Alumni and Friends

Alumni

Nearly every year, the School of Information has recognized members of in the Library and Information Science community with events such as the Jean Key Gates Distinguished Alumni Award and the Alice G. Smith Lecture.

The School of Information through the years has seen the graduation of over 3,000 students from its Master's program, since its inception in 1974. Graduates have gone on to succeed in a wide variety of interesting positions in all parts of the United States and abroad. Some graduates of note are below.

If you are a USF School of Information alumni and would like to share updates on your professional journey, please reach out to us at si@usf.edu. 

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Yasmeen Anis Shah (2024) is currently an elementary district librarian for Grand Haven Area Public Schools in Grand Haven, Michigan

Karla Ferrer Alvarez (2024) is a Librarian at the Miami-Dade Public Library System, as well as a member of the Dade County Library Association (DCLA) and REFORMA: The National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking.

Jennifer Nicholson (2023) is currently the Florida Statewide Digital Initiative Consultant at the Florida Department of State Division of Library and Information Services.

Analise Heinz (2023) works as an OPS Librarian 1 in the Cataloging Department for the State Library of Florida in Tallahassee. 

Melissa Welden (2023) is a Research Librarian at Palm Beach County Library System's Acreage Branch and is the Vice-President,President-Elect of Beta Phi Mu Honor Society as well as the Membership Chair of Palm Beach County Library Association.

Charlie Fitzpatrick (2023) works as a Research and Teaching Services Librarian at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. He is the liaison librarian to the School of Nursing, the School of Kinesiology, the Department of Nutrition and Health Science, and the Department of Counseling Psychology, Social Psychology, and Counseling.

Ian Rohr (2023) graduated from the MS in Intelligence Studies program and is a Media Aggregate Program (MAP) Manager. He is now a PhD candidate at Catholic University and recently published an article titled “Backlink Analysis Tools: A Nontraditional Resource for Intelligence Practitioners.”

Matt Etzel (2023) is the Assistant Director of Collier County Public Library, providing high-quality public services to patrons.

Sydney Schermerhorn (2023) graduated from the MLIS program and worked as a marketing and communication GA, wherein she helped develop the School of Information Newsletter. She is now a Librarian at Destin Public LIbrary.

Aaron Drake (2022) is a Branch Supervisor at Island Branch Library in the Manatee County Public Library System.

Alexis Long (2022) is an Adult Services Associate at the Cape Girardeau Public Library in Missouri. She has a long history of working in publishing, teaching, and librarianship, with a focus on archiving.

Heather Ward (2022) is an Analyst/Planner for USF's Global and National Security Insitute (GNSI) who plans and strategizes for conferences, events, and activities. During her time in the MLIS program, she worked as a GA for Dr. Jim Andrews on his papers.

Lisa (Feldmesser) Seymour (2022) is a Librarian and Associate Professor at Palm Beach State College, Lake Worth Campus.

Lori Johnson (2022) works as a Librarian for the University of Florida Library since 2023.

Georgette E. Spratling (2021) works as the Assistant Director at the North Miami Public Library PhD Student at Simmons University SLIS (School of Library and Information Science) program.

Deborah Van Pelt (2021) works as a Library Media Specialist for Hillsborough County Public Schools and is a member of Beta Phi Mu. 

Amy Parrott (2021) is the Supervisory Librarian for Morale, Welfar, & Recreation (MWR) at the Naval Air Station Pensacola (NASP).

John Strasburg (2021) is currently an adult services librarian with the Charleston County Public Library in Charleston, SC. In 2022, he published a biography about a First World War Medal of Honor recipient titled He Charged Alone. 

Briana Christensen (2021) is an Archivist at the National Security Agency. Whil earning her MLIS degree, she was involved in SOLIS, ALA, SLA, SAA, & ACRL. She was also inducted into Beta Phi Mu.

Ehsan Moghadam (2021) is a librarian for the Edward G. Miner Library at the University of Rochester in New York. He works with orthopaedics, neurology, and emergency medicine, providing information-based services on literature search, systemic review, citation management, data visualization & bibliometric anaylsis, and guidance on data management & sharing (DMS).

Janet Chan (2021) is a Research and Education Librarian at USF Health Libraries. 

Leslie Walbolt (2021) is a Librarian Branch Manager at Clearwater Beach Library.

