NavBar

Tuesday, July 19, 2022

Rise Above 2022 SSD Conference Full Presenter Bios

 Presenters are listed alphabetically:

Austin Allstadt

Austin (they/them) is the office manager, bookkeeper, and a former street librarian at Street Books, a bicycle-powered mobile library serving people experiencing houselessness. They also serve as a representative payee at Multnomah County’s Aging, Disabilities & Veterans Services Division, providing advocacy and money management to vulnerable individuals. Austin is committed to anti-racism work and systems change.


Jennifer Bradford

Jennifer joined the Street Roots team in 2021 as administrative support for the Ambassador Program. Prior to that, Jennifer was a Street Roots vendor and part of the organization’s COVID repose team.


Joe Clement

Joe Clement (they/them) I've worked for Multnomah County Library for almost 9 years. I used to regularly volunteer with the SE Portland Tool Library. I've been a host of the Old Mole Variety Hour on KBOO Community Radio for over a decade, where some of my earliest work has been on maintenance as a political value. I'm a steward with AFSCME Local 88. I mend my own clothes.



Donna L. Cohen, MEd, MLIS

A teacher and librarian, Donna presents nonpartisan Civics 

workshops for adults that foster critical thinking skills, fill in 

gaps in civic and political understanding and inspire civic 

engagement. Her workshops cover: Misinformation, Fake News and Political Propaganda; Citizen Activism 101; Elections and Campaign Finance; and, The Constitution: Fulfilling Democracy's Promise?


Civics for Adults - Workshops to Enhance Civic Knowledge 

& Inspire Political Engagement https://www.civicthinker.info/




Magdianamy Carrillo-Sotomayor

Magdianamy has over a decade of experience focused on the Latinx community on different library settings working toward more equitable and inclusive services and creating and offering bilingual services to other communities, especially in diverse populations and underserved communities. She has played several roles during her careers, such as Bilingual Librarian, Technology Instructor, and Notary Public; she also provided outreach, technology classes, and workshops to different community agencies such as Correctional Facility and Senior Centers. She received her Bachelor's Degree in Labor Relations and her MLS from the University of Puerto Rico, where she also was an Academic Librarian.


She is currently the Bilingual Collection Development Librarian II Washington County Cooperative Library Services. She is responsible for selecting e-books and audiobooks in Spanish and other languages and managing the collection of online resources. In addition, she is developing a Spanish Collections for Incarcerated Adults and At-Risk Youth with the American Rescue Plan Act grant.


Sally Eck

Sally Eck is a feminist scholar activist. She is experienced in peace-building, anti-interpersonal violence work, facilitating interracial dialogues, food justice and social justice education for over twenty years. Her formal education includes a bachelor's degree in Sociology and in Women's Studies, a master's degree in education and a certificate from the Social Justice Training Institute as well as mediation training from the Center for Dialogue and Resolution. She has been teaching at Portland State University for over twenty years in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies and the School of Gender, Race, and Natin. When she's not teaching at the University, you can find her consulting and facilitating equity workshops for Adidas, the City of Portland, Hunger-Free Oregon, CASA as well as other corporations and organizations, locally and internationally. She is also, most notably, an independent mama to nineteen year-old Isaac and seventeen year-old Stella. She is passionate and committed to changing the education system, recognizing the personal as political, and co-creating a just and equitable world for all of us.



Sarah Forman 

Sarah is a core committee member of PDX Books to Prisoners overseeing social media and public relations. An avid reader of all types of literature, Sarah adamantly believes in the rehabilitative power of reading and is excited to engage in a meaningful conversation about how books can be a catalyst for systemic change.


Deborah Gitlitz

Deborah Gitlitz is a bilingual Outreach Librarian for Wilsonville Public Library. She continues the library's long standing partnership with the Head Start at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, providing monthly Circle Time visits and family literacy support for the mothers in the program. Wilsonville Library buys books for Coffee Creek's two volunteer-led book clubs. Deborah is trained in the national family literacy curriculum Motheread/Fatheread, which was developed to support incarcerated parents' early literacy connections with their children. She is the founder of the statewide consortium Libros for Oregon, and a co-creator of the research-based after school literacy programming resource, Fostering Readers. Deborah also works as an early literacy trainer for the Oregon Registry of Childcares and serves as a Storyteller for the non-profit, Portland Chamber Music.


Sandra Hahn

Sandra Hahn is a former business owner, winner of the 2018 Vendor of the Year Award, and Street Roots Board Member.


Carolee Harrison

Carolee Harrison is a Library Technician 3 at Portland State University, where she supports research, conservation of books and artifacts, and digital preservation in Special Collections and University Archives. Her library career includes over ten years experience as a book mender.



Andrew Hogan

Originally from Upstate New York, Andrew Hogan has worked in Portland non-profits for over 15 years, raising millions of dollars for progressive causes. As the Deputy Director at Street Roots, he overseas the organization's fundraising, as well as administration, financials, and human resources. Andrew also serves as the Co-Chair of the Board of Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon, and among his favorite pastime include finding the best bagel in the Portland Metro region.


Stefanie Hood

Stefanie is the Laptop and Hotspot Coordinator at the Oregon State University Valley Library. Her expertise is reducing the hurdles students face accessing the technology necessary to complete their degree and strengthening partnerships with organizations outside of the library.


Star Khan

Mom. Librarian. Warrior. Friend. Doer of all the things for all the peoples. Advocate. Spicy Latina. Nerd.


