Candidates for MAC 2011 Election

The MAC 2011 Elections are getting underway.  Once again we have an excellent slate of candidates to choose from for each of our offices.  You will be receiving the ballot via email soon which will link to the following bios and statements from the candidates.

Only Voting Members of the Medical Library Association may vote on the selection of a candidate for the MLA Nominating Committee, or for the Chapter’s Representative and Alternate Representative to the Chapter Council. 

Chair-Elect Candidates

  1. 1.     Steven Douglas, MA, MLS, AHIP

I’ve worked at the University of Maryland Health Sciences and Human Services Library for just under ten years and am currently Head of the Collection Management Department.  I oversee the acquisition and provision of all of the Library’s resources—both electronic and print—and serve as the chair of the Collection Development Committee.

Since receiving my MLS from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2007 I’ve been very active in the profession both locally and on a national level.  In MLA I have served as the co-convener of the LGBT SIG, a member of the 2010 Local Arrangements Committee, and as member and chair of the Darling Medal award jury.  I am currently chair of the HLS/MLA Professional Development Grant Jury.  I am also the editor-designate of the Journal of Electronic Resources in Medical Libraries.

My most rewarding experiences, however, have been working on MAC annual meetings.  Serving on the hospitality and printing & publicity committees for the 2007 meeting in Baltimore was so much fun that I volunteered to represent MAC as co-chair of the Three-by-the-Sea Tri-chapter meeting held in Atlantic City in 2009.   And now I’m doing it again, representing MAC on the steering committee of Connections: MLA Quad Chapter Meeting 2012.  MAC will be hosting our friends from Three-by-the-Sea—the New York/New Jersey and Philadelphia Area Chapters—along with the Southern Chapter at the Tremont Grand in Baltimore.

I am honored to be nominated to serve as Chair-Elect of MAC and look forward to working for the chapter in the years ahead.

  1. 2.     Stefanie E. Warlick

Statement of Interest:

As Chair-Elect of MAC, I would leverage my experience and knowledge from serving on the MAC Executive Board to ensure that the extraordinary benefits of membership in MAC reach all current members. In addition, I am interested in exploring new ways to connect with non-members who could benefit from association with such a healthy and active chapter.

Brief Bio Sketch:

Stefanie Warlick is Assistant Director and Learning Commons Coordinator of the East Campus Library at James Madison University (JMU). Before taking on this role in March 2011, Stefanie served JMU as the Health & Human Services Liaison Librarian. Stefanie obtained her MSLS from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and has gone on to work as a Health Sciences Librarian in two other Mid-Atlantic region states – Maryland and Virginia.

Since joining MAC in 2004, Stefanie has served as a member of the Strategic Planning Committee, the Nominating Committee, the Joint MAC/SC Annual Meeting Papers Subcommittee, and the Local Arrangements Committee for the 2006 MAC meeting in Baltimore. In the Spring of 2011, Stefanie rolled off as a member of the MAC Executive Board after completing a three-year term as MAC Treasurer.

Education & Current Position

  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, MSLS
  • University of Kansas, BA
  • Assistant Director, East Campus Library, James Madison University March 2011-present

Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Medical Library Association (MAC/MLA)

  • Executive Board, Treasurer 2008-2011
  • Meeting Planning Committee, Local Arrangements 2006-2007
  • Strategic Planning Committee, Member 2007-2008
  • MAC Nominating Committee, Member 2006
  • Joint MAC/SC Annual Meeting Papers Subcommittee, 2006

Medical Library Association (MLA)

  • National Planning Committee, Member 2009-2011
  • Emerging Leaders Task Force, Member 2009-2012
  • Medical Ethics Task Force, Member 2009-2010
  • Membership Committee, Member 2007-2008

 Secretary Candidates

(1)            Lara Handler

Statement of Interest:

I am excited to use my enthusiasm as a relatively new librarian and MAC member if I am elected as the incoming Secretary. As the person responsible for incoming and outgoing correspondence and the preparation of minutes for meetings, I look forward to combining my experience with MAC and my skills in organization to ensure that we remain a strong and active chapter.

Brief Biographical Sketch:

Lara Handler is the School of Medicine liaison librarian for the Health Sciences Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Before joining the Health Sciences Library, Lara was the Outreach Librarian at the North Carolina Library for the Blind & Physically Handicapped and an EPA/NIEHS intern. Lara earned her MSLS from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2007. In her first three years of involvement with MAC and MLA, she has served on various committees and is excited about this new opportunity as Secretary.