Jennifer Slagus (2020) is a PhD Candidate in Social, Cultural, and Political Contexts of Education at Brock University in Ontario, Canada. Their doctoral research applies critical neurodiversity studies to children's literature and specifically explores neurodivergent representation in middle grade books (for 8-12 year old readers). Jennifer is currently the Coordinator of Research & Instruction at the USF Libraries. 

Brittany Baum (2020) is a PhD candidate at Florida State Univeristy studying the role information professionals play in addressing adolescent mental health needs, particularly librarians, by studying the information behavior of teens. While working on her MLIS at USF, Brittany held a graduate assistant position, a research assistant position, was the President of ASIS&T, and was inducted into Beta Phi Mu. She also taught Information Literacy as an instructor. She recently co-authored a paper published in PLQ titled Bridging the service gap: Branch managers talk about social workers in public libraries. 

Jade Kastel (2020) is the Director of Library Services at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. She was recognized for her outstanding contribution to academic and research librarianship and to library development with the 2023 Illinois Academic Librarian of the Year Award.

Karen Garcia (2020) is a Community Engagement Coordinator at Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County. She previously wored for the Palm Spring Public Library for 11 years and earned her MLIS degree at the School of Information in 2020.

Michelle Zimmerman (2020) is a School LIbrary Media Specialist at Woonsocket Education Department in Massachusetts. She earned a graduate certificate in School Librarian/School Library Media Specialist at USF.

Katharine Fintak (2019) is a proud to be a USF alumni. She landed a Youth Services Librarian job with the Seminole County Public Library a year before graduating with her MLIS. In 2023, she was promoted to an Assistant Branch Manager position and awarded with the Florida Library Association's Outstanding New Librarian award. A year later, she has assumed the role of Regional Branch Manager in the same library system, overseeing two branches. She has a passion for teen library services. What she is most proud of is successfully implementing visits to her county's juvenile detention center to meet the needs of incarcerated teens. She also hosted a weekly book club to work specifically with at risk teens and has been a member of the YALSA TeenTober Interest Group, a YALSA Teen Top Teen Book Group Advisor, and a member of the AASL/ALSC/YALSA interdivisional Committee on School/Public Library Cooperation. She has also participated in FLA committees, as a member of the Conference Planning Committee, and now as a member of the Awards & Honors Committee. She is thrilled with her current job and is loving the new challenge. She is excited to see where her career takes her next!

Buyukozturk Nevin (2019) is Senior Librarian at Broward County Library.

Eric Dominicis (2019) is the Miami Dade College Director, Learning Resources.

Luis Aponte (2019) is an Information Services Librarian for Fairfax County Public Library.

Melinda Berg (2019) is a Cataloging & Metadata Librarian at the University of South Florida.

Paul Bazile (2019) is a Library Director at City of North Miami.

Adam Eric Berkowitz (2018) was an active member of the School of Information's SOLIS student group and served as Vice President of the ALA student chapter. He also held a graduate teaching position and was inducted into Beta Phi Mu. Adam is currently pursuing his PhD in Communication & Information Sciences at the University of Alabama, where he is also an instructor at the School of Library and Information Studies. His most recently published study is titled Artificial Intelligence and Musicking: A Philosophical Inquiry.

Karen Urbec (2018) is an Archivist and Digital Assest Librarian at Bridgewater Public Library. Karen published a case study in 2023 titled Exploring Archival Silences: A 1922 Estate Manager's Diary Offers a New Voice From the Archives at Vizcaya Museum and Gardens.

Melissa Brown (2017) is a Supervisory Librarian-Tampa Hillsborough County Public Library.

Matt Phan (2017) is a Librarian at the U.S. Department of Commerce. 

Mary Rubin (2017) is the Manager of Cataloging & Acquisitions at Valencia College in Orlando. She has recently published the book titled, The University of Central Florida Trivia Book (College Trivia).

Robert Fernandez (2017) is an Assistant Professor and a Collection Development/Archives Librarian at Prince George's Community College. 

