated in two campaign priority teams at Penn Libraries.

In 2019, the American Library Association New Member Round Table identified me as an Alternative Voice within librarianship.

In Summer 2020, I assisted the School of Arts & Sciences Science Outreach Initiative (SASSOI) in finding literature that identifies best practices for K-12 STEM pipeline programs, virtual STEM journal clubs for high school students, and other key types of community engagement, while weaving in a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) threads throughout the programs. I created a large spreadsheet of scientific societies and professional organizations that have affinity groups and DEI initiatives.

After the SASSOI closed in August 2021, I became the moderator for the Penn STEM Alliance listserv, a role that I will continue in my role as the Health Literacy & Dental Medicine Librarian.

Supervisory & Advisory Experience

During 2018, I co-supervised two Community Health Outreach Summer Interns with my colleague, Ancil George, the Community Outreach Librarian. The interns wrote a report about the health corners. The Penn Libraries and the School of Nursing are using this report to improve our collaborations with each other and with the Free Library of Philadelphia.

In March 2020, I co-supervised a Weekly Themed Wellness Walks Student Assistant with my colleague, Elaine Weigelt, the Community Outreach Manager at the Center for Public Health Initiatives. The Penn Libraries and the Center for Public Health Initiatives obtained funding for a university-wide wellness initiative from the Office of the Provost.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the student assistant built the foundation to conduct virtual research on marketing and engagement strategies to align the initiative to the interests of the undergraduate student population, before being laid off in May 2020. The student assistant founded Penn Walks 2 Wellness, a registered student organization that will continue to support in-person and virtual Weekly Themed Wellness Walks. I am a faculty advisor for Penn Walks 2 Wellness.

In July 2020, I accepted an invitation to become an advisor for EduCare, a registered health literacy-focused student organization whose mission is to create easy-to-understand evidence-based visual and written consumer health information. As of July 2021, Penn Libraries is piloting a sponsorship of EduCare's printing needs.

Also, in July 2021, the SNF Paideia Program provided the funding to hire one of its Fellows as the Penn Walks 2 Wellness intern from Summer 2021 through Spring 2022. I look forward to bringing Penn Walks 2 Wellness to the Penn Dental School in my new role.

Space Creation and Management

During this time, I created the Consumer Health Information Corner, the first of two Wellness Spaces I created and continue to oversee at the Biomedical Library. The Consumer Health Information Corner is a dedicated space for consumer and patient health information. Later in 2019, the Consumer Health Information Corner will be moved to a larger and more prominent section of the Biomedical Library.

In Fall 2018, I convinced my director to allow to create a Relaxation Room, which has proved to be a game changer in the conversations around campus wellness. This room has inspired students, faculty, and staff to ask for similar spaces across campus. In Spring 2019, Campus Health held a Wellness Wednesday workshop series in the Relaxation Room and Conference Room to promote the use of the space. In Fall 2019, Librarians' Assembly sponsored meditation and yoga workshops in the Relaxation Room. In Spring 2020, Wellness Wednesdays were cancelled in-person due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In collaboration with Campus Health and Penn Nursing, I continued to co-host virtual mindfulness workshops in Spring 2020.

In July 2020, I found out that a graduate student in France will be citing my work on the Relaxation Room in their thesis.

Campus Involvement

Since 2018, I have been collaborating with the Penn Professional Staff Assembly (PPSA) on hosting the annual Penn Libraries Lightning Talks geared towards showcasing services, spaces, and resources available to monthly-paid university staff members. In 2020, I was nominated to run for a PPSA board position by the 2020 PPSA Chair. My nomination was endorsed by select Penn Libraries colleagues as well as by the Penn Asian Faculty & Staff Association (PAFSA). Starting in July 2020, I will be a member of the PPSA Executive Board.

As a result of the notable expansion of Community Health Outreach, the Center for Public Health Initiatives (CPHI) appointed me to the role of Associate Fellow in January 2019. In this role, I became a clinical preceptor to a Master of Public Health student who is doing field hours at the Biomedical Library to support the Community Health Outreach, Wellness, the InterProfessional Student Advisory Gatherings, and the Penn Libraries Wellness Interest Group (WIG). WIG dissolved in 2020 to avoid duplication of effort with the Librarians' Assembly.

In Spring 2019, in collaboration with CPHI, the Netter Center for Community Partnerships Agatston Urban Nutrition Initiative, and Walk With a Future Doc, I pitched the idea of "Weekly Themed Wellness Walks" in the Big (Wellness) Idea Challenge. Out of over 450 pitches, my team's pitch was one of the challenge winners.

In the 2019 - 2020 academic year, I will be serving on the Penn Student Affairs Leadership Team (SALT) Conference Committee along with student affairs and campus wellness professionals. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the in-person annual conference was transformed into a summertime webinar series. I continue to serves on the SALT Conference Committee in 2021 and 2022. I was the facilities and technology lead for the 2022 SALT Conference Committee, which held its first in-person conference in 3 years at Penn Engineering's Levine Hall and Towne Building.

In Spring 2020, Penn Violence Prevention had requested my assistance in creating book displays at the Penn Libraries for Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Due to the pandemic, the University of Pennsylvania switched to online courses and remote work in March 2020. All library locations were closed, so I worked with an intern to create an online resources guide for Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

Prior to the pandemic, I was approached about becoming a discussion group leader for the 2020 Women in STEM Symposium, which was ultimately cancelled. In the 2020 - 2021 academic year, I became instrumental in planning the virtual symposium as a co-host and the keynote speaker's question moderator. I also was a Q&A moderator for one of the panels in the 2022 symposium.

In Summer 2020, I participated in the "Restorative Practices @ Penn" training to learn about restorative justice practices that would be helpful in the workplace and beyond. In November 2020, I co-led a "Circle Tea" in collaboration with RP@P.

In March 2021, I completed training to become an Office of Student Conduct (OSC) advisor, a volunteer role, in which I can mentor students during student conduct investigations and hearings. During the same month, I was invited to participate as the Asian Voice of Color at the annual Women Of Color At Penn (WOCAP) Awards Ceremony.

In July 2021, I was elected to serve as the 2021 - 2023 Librarians' Assembly Representative to University Council and the Almanac Advisory Committee. In September 2021, I was invited to serve as the 2021 - 2022 Co-Facilitator of the university's Pan Asian Faculty & Staff Association (PAFSA).