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Wanda K. Brown
President, 2024-2026Wanda K. Brown is the director of library services at the C. G. O’Kelly Library at Winston-Salem State University. Prior to that appointment, she served as the Associate Dean of Wake Forest University’s Z. Smith Reynolds Library. Brown has spent more than 40 years in the profession. During this time, she has focused on being “professionally active” in state and national library organizations. In June of 2019, she assumed the role of president for the American Library Association (ALA). As ALA president, Brown was the chief elected officer for the largest library association in the world. Brown has severed in numerous positions at the Black Caucus of the American Library Association including as treasurer (2016-2018), as president (2006-08), as treasurer (1992-96) and two terms as an executive board member (2001 to 2003, 2014 to 2016). She was the 2011-2013 president of the North Carolina Library Association and has held various other positions with NCLA, including treasurer (1991-1998) and the 2005-2009 chair of the Finance Committee. An ALA member for more than 30 years, Brown is an active member of the Association of College and Research Libraries and the Library Leadership and Management Association. She has held multiple leadership positions within each division. She is the 2015 recipient of the DEMCO/ALA Black Caucus Award for Excellence, the 2013 BCALA Leadership Award, and the 2012 BCALA Distinguished Service Award. In 2009, Brown received University of North Carolina at Greensboro’s Kovacs Award for Outstanding Alumni Achievement. In 2013, UNCG awarded Brown with the School of Education Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award. Brown holds a BA in English, with a minor in psychology from Winston-Salem State University, and an MLS from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. -
James Davis Jr.
Vice-President, 2024-2026James Allen Davis Jr. has over 22 years of public library experience, James has made contributions to the profession, particularly through his notable works, including a featured piece in “Intellectual Freedom Stories from a Shifting Landscape,” edited by Valerie Nye. He is also the author of a chapter in “The Black Librarian in America: Reflections, Resistance, and Reawakening,” published in 2022.James has held leadership roles that reflect his passion for mentoring and professional development. He served as Chair of the Exhibits and Placement Center Committee on the Steering Committee of the Joint Conference of Librarians of Color (JCLC) and a former Co-Chair of the Professional Development Committee of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA). Additionally, he is a founding member and former President of the Colorado Black Library Association, which highlights his dedication to advocating for diversity and inclusion within the library sector.
Outside of his professional achievements, James enjoys writing music and cherishing quality time with his family. His blend of advocacy, expertise, and creative spirit defines him as a vibrant force in the library community and beyond.
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Nichelle M. Hayes
Immediate Past President, 2024-2026Nichelle M. Hayes, MPA, MLS, is President of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association
(2022-2024). She works as an information professional with a focus on the African Diaspora, Community
Engagement and Inclusion. As an active member of ALA, she served on the “2023 ALA Nominating Committee”
and “Working Group to Condemn White Supremacy and Fascism as Antithetical to Library Work” from 2022 to
2023. Hayes was recently honored as a 2023 Culture Carrier Award Honoree and 2022 National Coalition of
100 Black Women – Breakthrough Women Award. In 2022, she was co-editor of The Black Librarian in
America: Reflections, Resistance, and Reawakening. Additionally, Hayes is a genealogist with a focus on
African Ancestry and keeping families connected, as documented in her blog “The Ties that Bind.” Hayes
is a graduate of the former IU School of Library & Information Science (SLIS) with a Masters in Library
Science, (now Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering, Indianapolis). -
Taylor Brooks
Secretary, 2024-2026Biography to Come. -
Biranna Preston
Assistant SecretaryBiography to Come. -
Ashaki Haroon
TreasurerBiography to Come.
Our Valuable Team Members 2024-2026
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Elizabeth Brumfield Ph.D.
Board Member, 2024-2026Biography to Come. -
Dr. Nicole Cooke
Board Member, 2024-2026Nicole A. Cooke is the Augusta Baker Endowed Chair and a Professor… -
Nicollette M. Davis
Board Member, 2024-2026Biography to Come. -
Shaunterria Owens
Board Member, 2024-2026Shaunterria Owens is a member of the BCALA Executive Board… -
Olanike Olaniyi
Board Member, 2024-2026Olanike Oianiyi was born in Nigeria and practiced as a librarian… -
Christina Vortia
Board Member, 2024-2026Christina Vortia, MSLIS, is an Executive Board Member… -
Jamia Williams
Board Member, 2024-2026Biography to Come. -
Shabrina McPherson
Board Member, 2024-2026Shabrina McPherson (she/her), affectionately known as “The Academic Princess”…
Our Valuable Team Members 2025-2027
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Gladys Smiley Bell
Board Member, 2025-2027Gladys Smiley Bell is an Executive Board member of the Black Caucus… -
Grace Jackson-Brown
Board Member, 2025-2027Biography to Come. -
Tamela Chambers
Board Member, 2025-2027Tamela Chambers is the Southwest District Chief at the Chicago Public Library, a member of BCALA’s Executive Board, and President of the Chicago Chapter of BCALA. Over several decades, she has worked with children, teens, and families in both school and public libraries, dedicating herself to fostering a love of literacy and inquiry in the communities she serves. Tamela holds a B.S. in Advertising and an M.S. in Library Science from the University of Illinois Urbana‑Champaign, and an M.Ed. in Early Childhood Curriculum and Instruction plus a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Educational Technology from National Louis University. -
Jina DuVernay
Board Member, 2025-2027Jina DuVernay is the Adult Services Manager at Gwinnett County Public Library and serves on the Executive Board of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association. She has engaged in numerous professional initiatives, including serving as Councilor‑at‑Large for the American Library Association and as a juror for the Coretta Scott King Award. Jina earned her Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Alabama. -
Conrad Pegues
Board Member, 2025-2027Conrad Pegues, MLIS, MFA, MA, is an Executive Board member of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association and serves as Public Services Librarian at the Paul Meek Library, University of Tennessee at Martin. He holds an MFA in fiction writing from Lindenwood University, an MLIS from Kent State University, and a B.A. and M.A. in Literature from the University of Memphis. He contributed to The Handbook of Black Librarianship and authored a self‑published short story collection titled The Sweet’s Price for Edenville, available via Amazon. -
Jessica Salow
Board Member, 2025-2027Jessica Salow, MLIS, is an Executive Board member of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (2025–2027). She is the Archivist of Black Collections at Arizona State University Libraries, where she leads reference, instruction, and curation efforts for a rich community-centered collection documenting the Black experience in Arizona. She was selected as an American Library Association Emerging Leader (Class of 2024) and received the Archival Innovator Award from the Society of American Archivists for her work with the Community-Driven Archives Initiative. Currently, Jessica serves as President of the Arizona Library Association. She holds a Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Arizona and is an alumna of Arizona State University. -
Chasity Strawder
Board Member, 2025-2027Chasity Strawder Chasity L. Strawder is an Executive Board Member of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (2025-2027). She is a graduate student in the School of Information Science at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. Strawder is a Research Facilitator for the student chapter of the American Library Association at Wayne State University, and she is a member of The Ohio Library Council. Strawder’s future aspirations include becoming a teen librarian and a library director. -
Jos N. Holman
ParliamentarianBiography to Come.