James Scholz (2016): "Greetings from Nashville! I am James Scholz, a USF School of Information graduate in 2016. After working in the food industry for many years, I thought it was time for a change, so I returned to school to become an academic librarian, specifically a reference librarian. While taking classes, I was lucky to be hired as a graduate assistant at USF SI. Through this work, I also discovered I loved teaching when Professor Kiersten Cox asked me to help her teach her LIS 2005 course. She became my teaching mentor; with that experience, I became a teaching librarian. I am now the Coordinator of Research and Instruction at Tennessee State University, an HBCU in Nashville.
 
Before this, I worked for Cameron University in Oklahoma as their Instruction and Assessment librarian, where I also established a digital media lab and oral history program. In addition to my LIS degree, Master of Education, Teaching and Learning degree, I will finish a Doctor of Education program in 2027. My publications include the book The City Council of Tampa and Celebration of Old City Hall’s Centennial (2015), the chapter titled Word Cloud Sushi in the book The Discovery Tool Cookbook: Recipes for Successful Lesson Plans (2016), and an article titled The devil’s advocate: Librarians and Wikipedia (2017) for the journal Progressive Librarian. My most recent presentations are “Empowering Equity: Fostering Diversity and Information Literacy through Wikipedia Editing.” for the Annual Africa Conference at Tennessee State University 2024 and “AI and Word Clouds to Identify Keywords and Research Questions.” Southeastern Library Association Conference 2024. "

James Clark (2016) is an Archivist & Public Service Librarian at Cape Fear Community College.

Josette (Barbara) Kubicki (2016) is a Reference & Instruction Librarian - Liason Librarian for Education & Pyschological Sciences at Augusta University.

Ray Baker (2016) is the Director at Miami-Dade Public Library System. 

Roxanna Palmer (2015) is a Librarian for Hillsborough Community College.

Alexandra Curran (2013) was selected to be a resident for the National Digital Stewardship Residency Program, run by Harvard University, for 2015-2016. She will be working with the MIT project.

Kimberly Nordon-Parks (2013) is a Librarian I at Pasco County Library.

Cristy Moran (2012) is an Adult Library Services Senior Consultant at Colorado State Library who prides herself as a "librarian for librarians."

RoseMary Hedberg (2012) is a National Library of Medicine (NLM) Associate Fellow at Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University.

Laura Maury (2011) is the Manager of Research and Information Alerts at Baker McKenzie law firm. 

Alicia Long (2011) is a PhD candidate and Research Assistant at the University of Missouri's School of Information Science and Learning Technologies, and a Visiting Assistant Instructor at the USF School of Information. Previously, she was a Library Supervisor of Access Services at the State College of Florida in Manatee-Sarasota. She was a 2009 Spectrum Scholar and 2012 ALA Emerging Leader, and she is active in REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Science to Latinos and the Spanish-speaking, was a member, chair, and cultural consultant for the Pura Belpré Award, and the Association presented her with the 2022 Dr. Arnulfo Trejo Librarian of the Year.

William Harris (2011) is a Principal Librarian at Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library and supervises for the Florida History & Genealogy Library at John F. Germany Public Library. He is also the historian for the USF LIS Alumni Society. 

Angie Drobnic Holan (2010) is the editor of PolitiFact. She was a member of the PolitiFact team that won the Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the 2008 election. She has been with the Tampa Bay Times since 2005 and previously worked at newspapers in Florida, Alabama, Louisiana and New Mexico.

Julius Fleschner (2010) is the Assistant Vice Provost of Academic Affairs and Accreditation at Georgia Highlands College. 

Jennifer Hodges (2009) is a Branch Supervisor for the Hernando County Public Library System.

Jessica Zario (2009) is the Director of Library Sales & Outreach at ByWater Solutions.

Tom Taylor (2008) is the director of the Andover (Kansas) Public Library.

Mia D’Avanza (2008) is the Director of the Fisher Fine Arts Library at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

Joseph Gremillion (2006) is the Head of Acquisitions at Shreve Memorial Library.

Meagan Albright (2006) is the Manager of Youth Services Cambridge Public Library. She has authored articles on intellectual freedom, literacy, and library services for notable library associations and has received awards for her innovative contributions to the field of librarianship.

Courtney Crummett (2006) is a Biosciences Librarian at MIT Libraries. National Library of Medicine Associate Fellow, 2006-2008.

Heidi Colom (2005) is a Librarian at the Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library. She also obtained her Specialist Degree in Library and Information Studies from Florida State University in 2009. 