Rinny Lakin

SSD Chair. LIOLA graduate. Ally. Learner. Advocate. Organizer. Logistician. General busy body and wearer of many hats.


Pati Morán

Pati Morán is a Spanish bilingual Youth Librarian with Multnomah County Library and a board member for Street Books. The transformative power of reading and her commitment to intellectual freedom fuel her work to create community with humans ages 0-100, on the bike and in the stacks.


Emily O’Neal

Co-chair for the Oregon Intellectual Freedom Committee  Emily is the Technical Services Manager for the Deschutes Public Library in Bend, Oregon as well as an active member in a number of professional committees and roles. Emily currently serves as the Co-Chair to the Oregon Intellectual Freedom Committee and serves as an active member to the Oregon Library Association, Technical Services Round Table, serving as chair 2018-2019 and again 2020-2021 and spearheaded the creation of the Oregon Critical Repository in summer 2021. She was also a previous member of the Oregon Library Association EDI Anti-Racism Committee, serving as a guest writer to the EDI Anti-Racism toolkit, as well as supported the Libros for Oregon subcommittee of REFORMA in creating Spanish language cataloging standards. Emily relocated to Bend in April of 2016 from Steamboat Springs, Colorado where she was formerly the Technical Services and Collection Management Librarian for Bud Werner Memorial Library. Prior to Colorado, Emily was the Library Operations Manager of Collections for the University of New Mexico. When not managing a Technical Services department, Emily enjoys teaching dance or spending time outdoors hiking, snowboarding, rock climbing and paddle boarding with her husband and two dogs.


Jody Redifer

Jody is a Black Cultural Library Advocate program specialist working with youth in detention and at-risk youth throughout Multnomah County.


Jan Rippey

Jan Rippey is a former elementary school teacher and avid community volunteer for programs which involve children and education.  Her volunteer efforts include board membership on the regional board, Youth Exploring Science (YES), which oversaw the statewide Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) for high school students.  She was a key mentor and played an important role in establishing a FIRST Robotics team in Wilsonville, which has become a highly decorated and nationally recognized team.  In 2012, she brought Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library (DPIL) to Wilsonville, the fourth affiliate in the state.  Since then, she has worked in 24 rural counties in Oregon to establish DPIL affiliations in each of those counties and continues to serve as a liaison between those county affiliates and The Dollywood Foundation.



Jaylyn Suppah

Jaylyn is a mother, educator, advocate for social justice, equitable education and equitable representation. She is a mother of two school age children and a member of the Confederated Tribe of Warm Springs(CTWS) in Warm Springs, Oregon and a descendant of Shoshone-Bannock, Yakama and Cree. She was raised on her Reservation in the northern part in a community called Simnasho, Oregon and is a traditional food gatherer for her Tribe. Her passion is decolonizing education for herself, her children, her community and always looks for ways to incorporate her culture into her home, the classroom and programming. Jaylyn works for the  apalaxsimisha program that she developed in 2014 that works to advocate for equitable education, the uplifting and incorporation of Traditional knowledge and advancing cultural and health equity practices and policies. The Papalaxsimisha program incorporates historical trauma, healing, self-identity, cultural awareness, high school readiness, college and career readiness in a curriculum she and two other native teachers developed. She obtained her Bachelors of Arts degree with an emphasis in Tribal Governance from The Evergreen State College through the Native Pathways Program. Her background includes cultural awareness facilitation trainer, Traditional Health Worker, youth mentor, facilitating on historical trauma with the focus on healing, curriculum development and youth program development. She is always looking for ways to advocate for her Tribe, her people, her community and building the capacity to build collective work. She ensures she creates spaces that allow for others to learn, have voice and to join the efforts. 



Jillisa Suppah

Jillisa Suppah - 'Myatat - was born in Madras and raised in Simnasho Oregon on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation. She is an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. Jillisa graduated Portland State University where she has obtained a Bachelors of Science in Social Work. Jillisa is currently a program coordinator for Papalaxsimisha. Papalaxsimisha is a dropout prevention and college & career readiness program that is specific to Native youth, families, and community members. Much of her work is focused in health promotion/prevention, community care, and collective healing & wellness. In her free time, Jillisa enjoys walking, hiking, gathering traditional/first foods with her family, supporting her niece and nephew in everything they do, and spending time with her partner and their cat Lola.


Perry Stokes

Co-chair for the Oregon Intellectual Freedom Committee  Stokes got his start with Intellectual Freedom issues in 2005 in the wake of CIPA in Seattle as chair of KCLS Internet Filtering Committee. Since 2007, he has worked in rural northeastern Oregon as Library Director for Baker County Library District. He has served on advisory boards for Oregon State Library's LSTA Council, the Oregon Digital Library Consortium, and Answerland, helped shape OLA's Vision 2020 strategic plan and the PLD Standards for Oregon public libraries, and continues to be active on the boards of the Libraries of Eastern Oregon (LEO), Sage Library System, and Baker County Community Literacy Coalition. In off hours, he enjoys "spanning time" with his wife; indie, foreign, cult and classic films (almost any movie on TCM); graphic novels; kayaking and swimming in mountain lakes and rivers. He is currently reading "Freedom" by Sebastian Junger. 


Sara Trott

Sara is the Equipment Coordinator at the Oregon State University Valley Library in Corvallis. She works to increase user access to equipment and form partnerships with organizations outside of the library.



No comments:

Post a Comment