About Our PRESENTERS

LAS MUSAS - THE CANON OF LATINX IN KIDLIT

LAS MUSAS - AUTHOR PANELIST 1

ALEXANDRA VILLASANTE

Alexandra Villasante

Alexandra Villasante has always loved telling stories—though not always with words. She has a BFA in Painting and an MA in Combined Media (that’s art school speak for making work out of anything). Born in New Jersey to immigrant parents, Alex has the privilegio of dreaming in both English and Spanish.

When she’s not writing, painting or chasing chickens around the yard, Alexandra plans conferences and fundraisers for non-profits. She lives with her family in the semi-wilds of Pennsylvania.

www.alexandravillasante.com

LAS MUSAS - AUTHOR PANELIST 2

EMMA OTHEGUY

Emma Otheguy

Emma Otheguy is the author of the bilingual picture book Martí’s Song for Freedom (Lee & Low, 2017) about Cuban poet and national hero José Martí, as well as the forthcoming Pope Francis: Builder of Bridges (Bloomsbury, 2018) and Silver Meadows Summer (Knopf, 2019). She is now a Ph.D. Candidate in History at New York University, focusing on Spain and colonial Latin America. Emma has held fellowships and grants from the American Historical Association, the Council of Library and Information Resources, and Humanities New York. Emma is a member of the Bank Street Writers Lab and lives in New York City, where she was born.

www.emmaotheguy.com

LAS MUSAS - AUTHOR PANELIST 3

HILDA EUNICE BURGOS

Hilda Eunice Burgos

Although Hilda was born and raised in New York City, she did not speak English until she started school. Her parents are originally from the Dominican Republic, and they always spoke in Spanish to Hilda and her three sisters.

After graduating from the Bronx High School of Science, Hilda headed to Philadelphia to attend the University of Pennsylvania, where she majored in French and Spanish Literatures. She received her law degree from Harvard Law School and then returned to the Philadelphia area, where she currently works as an attorney.

Hilda’s first middle grade novel, Ana María Reyes Does Not Live in a Castle, was a 2015 Lee & Low Books New Visions Award finalist. www.hildaeuniceburgos.com

LAS MUSAS - AUTHOR PANELIST 4

MIA GARCIA

Mia García

M. García was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She moved to New York where she studied creative writing at The New School, worked in publishing, and now lives under a pile of to-be-read books. Her debut novel, Even If the Sky Falls, from Katherine Tegen books (an imprint of Harper Collins) is out now. Her second novel, The Resolutions, hits shelves 11.13.18!

www.mgarciabooks.com

Las Musas: The growing canon of latinix kidlit

Alexandra Villante

Alexandra Villasante has always loved telling stories—though not always with words. She has a BFA in Painting and an MA in Combined Media (that’s art school speak for making work out of anything). Born in New Jersey to immigrant parents, Alex has the privilegio of dreaming in both English and Spanish. When she’s not writing, painting or chasing chickens around the yard, Alexandra plans conferences and fundraisers for non-profits. She lives with her family in the semi-wilds of Pennsylvania. www.alexandravillasante.com

Emma Otheguy

Emma Otheguy is the author of the bilingual picture book Martí’s Song for Freedom (Lee & Low, 2017) about Cuban poet and national hero José Martí, as well as the forthcoming Pope Francis: Builder of Bridges (Bloomsbury, 2018) and Silver Meadows Summer (Knopf, 2019). She is now a Ph.D. Candidate in History at New York University, focusing on Spain and colonial Latin America. Emma has held fellowships and grants from the American Historical Association, the Council of Library and Information Resources, and Humanities New York. Emma is a member of the Bank Street Writers Lab and lives in New York City, where she was born. www.emmaotheguy.com

Hilda Eunice Burgos

Although Hilda was born and raised in New York City, she did not speak English until she started school. Her parents are originally from the Dominican Republic, and they always spoke in Spanish to Hilda and her three sisters. After graduating from the Bronx High School of Science, Hilda headed to Philadelphia to attend the University of Pennsylvania, where she majored in French and Spanish Literatures. She received her law degree from Harvard Law School and then returned to the Philadelphia area, where she currently works as an attorney. Hilda’s first middle grade novel, Ana María Reyes Does Not Live in a Castle, was a 2015 Lee & Low Books New Visions Award finalist. www.hildaeuniceburgos.com

Mia Garcia

M. García was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She moved to New York where she studied creative writing at The New School, worked in publishing, and now lives under a pile of to-be-read books. Her debut novel, Even If the Sky Falls, from Katherine Tegen books (an imprint of Harper Collins) is out now. Her second novel, The Resolutions, hits shelves 11.13.18!www.mgarciabooks.com

SHAUNTEE BURNS-SIMPSON

Shauntee Burns-Simpson, Manager of School Support & Outreach for The New York Public Library. An ambassador for libraries and librarianship, Mrs. Simpson enjoys connecting people to the public library and its resources. As a Youth Librarian, she worked closely with at risk teens and fostered a love for reading & learning with her innovative programs. Currently, serving on the Executive Board for the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (ALA) and Chair of Committee on Diversity for ALA, Mrs. Simpson continues to strengthen our communities and encourages librarians to collaborate with community based organizations, to introduce new populations to the library.

