Speaker Bios
Stephen Abram
Stephen Abram, MLS, is the immediate Past President 2008 of SLA and the past-President of the Canadian Library Association and Vice President Innovation for SirsiDynix and Chief Strategist for the SirsiDynix Institute. He has been VP of Corporate Development for Micromedia ProQuest and Publisher Electronic Information for Thomson. He ran libraries for Suncor, Coopers & Lybrand, Smith Lyons Torrance Stevenson and Mayer and Hay Group. Stephen has been listed by Library Journal as one of their first “Movers and Shakers”, the ‘key’ people influencing the future of libraries and librarianship. He has been awarded SLA’s John Cotton Dana Award as well as being a Fellow of the SLA. He was Canadian Special Librarian of the Year and Alumni of the Year for the Faculty of Information Studies at the University of Toronto. He is an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Information Studies. He was President 2002 of the Ontario Library Association as well as sitting on the SLA Board of Directors as Director and Secretary. He gives over 90 international keynote talks annually to library and information industry conferences and writes articles and columns for Information Outlook, Feliciter, Access, Multimedia & Internet @ Schools, and Library Journal. He is the author of ALA Editions’ bestselling Out Front with Stephen Abram. His blog, Stephen’s Lighthouse, is a popular blog in the library sector.
Yvonne Chandler
Yvonne J. Chandler is an Associate Professor in the Department of Library and Information Sciences (LIS) in the College of Information at the University of North Texas. She is Director and Advisor for the Legal Informatics Masters program and the Legal Information Management, and Legal Information Access Management program offered jointly by LIS and the School of Community Services. Dr. Chandler developed the Law Librarianship program that has graduated more than 100 law librarians working in the state of Texas and across the nation including the directors of Baylor University, Texas Southern University, and Texas Wesleyan University Schools of Law. Dr. Chandler is the Director of the LIS Cohort Programs in Georgia and Nevada. She has experienced significant success with educational training grants from the Institute of Museums and Library Services (IMLS), providing student scholarships and experiences in Nevada and Georgia. Dr. Chandler earned her Master of Science from Atlanta University and her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. In May 2008, Dr. Chandler received the prestigious President’s Council Outstanding Teaching Award for 2008 from the University.Dr. Chandler is a member of the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL), Beta Phi Mu Honorary Society in Library and Information Science, the Special Libraries Association, the Dallas Association of Law Librarians, the Southwestern Association of Law Libraries (SWALL), and the Texas Library Association (TLA). She holds many leadership roles in these organizations including serving as President of SWALL from 2005-2007 and a member of the Executive Board of TLA serving as Representative at Large from 2004-2007. She currently is the representative for AALL to the American Library Association Task Force on Library and Information Science Education.
Helene Blowers
In 2007, Helene was named a Mover & Shaker by Library Journal as one of the 50 most influential people shaping the future of libraries. The discovery learning program, Learning 2.0: 23 Things, she created while serving as Technology Director for the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library (NC) has launched a world-wide 2.0 learning sensation and been duplicated by over 700 libraries in 15 countries. With nearly 20 years of combined library experience, Helene currently practices her passion for libraries and learning at Columbus Metropolitan Library, (OH) as the Director of Digital Strategy. She is the co-authored of the book Weaving a Library Web: A Guide to Developing Children’s Websites , the 2008 LITA Hi Tech award recipient, and a frequent speaker on libraries, technology and innovation. When she is not busy trying to keep CML from falling off the ever-surging technology wave, she enjoys traveling, spending time with her family and blogging at LibraryBytes.com.
Danielle Patrick Milam
Danielle Patrick Milam is an urban planner who has spent the last 10 years working with urban public libraries. She currently directs the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District Development Office and Foundation. Prior to that she helped shape the national agenda for public libraries as Sr. Vice President of Program and Development for the Urban Libraries Council, whose programs and publications promote public libraries as powerful catalysts to local economic development and civic engagement. With a background in national issues and local involvement in Las Vegas, NV, and San Antonio, TX, she explores the critical, yet sometimes invisible, intersections between the resources of public libraries and the resilience of local economies.
Dr. Sandi Parkes
Dr. Sandi Parkes is the Assistant Vice President of Continuing Education, and a professor in the Master of Public Administration program at the University of Utah. Sandi earned a Bachelor of Arts and an MPA from the University of Wyoming, after which she received her Ph.D. in Public Administration from Arizona State University. Previous related positions that Sandi has held include: Director of Professional Education – University of Utah Continuing Education Division; Program Manager – University of Utah MPA Program; and Faculty Associate – Arizona State University, School of Public Affairs. She has worked as an organizational consultant and trainer in the areas of teamwork, organizational change, strategic planning, leadership, learning transfer, time management, creativity, management, and conflict solution. Sandi co-edited Classic Readings in Organizational Behavior (2008) with J. Steven Ott and Richard Simpson, and Classics in Public Administration (2003) with Jay Shafritz and Albert Hyde.
Nancy Tessman
Nancy Tessman retired as Director of the Salt Lake City Public Library in July of 2007. During her tenure as Library Director, the Salt Lake City Library was frequently recognized for outstanding and progressive library administration and service. Library Journal, a prominent professional journal in the library field, recognized the Library with the prestigious Library of the Year Award in 2006. Mr. Tessman was recognized by the Utah Library Association as Librarian of the Year in 2003 and with the Distinguished Service Award of ULA in 1998. She received the Mayor’s Award in the Humanities in 2005, the Community Building Award from the Muslim Community in 2003. She was named one of the most influential people in Utah by Utah Business Magazine in 2004.
Ms. Tessman participated in the development of the Library Leadership Institution at Snowbird beginning in 1989 and as Executive Director from 1994 to 2001. She initiated the biennial Thinking Ahead Symposium, a national program designed to convene library and community leaders to discuss issues and challenges of the future. She has been active in and held leadership positions in local and national library and business organizations including Urban Libraries Council, the Public Library Association, the Utah Library Association and the Chamber of Commerce.
Ms. Tessman has been a featured speaker at conferences and events around the country and internationally throughout her career. She has served as a leadership mentor at the Library Leadership Institute at Snowbird and the Aurora Leadership Institute sponsored by the Australian Library Association. She was a guest speaker at the international Halmstad Conference in Aasrhus, Denmark, in 2007. She has been the keynote speaker for many diverse organizations including the League of Women Voters and the National Conference for Community and Justice.
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