Hello Colleagues,
In July, YALSA said goodbye to our Executive Director of over 13 years, Beth Yoke. Her last day was August 3rd. The YALSA Executive Director search committee concluded their work in early July and selected Anita Mechler as YALSA’s new Executive Director. Anita started on August 13th. You can find out more about Anita in the interview conducted by the YALSAblog Member Manager Allison Renner.
As you may know, the YALSA Board works year round. Since Annual we have been creating, discussing & voting on Board documents virtually, as well as finishing discussion on a few documents that we were not able to cover at Annual. We have selected a site for the 2019 Symposium, filled a vacancy on the board, made an official statement on the future of midwinter, and made progress on improving member engagement experiences (this one can be found in the Annual 2018 documents). Check out the documents we’ve approved since Annual 2018 here.
The Board is currently finishing up revisions to the Mission and Vision and developing an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Plan, as recommended by the Advancing Diversity Taskforce. We will also begin work on Strategic Planning this year, so keep an eye out for ways you can participate!
Thank You!
- A big thank you to the non-YALSA Members of YALSA Executive Director search committee, including Mary Ghikas, Beatrice Calvin, Dan Hoppe, Aimee Strittmatter. Todd Krueger, Sandra Hughes-Hassell, and myself comprised the remainder of the committee.
- Thank you to Nicole A. Cooke for guest editing a terrific issue of YALS on Intersectionalism, Cultural Awareness, and Restorative Justice. It will be available to read very soon.
Relevant Stats & Data
- June Membership: 4,671 (down 2.8% over June 2017)
- Funds raised in June: $721
Don’t Forget!
- The 2018 YALSA YA Services Symposium will take place in Salt Lake City, UT, November 2-4, 2018, at the Sheraton Salt Lake City Hotel with a theme of: Zeroing In: Focusing on Teen Needs.Registration is open now and the preliminary program is online.
- The YALSA Board approved a new version of YALSA’s Competencies. Make sure to check out the YALSAblog to learn more about these competencies. Find out about the upcoming free webinar competencies series here.
- The Public Library & School Library Collaboration Toolkit, the result of a three-year collaborative effort with members of AASL, ALSC and YALSA, provides information, research, and examples to will help facilitate and incorporate collaborative initiatives. Make sure to check it out!
- Check out the The Hub for the the latest on YA resources!
- Check out the Current Projects page to stay updated on what’s going on!
Best,
Crystle Martin
YALSA President 2018-2019
