Committee

Mary Marques works as multilingual Library Coordinator at the Free Library of Philadelphia (FLP). Mary served as REFORMA Northeast (RNE) President for 2015-2016; currently, she supports RNE as the Chair of the Leadership Institute. Mary holds a Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science from Clarion University (USA), and a second Master’s Degree in Bilingual/Bicultural Studies from La Salle University (USA), and a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Science, Journalism, from Inca Garcilaso de la Vega University (Peru). In addition, she graduated in 2018 from the Urban League Leadership Institute. Mary is passionate about diversity, cultural awareness and cross-cultural communication in libraries. Some of her blogs posting are in the IFLA, New Professionals Special Interest Group (NPSIG) webpage and the FLP website. She co-presented at PLA 2012 “Total Branch Makeover: A Six Months Action Plan” and PLA 2018 “Curious About #FreeLibraryofPride: A Successful Collaborative Story.” In her volunteer time, Mary writes for Impacto Newspaper and leads the Board of Acción Colombia. At this moment, she is working, as part of the committee, to organize the second year of the Latin American Book Fair in Philadelphia. She loves to travel and to learn about other cultures and traditions. Also, she adores capturing special moments with her creative photography and enjoys being in contact with nature throughout practicing road biking with her husband.

Asunción is the current president of the REFORMA Northeast Chapter. She is a Senior Librarian at the New York Public Library’s High Bridge branch and specializes in Young Adult Librarianship. She has been at NYPL for six years, the entirety of which has been working specifically with teens. At the High Bridge branch, Asuncion is responsible for creating and facilitating programs for teens, including college access programs, as well as art and anime programs. She also conducts outreach to schools and community organizations in order to promote library books and resources available to young adults and their families.

In 2013, Asuncion received a Bachelor’s degree in Spanish Language and Latin American Cultures from Barnard College, and completed her Masters in Library Science in 2018 from Long Island University. She has been an active member of the REFORMA Northeast Chapter since 2016. While a member, she has been part of the Annual Joint Mini Conference Committee, is co-chair of the Social Media/Communications Committee, chair of the fundraising committee, and past Vice President. She is also the recipient of the 2019 Ismael Alicea Professional Development Award, given by the Reforma Northeast Chapter. During her free time, Asuncion enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with her family.

Adriana Blancarte-Hayward is the Manager of Outreach Services for the New York Public Library. Connecting communities and partners with library services, resources and information is her passion. She is a former past-president of the New York Library Association Ethnic Services Roundtable (2013-2014) and past-president of the REFORMA Northeast Chapter 2019-2020. She currently is part of the REFORMA National Membership Committee.

She received her M.S. in Library and Information Science from The Palmer School of Library and Information Science, Long Island University, and her B.S. in Information Systems Engineering from The Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education in Mexico.

She has been with The New York Public Library since 2005. A former Library volunteer and ESOL Library student, prior to her current position she was a branch manager where she led an award winning team (Maher Stern Award for Service Excellence 2012, NYC Neighborhood Library Award Winner 2013). She is also an alumna of Coro's 2016 Immigrant Civic Leadership Program (ICLP).

Manny Figueroa began his career in Libraries as a Young Adult Librarian Trainee with the New York Public Library in April of 1994. His career at the New York Public Library spanned 13 1/2 years during which he held several positions. He was District Librarian of the Manhattan North District upon leaving NYPL in December 2007.

In January of 2008 Manny joined the Queens Public Library as the Assistant Director of Community Library Services, a position he held for six years. Manny is now the Talent Development and Training Manager for Queens Public Library (QPL)where he coordinates training programs and assists in the professional development of all full-time QPL staff. In his current role he hopes to build a solid training and development program to assist QPL employees to develop and grow to achieve their full potential within the library community and beyond.

Manny is a member of ALA, PLA, NYLA, and REFORMA. He currently serves on the executive committee of REFORMA National as the East Region Chapter Representative and Treasurer of the Northeast Chapter of REFORMA. He is also active in the Ethnic Services Roundtable of NYLA. In his spare time he enjoys binge-watching drama series, listening to podcasts, long walks through the city streets, and traveling.

Roxana Benavides is the Neighborhood Library Supervisor, at the Sunset Park Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, where she is responsible for supervising all aspects of library branch services, setting goals and priorities using a collaborative, teamwork-focused approach to ensure the delivery of excellent customer service.

Her strong commitment towards the diverse and inclusive community in Brooklyn, in particular for her contributions to serving the immigrant ; the Latino and the Spanish-Speaking populations earned her nomination to the New York Post “Liberty Award" and being featured on the Daily News' column: Big Town Big Dreams in 2008. Roxana Benavides was awarded the 2010 America Reads Spanish Librarian of the Year Award for her work in the promotion of the Spanish language in the United States. She is the recipient of the 2012 RNE Pura Belpré Librarian of the Year Award and of the prestigious 2015 Sloan Public Service Award from the Fund for the City of New York.

Roxana Benavides was the REFORMA Northeast Chapter President 2000-2002 and REFORMA National President in 2006 -2007. She has served as Co-Chair of the 2008 REFORMA Third National Conference in El Paso Texas, and of the 2018 Joint Conference of Librarians of Color (JCLC) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She currently is a member of IRC-Americas subcommittee of ALA, the Co-Chair of the REFORMA National Conference Coordinating Committee and a member of the RNE Leadership Institute Committee.

Roxana Benavides holds a Master of Library Science, MLS from Queens College, CUNY and a Bachelor of Business Administration, BBA from Baruch College, CUNY in Marketing Management.

Elisa Garcia is a Supervising Librarian of Teen Services at The New York Public Library. She is motivated to foster a love of reading in reluctant teens readers and therefore strives to introduce them to a diverse world and experiences through books. Mentoring new librarians, Elisa has savored the opportunity to broaden her scope in promoting diversity in librarianship by building on her love to help our communities and instilling in others the passion she has for libraries and readers as a whole.