Education & Current Position

  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, MSLS
  • Guilford College, BA
  • School of Medicine Liaison, Health Sciences Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, August 2008-present

Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Medical Library Association (MAC/MLA)

  • Annual Meeting Committee, Registration, 2010 and 2011
  • Annual Meeting Committee, Contributed Papers, 2011
  • Honors and Awards Committee, 2011

Medical Library Association (MLA)

  • Rittenhouse Award Jury, 2011-2012

(2) Jean L. Siebert

Collection Manager/Reference Librarian

West Virginia University Health Sciences Library,Morgantown, West Virginia

Statement of Interest and bio

My experience with MAC/MLA has been very positive and I enjoy serving this organization, and getting to know and work with its wonderful members. I want to explore use of Web 2.0 and other technologies such as Kindle and Twitter to make the secretary’s role more effective and relevant using my previous experience as MAC Secretary. Consider that for a modest fee we could have an electronic indexed version of Robert’s Rules of Order available on a Kindle Reader at our MAC meetings.  Perhaps it is time to investigate converting all meeting minutes so that they are available in PDF format, whether on or off the web page and creating an electronic archive and index for them.

Jean has worked at the WVU Health Sciences Library since 1995, including over five years as an electronic resources/reference librarian, five years as the Learning Services Coordinator, and over five years in her present position. Previously, she was a reference librarian at the University of Arizona (Tucson) Health Sciences Library for six years.  Jean has held several MAC Leadership roles including Secretary (2003-2004) and Printing Co-Chair for the 2002 MAC Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. A MAC/MLA member since 1995, Jean has served on several MAC committees, including the MAC Professional Development Committee (1997-2000) the MAC Nominating Committee (1998), and the MAC/MLA Annual Meeting 2008 Hospitality Committee. She is currently a member of the Communications Committee (2010-present).  In addition, she has been active in the MLA Pharmacy & Drug Information Section, serving as membership chair (1999-2004), chair (1996-1997), and newsletter editor (1993-1995).  Jean has been on several MLA Committees including the MLA Books Panel (2006-2009), and the MLA Nominating Committee (2007). She is currently serving on the EBSCO/MLA Annual Meeting Grant Jury (2011-2012).

 Chapter Council Representative Candidate

Melissa Ratejeski (Unopposed)

Melissa has served for three years as MAC’s Chapter Council Representative Alternate. Now she is running unopposed to step up to the MAC Chapter Council Representative position.

Melissa Ratajeski is a reference librarian at the Health Sciences Library System, University of Pittsburgh where her duties include acting as the liaison to the University’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee and the UPMC Shadyside Hospital Evidence Based Nursing Council.

Since becoming a librarian Melissa has been active in MLA on both a national and local level.  Within the Pittsburgh Chapter Melissa was the Chapter Council Alternate (2007-2009) and was an active member of the Pittsburgh/MAC Merger Committee.  Within MAC Melissa has served as the Chapter Council Alternate since 2009 and hopes to continue serving on Chapter Council as the Representative.  This past year Melissa was co-chair of the Chapter Council Roundtable Committee at the MLA annual meeting and will continue as co-chair for the Seattle 2012 meeting.

Chapter Council Representative Alternate Candidates

(1) Dale Prince

J. Dale Prince is Executive Director of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Southeastern/Atlantic Region in the Health Sciences and Human Services Library of the University of Maryland, where he oversees the RML program.

Dale has been a member of MAC and MLA since 2000. He is active in MLA at both national and local levels, having served as Chair of the Membership and Professional Development Committees of MAC, Local Arrangements co-chair for MAC 2001, Program Chair for MAC 2007, and MAC Chair 2008-2009; he has also served on the Continuing Education and Technology Advisory Committees, the Taskforce on Social Networking Software, and served as Chair of the Relevant Issue Section, and is current Chair of the Educational Media and Technologies Section of MLA. He is a distinguished member of AHIP.

Since joining MAC in 2000, I have been active in local activities. I have always been convinced of the importance of the chapter in the lives and work of medical librarians. Chapters are able to speak at a more granular level than can MLA as a whole, and within a chapter, each person and voice may be heard. Chapter council, in its advisory capacity, makes it possible to take chapter-level ideas and knowledge to MLA governing bodies. And Chapter Council affords chapters a chance to interact while maintaining chapter identity and integrity. I am excited about promoting MAC and it’s unique voice within the Council and within MLA, of sharing our ideas while working as a conduit for the ideas of others, thereby enriching MAC and MLA.

(2)            BART RAGON

Bart Ragon is the Associate Director for Knowledge Integration, Research, and Technology at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library at the University of Virginia. In this role, he is responsible for providing leadership in identifying, evaluating, selecting, and implementing new information technologies.  He manages both the public computing environment as well as the library’s web gateway.  His duties also include managing the library’s strategic planning process.  He received his master of library and information science from the University of South Carolina.

