Tom Bober is an elementary librarian at RM Captain Elementary in Clayton, Missouri, a former Teacher in Residence at the Library of Congress, and a Digital Public Library of America Community Rep. He has written about the use of primary sources in classrooms in School Library Connection, Social Education magazine, and the Teaching with the Library of Congress blog. Tom also presents at regional and national conferences, runs workshops, and has developed and presented webinars for the Library of Congress and ABC Clio on a variety of strategies and topics for students’ use of primary sources in the classroom.
Steve Sheinkin is the award-winning author of fast-paced, cinematic nonfiction histories for young readers. The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights, was a National Book Award finalist and received the 2014 Boston Globe/Horn Book Award for Nonfiction. The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism & Treachery, won both the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award and the YALSA award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults. Bomb: The Race to Build-and Steal-the World's Most Dangerous Weapon was a Newbery Honor Book, a National Book Award Finalist, and winner of the Sibert Award and YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults. Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War was a National Book Award finalist, a YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award winner, and a Boston Globe/Horn Book Nonfiction Award winner. Sheinkin lives in Saratoga Springs, New York, with his wife and two children.
Sara Kelly Johns was a member of the AASL Implementation Task Force and is a Past-President of AASL, NYLA and NYLA/SSL. She was a 6-12 school librarian in Beekmantown and Lake Placid, taught Research through Technology at Feinberg Library and online at Mansfield University’s School Library & Information Technologies graduate program. Currently, she teaches Literacy through School Libraries online for the Syracuse iSchool school library media program. In 2017, she was named the AASL Social Media Superstar Advocacy Ambassador,
Christi Sommerfeldt serves as the Regional Services Librarian at the Northern New York Library Network. Her duties include arranging continuing education opportunities as well as writing communications and providing service support to the Network’s members. She is the NY Heritage liaison for the Northern New York Library Network helping members with digitization projects and cultivating NYH collections on the website.
Chuck Henry is the Integrated Technologies Coordinator at the Northern New York Library Network. A former NYS certified teacher, Chuck routinely provides professional development and software training to teachers, librarians, and administrators in the North Country region. As Technical Project Lead, he manages the newspaper digitization process, provides server maintenance, and web development for the NYS Historic Newspaper Project. Chuck also served as the primary web developer for the newly redesigned NY Heritage.
Amber Gladle is the shared media librarian for St. Lawrence Lewis BOCES and Morristown Central School District. She has been in this shared position for the past 4 years.
Kristen Armstrong is a middle and secondary science teacher at Morristown Central School. She teaches Physics, Earth Science, and Grade 7 Science. She has been collaborating and co-teaching on curriculum projects with Amber Gladle for 2 years.
From ESP to animals with zombie-like traits, Alicia Klepeis loves to research fun and out-of-the-ordinary topics that make nonfiction exciting for readers. Alicia began her career at the National Geographic Society. She taught middle school in Massachusetts for several years before becoming a writer. Alicia is the author of nearly 80 children’s books, including Lewis and Clark and Exploring the Louisiana Purchase, Bizarre Things We’ve Called Medicine, Building Mount Rushmore, and Explore Makerspace! With 25 Great Projects. Alicia is currently working on several projects involving rainbows, smartphones, and the Renaissance. She lives with her family in upstate New York.
Ms. Nicole Nicosia is the school library media specialist and blended learning teacher at Mexico High School in Mexico, NY. She was the Oswego CITI SLS Librarian of the Year 2015-2016. She is a member of CNYLA, NYLA, NYSCATE and ALS (AASL, YALSA). Her passions are technology, collection and curriculum development. She is a major nerd, reader and space fan. She also hopes the Buffalo Bills win a Super Bowl in her lifetime.