Machelle Keen (chair) is Collections and Facilities Coordinator at the Science and Engineering Library at Vanderbilt University. She has worked in the Vanderbilt University Libraries for 30 years. Her passions are reading, life-long learning and helping to make a difference. She has spent the last year developing, chairing and planning “Partners in Progress VUL Support Staff Conference” and the “Support Staff as Leaders NALA Conference”. With these two conferences, she is developing her dream of creating opportunities for support staff to attend professional development conferences and feel empowered through learning.

In her spare time, Machelle has three grown sons and one granddaughter and a brand new grandson (9/19) to keep her busy.

Karen M. Swoopes is currently the Administrative Assistant at Peabody Library. She has been at Vanderbilt University for 18 years. She is an advocate for professional development and lifelong learning. She enjoys presenting training on various topics.

Lauren Hamric, a graduate of Jacksonville State University (Alabama), is an Archival Assistant at the Tennessee State Library and Archives. Working in Public Services, she spends a significant portion of her time helping patrons explore their genealogy. She loves helping people find the primary sources that bring their story to life. Family history is part of her family legacy. She grew up tromping through cemeteries with her mother and grandmother. It shaped her curiosity about the past. Her family instilled within her a love of exploration and learning.

If she had spare time, she would spend it crocheting, gardening, reading, and visiting historical sites. However, her time is currently occupied by her small child, husband, and three cats.