Meet the WOC+Lib Team
Co-Founder + Executive Director
LaQuanda T. Onyemeh
is from Western New York and currently resides in Houston, TX. She is a Training & Consulting partner at ProQuest. LaQuanda educates and advises customers on digital technologies that enhance discovery, sharing, and data management. She is the Co-Founder of WOC+Lib and serves as the Executive Director.
LaQuanda earned a dual Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Sociology from State University of New York, Brockport. She received her Masters of Library of Information Studies from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, and a Masters of Education in Educational Technology from Texas A&M University.
LaQuanda’s academic accomplishments are just as varied as her professional ones. She is a 2017-2018 ALA Spectrum Scholar, 2018 and 2020 Past-Chair of American Library Association, NMRT Online Programs Committee. Her areas of expertise are educational technology, project management, and marketing & outreach.
In her spare time, LaQuanda enjoys painting, visiting family and friends, and music. Her pronouns are she, her, and hers. Follow her on Twitter at @LOnyemeh.
Editor-in-Chief
Jaena Rae Cabrera (she/her/siya)
is Filipino American Center Program Manager at the San Francisco Public Library. At SFPL, Jaena conducts outreach in the community, as well as coordinates programs, events and exhibits for various branches. Jaena is also on the committee that hosts and organizes the Filipino American International Book Festival in San Francisco.
She has a bachelor’s in journalism from San Francisco State University and a master’s in Library and Information Science from Syracuse University. Before becoming a librarian, she was a web producer for Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting.
Currently, Jaena is also president of the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association and an editor for the journal, In the Library with the Lead Pipe. Her interests include intersectionality, diversity, and equity in LIS, mental health, and the Filipino diaspora. In her free time, she watches reruns of her favorite shows, tinkers on her blog, explores the Bay Area via hikes, and spends way too much time on libraryland Twitter (@jaenarae).
Director of Marketing, Outreach and Recruitment
Juanita Thacker (she/her)
is a native of Winston-Salem, NC and received her undergraduate degree from East Carolina University in business education/ information technologies. Juanita also holds a MLIS from UNC Greensboro where she works as a information literacy lecturer in the University Libraries’ research, outreach and instruction department. Her professional interests include information literacy, promoting student success, user experience, critical librarianship, professional development, and marketing library services and resources. Video creation and project management are passions, as well. Juanita has been a featured participant of the NCLA, LAUNC-CH, and MLA conferences. She was also a speaker for an ASERL session, the ACRL/NY Critical Pedagogy Symposium, and the POC in LIS Summit. She is a member of ALA, BCALA, and the Metrolina Library Association. In her spare time, she enjoys a wide variety of music, reading, television, and travel.
Editors + Contributors
Founding Editor + Early Contributor
Malikah hall
is an associate law librarian at CUNY School of Law. Professor Hall joined the School of Law in 2017 after serving in the Cornell University Law Library as a Diversity Fellow, Research Services Librarian, and Lecturer-in-Law. She has taught courses in lawyering, legal research, and legal analysis. Her subject expertise is legal history. Professor Malikah earned her Juris Doctor degree from the North Carolina Central University School of Law and her Master of Library Science degree summa cum laude from the North Carolina Central University School of Library and Information Sciences.
Editor
Jina DuVernay
is the Collections Development Archivist for African American Collections at Emory University’s Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library. She serves on a number of committees including the ALA Committee on Diversity and is on the editorial board for the Library Diversity and Residency Studies journal. She holds a Masters in Library and Information Science and a Masters in Liberal Arts. DuVernay’s research interests include community outreach and engagement, diversity in libraries, preservation of archival materials regarding people of color, and the recruitment and retention of marginalized groups in librarianship.
Editor
Andrea Hayes
is the Outreach Librarian at the University of Arkansas for Medical
Sciences. She received her undergraduate degree from Columbus State University in English with a concentration in Professional Writing and her graduate degree in Library Science from North Carolina Central University. Andrea’s professional passions lie in diversity, equity and inclusion, dispelling medical misinformation, and community outreach. She serves on the Journal of the Medical Library Association Editorial Board and is fiction editor for BLF Press.
