ALA Announces 2022 Class of Emerging Leaders

The American Library Association (ALA) has selected forty-nine (49) people to participate in its 2022 class of Emerging Leaders (EL). The EL program is designed to enable library staff and information workers to participate in project planning work groups, network with peers, gain an inside look into ALA structure, and have an opportunity to serve the profession in a leadership capacity early in their careers. See the list of participants.

Christina Fuller-Gregory and Pauline Stacchini, co-chairs of the Emerging Leaders program look forward to working with this most recent cohort of talented and committed early career leaders who are eager to pursue leadership opportunities in the Association. Commenting on the EL program, Christina Fuller-Gregory stated “We are thrilled to welcome the 2022 class of Emerging Leaders. These dynamic individuals can expect to engage in an Emerging Leaders program that has been reset, refreshed, and renewed to meet the growing needs of library leaders in a post-pandemic world.”

The Emerging Leaders program will kick off with a virtual day-long session during the ALA LibLearnX: The  Library Learning Experience (LibLearnX) virtual event. Participants will continue in an online learning and networking environment for six months. The EL program culminates with a poster session where the Emerging Leaders will showcase the results of their project planning work during the ALA 2022 Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. this June.

The Emerging Leader cohort consists of individuals from across the U.S. and Canada. The participants commit to taking part in all aspects of the program and may have an opportunity to serve on an ALA, division, chapter, round table, or affiliate committee or workgroup upon completion.

This year, sixty-three (63%) percent of participants have received sponsorships. The sponsors include ALA divisions, roundtables, the National Associations of Librarians of Color, state chapters, and ALA affiliate organizations. Each sponsor commits to financial support of an Emerging Leader to help defray costs of attending LibLearnX and the ALA Annual Conference.

The complete list of the selected participants and sponsoring organizations can be found on the Emerging Leaders webpage.

The ALA Emerging Leaders program is managed by the ALA Office for Human Resource Development and Recruitment (HRDR).