Jorge E. Perez (2004) is currently the Emerging Technologies Librarian at the University of Miami at the Louis Calder Memorial Library at the Miller School of Medicine.  Jorge is currently serving as the Florida Library Association (FLA) president for 2024-2025 and recently completed his presidency for the Florida Health Sciences Library Association (FHSLA).

Glenda Phipps (2003) is the Chairperson of Communication, Arts & Philosophy at Miami Dade College.

Roy Balleste (2002) is the Law Library Director and Professor of Law at Stetson University School of Law.

Brian Mathews (2001) is the Associate Dean for Research & Innovation at the Carnegie Mellon University Libraries. 

Celia C. Pérez (2001) is an author and her first book, The First Rule of Punk, was a 2018 Pura Belpré Award Honor Book, a 2018 Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards honor book, a winner of the 2018 Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children's Book Award, a Junior Library Guild selection, and was included in several best of the year lists. Her second book for young readers, Strange Birds, was published by Kokila, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers in September 2019.

Mika Slaughter Nelson (2001) is the Library Director at St. Petersburg Library System. Mika was inducted into Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society (2001) and Beta Phi Mu International Library & Information Studies Honor Society (2003). Mika Slaughter Nelson was the 2015 recipient of the USF SI Jean Key Gates Distinguished Alumni Award and currently serves on the USF SI MLIS Advisory Council. She gave the Alice G. Smith Lecture in 2022 for the School of Information titled "Modern Marvels: Mining Gems to Manifest Dreams."

Nancy Fredericks (2001) is an acting Libraries Director at Pasco County Library Cooperative and an adjunct at the School of Information.

Carrie Hurst (2000) is a Senior Librarian and branch manager of the Robert W. Saunders Public Library in Hillsborough County, Florida. Carrie was inducted into the International Chapter of the Beta Phi Mu Honor Society in 2010.

Ethan J. Allen (2000) is the Director at John D. MacArthur Campus at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) Libraries.

Lauren Christos (2000) is a FIU University Reference and Research Librarian. 2009-2010 Chair of the American Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Round Table (IFRT).

Jennifer Obermaier (1999) is the Library Director for the City of Clearwater.

Erick Dominicis (1999) is the Miami Dade College Director of Learning Resources, which is  a department the college that provides a learning-centered environment that integrates academic support services, resources, technologies, and instruction to promote academic excellence. 

Larry Treadwell IV (1999) is the Director at of the Fayetteville State University (NC).

Phyllis Gorshe (1999) is the Director of the Dunedin Public Library in Pinellas County, Florida. She is the 2020-2021 Vice-President and President-Elect of the Florida Library Association. Phyllis is also an active member of the community as a member of various civic organizations including the Dunedin Council of Organizations, Secretary: 2015-Present, the Garrison Jones School Advisory Committee, Community Liaison: 2014-Present, and the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce, Education Committee Member: 2014-Present. 

Laura Slavin (1998) is an Electronic Resources Libarian at the University of Alabama, Huntsville. During her time in the MLIS program, she served as the SOLIS president. In 2024 Laura was President of the Southeastern Library Association and received the Hal Mendelsohn Award for continual, dedicated, outstanding service to the Southeastern Library Association.

Melissa Schneider (1998) is the Executive Director of Winter Park Library. She served as the President of the ALA student chapter.

Todd Chavez (1998) is Dean of the USF Libraries and serves on the USF SI Advisory Board. He gave the Alice G. Smith Lecture in 2023 at the School of Information's 50th Anniversary Event for the MLIS program.

Mike Dahn (1997) is SVP at Global Head of Westlaw Product Management.

Andrew S. Breidenbaugh (1996) is the director of the Tampa-Hillsborough library system. He has been principal librarian for the John F. Germany Public Library, chief librarian for the South Tampa region, manager of library technology and collections, and manager of library technology and collections for the Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Libraries.

Byron Holdiman (1996) is a Genealogy Librarian at St. Tammany Parish Library in Madeville, Louisiana. In January 2024, he presented "Don't Forget the Librarian: An Essential Genealogical Research Tool" at Roots Tech.

Dawn Clark Taggblom (1996) is currently an Assistant Librarian at Keiser University Daytona Beach Campus Library

Andrew Breidenbaugh (1995) is the Director of Library Services at Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library. 