Contact: shanteeburns@nypl.com

DAWN HOLLOWAY HERBERT NORAT

Dawn Holloway For the past eight years Dawn has been the manager of the Morris Park branch of The New York Public Library. Some of Dawn’s passions consist of community outreach and networking, adult programming and library management.

Dawn is an avid beach goer and Yankee fan.

Contact: dawnholloway@nypl.org

Herbert Norat has been a Library Information Assistant for The New York Public Library over the past three years. Herbert focuses on blogging, adult programming development, and community outreach. Herbert is a freelance writer and small business owner.

Contact: herbertnorat@nypl.org

elizabeth garcia

Elizabeth García was born and raised in Guatemala. She moved to New York when she was in her teens. She earned a Bachelor of Science Degree from NYACK College in New York and received her Master of Library Science Degree from Queens College in New York. She is a former Community Library Manager for the Queens Library System in New York City. Elizabeth enjoys reading and writing. One of her children’s books El Viaje de Lucita / Lucita’s Journey has been published in Spanish and a bilingual Spanish/English format. Her latest book Resilience: A Personal Memoir was published in 2018. She is devoted to

providing the community with the opportunity of learning and is always searching ways to better serve the society.

Title of presentation: Resilience: A Memoir: Empowering Communities

Name: Elizabeth Garcia, Author, Librarian, Former Community Library Manager

Contact: Garcia.elizabeth.m@gmail.com


ANA TORRES MORRELL MCCLURKIN

Ana Torres is Assistant Head at Bern Dibner Library of Science and Technology, NYU. She supports library research and teaching at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering by improving user experience as it relates to services, space and collections. She is currently focused on diversity and accessibility within the library environment.

Contact: anatorres@nyu.edu Assistant Head | Bern Dibner Library of Science and Technology NYU Libraries |5 MetroTech Center | Brooklyn | NY 11201

Morrell McClurkin is currently the Access Services Supervisor for New York University’s Bern Dibner Library of Science and Technology. His experiences working in both a public and private institutions allowed him to focus on the vast needs of underrepresented and minority communities.

Contact: morrell.mcclurkin@nyu.edu

Access Services Supervisor, Reserves | Bern Dibner Library of Science and Technology NYU Libraries |5 MetroTech Center | Brooklyn | NY 11201 T

mexican coalition for the empowerment of youth and families

jairo guzman, FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT

Jairo Guzmán, is the Founder and President of the Mexican Coalition for the Empowerment of Youth and Families, Inc. Prior to this assignment, Mr. Guzman worked at Mi Casa es Puebla, Inc. where he was hired by the government of the State of Puebla, Mexico to help establish a community center to meet the documentation needs of people from Puebla. Mr. Guzmán has extensive experience working in NYC government agencies and the nonprofit sector, as well as work experience with the NYS OTDA.

Mr. Guzmán continues to be a committed advocate for the protection of child and family rights, and the opportunity for all New Yorkers to live a better life, especially as this relates to immigrant communities.

He was born in Mexico and knows the immigrant experience personally- the challenges and rewards that this experience make possible.

Jairo Guzman, Founder and President

Mexican Coalition for the Empowerment of Youth and Families, Inc.

jguzman@coalicionmexicana.org

miriam tuliao

With over 20 years of public library experience, Miriam Tuliao is currently a library marketing manager at Penguin Random House, an adjunct LIS instructor at Queens College, Rutgers University and Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, and an active member of the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association.

Miriam Tuliao, Library Marketing Manager

Penguin Random House

Contact: mtuliao@penguinrandomhouse.com

hong yao

As the Director of Technical Services of the Queens Public Library, Hong Yao leads a team of over 150 staff to ensure that materials are properly selected, ordered, cataloged & prepared and delivered to all 65 locations. As part of the Library’s management team, Hong plans, executes and oversees projects that confer with the organization’s strategic plans. As president of Chinese American Librarians Association (CALA) Northeast Chapter, Hong actively plans CALA programs in Northeast area to promote library services and librarianship to Chinese Americans.

Hong Yao, Director of Technical Services, Queens Public Library

Contact: Hong.Yao@queenslibrary.org


tania Maria rios marrero

Tania-María Ríos Marrero is a community organizer based in North Philadelphia neighborhood libraries who understand the more literate a community, the greater its capacity to govern itself. She has facilitated workshops and presented her work at the 2018 Next Library Conference in Berlin, the University of Pennsylvania Climate Change, Resilience, Environmental Justice in Latin America and the Caribbean Conference, and the New Jersey State Library Leadership Academy.

Contact: taniamariarios@gmail.com