Allan Davenport is currently the Director of Instructional Technology at the Indian Prairie School District 204. In addition to leading the district's 1:1 initiative, Allan also oversees the district’s 31 libraries. Prior to his current position, Allan was a middle school principal at both Hill and Crone Middle Schools, both in District 204. Allan has previously presented at ICE, Illinois Principals Association, ASCD, Association of Illinois Middle Schools, and ISLMA.

Kristen Mattson, Ed.D. is a high school library media specialist and former middle school English teacher. In this role, she partners with teachers in all content areas to integrate digital literacy, research skills, creation and innovation in the classroom. As part of a Future Ready school district, Kristen has embraced the Future Ready Librarians framework, transforming her school’s library space and practices. She now enjoys supporting fellow librarians by serving on the Future Ready Librarians Leadership team, hosting site visits, facilitating professional development, and blogging about her experiences.

Laura Nylen is passionate about instructional innovation in the classroom. Her past experiences include reading and math specialist, classroom teacher in K-6th grades, and Library Media Center Director. Laura holds a master’s degree in Instructional Technology. Laura is currently an Instructional Technology Specialist at Indian Prairie School District 204 in Naperville, Illinois. Laura is a change agent and inspirational motivator who leads by empowering others.

Dawn Vieira is an elementary school library media specialist and former fifth and first grade teacher. Drawing upon her experience in the classroom, she enjoys collaborating with teachers from all grade levels to effectively teach students to be digital citizens, effective researchers, problem solvers and risk takers. Dawn is a Future Ready Librarian who strives to bring new technology and MakerSpace ideas and challenges to her teachers and students. She reaches out and hopes to assist other librarians and teachers with their MakerSpace development on her monthly MakerSpace blog.

Kate McDowell has been teaching storytelling for almost a decade. With administration, advocacy, and non-profit board experience, she knows that there are many kinds of stories told and needed in work environments. Students in her hands-on graduate seminars work with stories in all genres, from folklore to data storytelling. She leads seminars and workshops for professionals in advancement, business, communications, technical services, librarianship, and the arts.

Liz Delzell (@readmrsd) is a 2011 graduate of the Leep MLIS program at the School of Information Sciences, University of Illinois. She began her professional career as a classroom teacher and worked with students in grades 5-8. Her library experience includes five years in youth services in public libraries and five years as a school librarian. She is currently the Library Media Center Director at Spencer Loomis Elementary in Hawthorn Woods, Illinois where she works with a fixed schedule serving over 500 students in grades K-5.

Allison Bava (@allisonbava) is a dedicated educator passionate about integrating technology and information literacy skills across the curriculum. Allison began her career as a high school English teacher. A 2012 Leep MLIS alumni, Allison developed an outstanding reading program which won the American Library Association’s MAE award. Now a full-time certified librarian, Allison strives to connect technology and information literacy skills across the curriculum by collaborating with classroom teachers, serving on the school’s technology and technology coaches teams, and presenting at conferences.

Nicole A. Cooke is the MS/LIS program director of the iSchool at Illinois and an assistant professor at the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She holds a PhD in communication, information, and library studies from Rutgers. Nicole has facilitated workshops and webinars via the iSchool and ALA that define fake news and discuss how it relates to literacy and information behavior.

K.C. Boyd is the Lead Librarian for the East St. Louis School District #189 in East St. Louis, Illinois. She is also a Doctoral student and Adjunct Professor of LIS at Dominican University in River Forest. During her tenure with Chicago Public Schools, Boyd worked at the elementary, high school and administration levels. Her blogs, “The Audacious Librarian” and “MissDomino” documents her work with high school students, discusses the effective use of technology in K-12 education and book reviews for teens and adults.

Karla Lucht is a graduate studies advisor and PhD student at the iSchool at Illinois, where she is exploring mixed-race Asian heritage representation in books for youth. She has taught youth services classes in the iSchool for the past 4 years, including Global Contexts and Social Justice in Youth Literature.