Anne Leon (1994) is the Executive Director of Public Library Services at Alvin Sherman Library, Nova Southeastern University.

Jennifer Dewsnap-Shipley (1994) is a Library Operations Manager for the Miami-Dade Public Library System. She was awarded the 2024 Best Emerging Technology Application (BETA) Award in recognition of a technology application that directly benefits library users. Jennifer created two interactive exhibitions for people with disbailities, a Multi-sensory POP-UP Storywalk combining Braille and QR Codes. 

Todd Puccio (1994) is the Director of Technical Services at Health Professions Divisions Library, Nova Southeastern University.

Mindi Simon (1993) is the Director for the Lee County Library System. 

Lisa Broadhead Lilyquist (1993) is the director at Lakeland Public Library.

Casey McPhee (1992) is the Director at Largo Public Library.

Brad Ward (1992) is the Executive Director of the Northeast Florida Library Information Network (NEFLIN), a multitype library cooperative based in Jacksonville, Florida.  Prior to this position Brad was with the Tampa Bay Library Consortium (TBLC) and the Pinellas Public Library Cooperative (PPLC).

Rose Bland (1992) is the Director of the Shimberg Health Sciences Library, University of South Florida. She serves on the USF SI Advisory Board. She was recently featured in a report by the National Library of Medicine. 

Lucía Martínez Gonzalez (1991) is the Library Director at City of North Miami, 2010-2011 and past president of REFORMA. She is the author of the award-winning bilingual books The Bossy Gallito, winner of the Pura Belpré Children's Literature Honor Medal and named one of New York Public Library's 100 Picture Books Everyone Should Know; and Señor Cat's Romance and Other Favorite Stories from Latin America, an Americas Award Commended Title. Gonzalez was named the 1998 Jean Key Gates Distinguished Alumna by the University of South Florida School of Library and Information Science. Her new book, The Storyteller's Candle, is a bilingual picture book illustrated by Lulu Delacre, winner of the 2008 Pura Belpré Children's Literature Honor Medal.

Brian Greene (1991) is the Library Development Manager of the Wyoming State Library where he has been since 1992. Brian states, "Like fellow alum Cristy Moran (2012) at the Colorado State Library, I pride myself as a librarian for librarians.

Ardis Hanson (1990) is the Assistant Director for Research and Education at USF Health Libraries. Her research focus is on language and social interaction - how language is used in everyday practice to negociate claims and identities.

Jennifer Pratt (1990) is the Executive Director at Southeast Florida Library Information Network.

Julie Renee Moore (1989) is the Special Collections Catalog Librarian at California State University, Fresno. She was selected as the recipient of the 2020 Margaret Mann Citation.

Dr. Barbara Stites (1988) held the rank of University Librarian and served as the Associate Dean, Library Services for Florida Gulf Coast University. Dr. Stites also served on the USF SI Advisory Board and taught as an adjunct for many years for the USF School of Information until she retired in July 2024.

Cecelia Solomon (1987) 2009-2010 president of Florida Association for Media in Education (FAME,) the school media specialists’ association.

Susan Dillinger (1981) Director of New Port Richey Public Library. FLA proclaimed her Florida Librarian of the Year (2014).

Sonja Garcia (1977) was a former USF Library administrator and a former member of the USF Board of Trustees. She was the first African American woman on the 12-member board.

Anne Ellis (1975) was the first Librarian Relations Director at Thomson Reuters and the former Chair of the Private Law Libraries division.

Dorothy M. Schirtzinger was the former library director at the Lee County Library System (LCLS). She was awarded Librarian of the Year in 1996.

Lydia Acosta was Vice President for Information Services and University Librarian Nova Southeastern University and was responsible for setting the strategic direction and managing the daily operations of the NSU library system, including the Alvin Sherman Library, Research, and Information Technology Center on NSU’s main campus, a joint-use facility between the Broward County Board of County Commissioners and NSU. As the largest library facility in Florida, the Sherman Library is a national model for a successful public-private partnership. 

Samantha Hastings is Director of School of Library and Information Science at the University of South Carolina for the state of Florida. She was elected as the Director for Region V in the American Association of School Librarians (AASL).

Shirley Kennedy was an internet pioneer and edited Best Bet Internet: Reference and Research When You Don't Have Time to Mess Around as well as the editor for InfoToday.com.