Editor
Eva M.L. Rios-Alvarado
attributes her empowerment, spirituality, and beautiful-resistance from Xicana and Black Feminist practice. With a B.A. in Geography and MS, in Library Information Science, she works alongside community college students exploring and crafting their unique information literacy repertoires. Currently, she is the Student Equity & Outreach Librarian at Mt. San Antonio College Library. If you asked Eva what is the most powerful force in leadership she would answer love, the power of community, the creativity of local activism, and daily resistance you find in your personal life. Find her on Twitter @EvaRiosAlvarado. #XicanaMLIS #LAallDay #librarianOfColor #locLA #Decolonize #POCinLIS
Editor
Editor
JASMINE MALONE (she/her)
is pursuing a Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa and is a Graduate Research Assistant with the Department of Psychology for an NIH-funded diverse hiring initiative. graduated from Xavier University of Louisiana (XULA) with a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and minor in Political Science and completed library focused internships with XULA, Harvard University and Fisk University. When she's not studying, she's diving into graphic novels and exploring the beautiful and culturally rich island of Oahu.
Marketing, Lead Content Planner
Stephanie Porrata
is one of two Mary P. Key Diversity Resident Librarians at The Ohio State University. She completed both an MLS and MA in Latin American and Caribbean Studies at Indiana University Bloomington in May of 2019. In her current position, Stephanie helps support to the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, Center for Latin American Studies, and the Latino/a Studies program. During her residency, Stephanie looks forward to learning more about library instructions, collection strategies, and metadata. For her research, she is interested in exploring how diversity residencies do and do not lead to a change in the demographic makeup of the library profession and how to create a residency program grounded in a culture of care. Stephanie is also interested in addressing mental health issues in the library profession, exploring the history of Latinx Librarianship, and understanding Twitter use among librarians.
Marketing, Lead Content Designer
Jessica Jackson Tingling
has worked in a variety of professional information environments for several years, ranging from classrooms and archives to libraries and studio spaces. These programs and endeavors have provided her with informative opportunities to engage and promote the production, distribution, and preservation of quality information materials for all age groups in a variety of subject matters. Jessica has developed content for the library’s social media platforms and also the owner of J&B Press LLC, a publishing house dedicated to preserving and sharing the arts and experiences of marginalized communities. Learn more: http://jandbpressphilly.com/
Marketing, Media Editor + Videographer
Narcissa Haskins
is currently the Teaching and Learning Librarian at Louisiana State University where she delivers instruction to undergraduate and general education students. She attained her BA from Bennett College in Africana Women’s Studies and her MLIS from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Narcissa’s varied experiences as a UNCF/ Mellon Mays Undergraduate Research Fellow, Schomburg Mellon Humanities Summer Intern, Recruiting Tomorrow’s Library Leaders Intern, and BelleHouse Bennett Fellow at the Scarritt Bennett Center, enhanced her life and passion for the multifaceted field of librarianship. Her interest includes research, literacy, community outreach, and film
Founding Team
Co-Founder and Former Editor-in-Chief
Lorin Jackson (pronouns: she/them)
is originally from New York City. They work as an Executive Director for the Region 2 Regional Medical Library for the Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM), with headquarters located at the Medical University of South Carolina. They are fortunate to work under the guidance and leadership of Dr. Shannon Jones. Before becoming a librarian, Lorin worked with under-served youth in the non-profit and educational sectors for a decade. Lorin graduated from Haverford College with a Bachelor’s in Philosophy and Education. Later, she attended the California Institute of Integral Studies to receive her Master’s degree in Philosophy and Religion. For Library and Information Science, Lorin received her Master of Information from Rutgers University, New Brunswick. In her spare time, she likes to read, listen to podcasts, and study interior design.