Registration 8:30 - 9:00
9:00 - 9:20
Description: Join us for the opening remarks of the Colorado Library Wellness Conference! We’ll discuss the growing importance of mental and physical wellbeing, and how libraries can play a key role in supporting health and happiness for all. Get ready to connect, learn, and be inspired!
Facilitator(s): Co-Chairs Alejandro Marquez & Will Dickerson
Facilitator Bios: Alejandro Marquez (he/him), is a Science and Engineering Librarian at University of Denver Libraries. He also served in the Peace Corps in El Salvador where he worked as a Municipal Development volunteer. His research interests include library employee mental health and well-being.
Will Dickerson (he/him) is the Head of Access Services at Colorado State University-Fort Collins. He has been working at CSU for 10 years and has a background working in public libraries and makerspaces.
9:20 - 9:50
Description: This interactive exercise focuses on the DEI Scorecard for Library and Information Organizations which was developed by the ALA Committee on Diversity. It is an evaluative tool that centers accountability and transparency in determining organizational effectiveness in diversity, equity, and inclusion in the recruitment, hiring, retention, and promotion of people of color.
Facilitator(s): Meghan Connolly
Facilitator Bio: Meghan Connolly (she/her), is the Access Services Librarian at the University of Denver. She received her MLIS from the University of Denver. Her research interests include Accessibility and User Experience in libraries.
Break 9:50 - 10:00
10:00 - 10:30
Description: This session will cover topics such as, Why this matters: your library's mission and reputation, boundaries as bridges to professional trust and good health, verbal and informational boundaries; Friendly or too familiar?: boundary setting language and levels, risks and consequences of inadequate protection of personal and library information; and a discussion of managers, supervisors, leaders, and boundaries.
Facilitator(s): Robert Ayala
Facilitator Bio: Robert Ayala joined Colorado State Libraries in 2021 and is the Manager of Library Space and User Experience. His current focus is on library space planning and renovation project management, AI and space planning, building systems management, and library advocacy. He is a member of the American Library Association, Colorado Association of Libraries (CAL), and CAL Legislative Committee. He began his library career with the San Antonio Public Library in 2009, was the Director of the Converse Public Library from 2011 - 2014, and was an Adult Services Librarian and Manager of Circulation-User Experience with the Loveland Public Library from 2014 - 2021.
10:30 - 10:50
Description: Staff who identify with marginalized identities often don’t feel supported by their workplace. This can include staff who identify as BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, people with disabilities, and more. What would it look like to intentionally build environments where all staff feel seen and valued? This session explores affinity groups as a research-backed strategy for fostering well-being and belonging through identity-based community building. Drawing on interviews conducted in 2025 with staff wellness and affinity group leaders across Colorado, this presentation highlights practical insights, challenges, and successes in creating more inclusive library workplaces.
Facilitator(s): Liana Kiddy-Gan and Su Sheehan
Facilitator Bios: Liana Kiddy-Gan (she/her) works at the Denver Public Library's Mobile Services and Outreach department. She helped found DPL's Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Affinity Group in 2020 and contributes to AA.NH/PI and LGBTQ+ programming across Denver. She is the co-chair for the CAL EDI Committee and a founding member of the Rocky Mountain Asian Pacific American Librarians Association Chapter.
Su Sheehan (they/them) works at Denver Public Library's Special Collections and Archives as the Art and Archives Special Formats Cataloger. They are a co-organizer for the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Affinity Group. Their areas of focus include critical cataloging, community memory work, and reparative description.
Break 10:50 - 11:00
11:00 - 11:50
Description: As attempts to restrict access to materials and services increase, library professionals face not only policy challenges but emotional and community pressures as well. This session examines contemporary censorship trends, their human impact on library workers, and practical approaches for responding with resilience, support, and a commitment to intellectual freedom.
Facilitator(s): Jamie LaRue
Facilitator Bio: Jamie LaRue is a nationally recognized library leader and former Director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, with decades of experience in censorship response, public library leadership, and national advocacy.
Break 11:50 - 12:00
12:00 - 12:30
Description: This session explores how building inclusive, student-centered environments through library outreach can also strengthen staff well-being, connection, and workplace meaning. Drawing from a monthly creative outreach program at a diverse community college library, the presentation demonstrates how fostering belonging for students, particularly first-generation and transfer populations, simultaneously reduces staff burnout, increases purpose, and builds stronger professional relationships. As libraries navigate growing emotional labor and community needs, inclusive outreach can serve as a wellness strategy for both users and employees. Attendees will leave with practical approaches for designing low-barrier outreach that promotes connection, shared purpose, and healthier library workplace culture.
Facilitator(s): Jenna Settles
Facilitator Bio: Jenna Settles is a librarian, instructional designer, and doctoral student in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, where she builds on her Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) from Kent State University. Her work focuses on student engagement, student-centered learning design, and equitable approaches to teaching research skills in higher education. Jenna develops student-centered outreach and learning experiences to support students, with particular interest in how communication, creativity, and community-building contribute to both student success and staff well-being. Her practice integrates research, teaching, and program design, and she is committed to fostering welcoming, relationship-driven library environments that support holistic learning and wellness for both students and library employees.
12:30-12:45
Description: A short, sweet palette cleanser of chair-based movement to refresh the mind, enrich our senses, and let awareness swell to the surface before we engage in our final collective conversation.
Facilitator(s): Donna Mejia
Facilitator Bio: Donna Mejia is Associate Professor and Interdisciplinary Librarian for Inclusive Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. In this role, she facilitates efforts to build inclusive educational pedagogies and organizational structures and practices. She is a Faculty Fellow with the Renée Crown Wellness Institute and is also affiliated faculty for Women & Gender Studies, Ethnic Studies and the Center for Teaching & Learning.
12:45-12:55
Description: Donna will coordinate a group reflective exercise to harvest insights and help participants develop next steps.
Facilitator(s): Donna Mejia
Facilitator Bio: Donna Mejia is Associate Professor and Interdisciplinary Librarian for Inclusive Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. In this role, she facilitates efforts to build inclusive educational pedagogies and organizational structures and practices. She is a Faculty Fellow with the Renée Crown Wellness Institute and is also affiliated faculty for Women & Gender Studies, Ethnic Studies and the Center for Teaching & Learning.
12:55-1:00
Description:
Facilitator(s): Co-Chairs Alejandro Marquez & Will Dickerson
1:00
Description: Join your colleagues at some of Denver’s best restaurants around the University of Denver campus. There are several restaurants with a range of prices and types of cuisine to choose from. Everyone will be responsible for the cost of their own meal.