My interest in Chapter Council Alternate is to gain a better understanding of the MLA Chapter Council through service to MAC by attending the meetings of the council and transmitting to the Council recommendations from the MAC board.  My experience with MAC includes:

  • Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Medical Library Association – 2010 MAC Student Vision Scholarship Program
  • Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Medical Library Association Membership and Recruitment Committee 2007 – 2010
  • Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Medical Library Association Honor and Awards Committee Chair  2006 – 2007
  • Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Medical Library Association Honor and Awards Committee Member 2005 – 2007
  • Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Medical Library Association Professional Development Committee Chair 2004 – 2005
  • Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Medical Library Association Professional Development Committee member 2002 – 2005
  • Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Medical Library Association – Sponsored Horse Sense for Leaders 2005
  • Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Medical Library Association – Annual Conference Planning Committee 2004

MLA Nominating Committee Candidates

(1)            Kristine Alpi, AHIP (D)

I would be honored to be put forward by MAC members as a Nominee for the MLA Nominating Committee.  My service on MAC’s Professional Development Committee ends this fall.  In 2007, I was elected to the MLA Nominating Committee through the Section Council selection process while the Nominee from the Public Health/Health Administration Section of MLA.  My other nominating committee experience includes chairing the Nominating Committee of the New York-New Jersey Chapter and the Association of North Carolina Health & Sciences Libraries, as well as serving on the nominating committees of the Veterinary Medical Libraries and Medical Informatics Sections.

Biographical Sketch:

Kristine M. Alpi is Director of the William Rand Kenan, Jr. Library of Veterinary Medicine at North Carolina State University. Formerly Associate Library Director at the rank of Associate Librarian and Lecturer in Public Health in the Department of Public Health at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University, she holds a Masters of Public Health from Hunter College of the City University of New York and a Masters of Library Science from Indiana University. She has taught or guest lectured at the Palmer School of Library & Information Science at Long Island University, the Pratt Institute, the Medical Informatics Program at SUNY Downstate, and Rutgers.

A former Associate Fellow of the National Library of Medicine (NLM), she has served as an Educational Collaborator with the National Center for Biotechnology Information, a member of the Public Health Training Subcommittee of the Partners in Information Access for the Public Health Workforce, and as part of the NLM Planning Panel on Clinical & Public Health Information Systems for the 21st Century. She is a Distinguished member of the Academy of Health Information Professionals and an instructor in the Medical Library Association Continuing Education program.

Editorial Boards:

(2) Mary Joan (M.J.) Tooey

Since my arrival in Maryland in 1985, one constant throughout my medical librarianship career has been support and affection for the Mid-Atlantic Chapter (MAC) of the Medical Library Association (MLA).  I have learned so much from my MAC friends and colleagues and have grown professionally and personally from those connections. I’ve had the opportunity to serve MAC and MLA at the highest levels and have been honored with MAC’s highest awards.  Even though all that is nice, that’s not why I want to serve as MAC’s Nominee to the MLA Nominating Committee.

In the 2000’s there was a run of MAC members who served as presidents of MLA (Jenkins, Watson, Thibodeau, Marshall, Shipman, Schardt, me). One of the roads to this high level of national service runs through the Nominating Committee.  It is important to advocate for our chapter members at that level.  Members of the MLA Nominating Committee need to have knowledge of the “best” in our profession, a vision for our future and the leadership needed to get there. For over 25 years I have been amazed at the energy, talent, and professional generosity of MAC members, and I would be honored to represent chapter members on the MLA Nominating Committee.  There are so many gifted professionals in MAC, and it is time to promote the next generation of leaders to build the future of the Medical Library Association, our professional organization.

M.J. Tooey is Associate Vice President, Academic Affairs and Executive Director of the Health Sciences and Human Services Library at the University of Maryland where she has worked in various library positions since 1986.  She is also the Director of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine’s Southeastern/Atlantic Regional Medical Library under contract with the National Library of Medicine at NIH..  She received her MLS from the University of Pittsburgh in 1982 and her Bachelor of Science degree in Education from Clarion State University (formerly Clarion State College).

Tooey served as president of the Medical Library Association (MLA) from 2005-2006 and was elected a Fellow of the association in 2009.  She has also served on MLA’s Board of Directors and as the Chair of the 2004 National Program Committee for the 2004 MLA Annual Meeting. In 1997 she received the MLA Estelle Brodman Award as Academic Medical Librarian of the Year.  She has served as Chair of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Medical Library Association and has received the chapter’s Librarian of the Year and the Marge Abel Service Recognition Awards.  She also chaired the Public Services Section of the Medical Library Association.

She currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries.  Tooey also serves on the Board of Trustees for Lyrasis,  the nation’s largest regional non-profit membership organization serving libraries.  Additionally, she serves on the library advisory committees for FASEB and formerly served on the library advisory board for the New England Journal of Medicine. She is active in the University System of Maryland and Affiliated Institutions Council of Library Directors.

Tooey is the author or co-author of over 70 chapters, articles, presentations or posters.

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