Advisory Board

Jessica Dorr is Deputy Director of the Global Libraries initiative at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Her work at the foundation began in 1997, as a technology trainer for West Seattle Learns, a community technology center. For the foundation’s U.S. Library Program, Jessica installed computer and Internet networks throughout the country. She oversaw the foundation’s Native American Access to Technology Program, which provided funding and resources specifically designed to meet the technology and information needs of Native communities. In her current role, she supports public libraries in both the United States and developing and transitioning countries to better serve their users through access to information resources and the Internet. Jessica has experience with both school and academic libraries and holds a B.A. from Georgetown University and an MLIS from the University of Washington. 

Jill Jackson is the Director of Library and Media Services at Vulcan Inc.  Prior to assuming her current position she served at the Senior Archivist at Vulcan Inc for over nine years.  Jackson manages a staff of ten that is responsible for the Allen family’s worldwide book and multimedia libraries, as well as Paul Allen’s archival collections. Before moving to Seattle in 2001, Jackson served as the archivist at the University of Texas, San Antonio and at the Mexican American Cultural Center.  Jackson graduated from Trinity University with a bachelor's degree in political science and urban studies, received a master's degree in women’s studies from George Washington University and has a master’s degree in library science from the University of Texas, Austin. 

Georgia Lomax is Deputy Director of the Pierce County (WA) Library System. In previous library lives, she has been Director of the Miles City (MT) Public Library, Director of the Flathead County (MT) Library System and a Managing Librarian with the King County Library System.

She began her adventure in libraries as a volunteer during Junior High (her specialty was shelf reading picture books), then became a page at the King County Library System and later a library assistant working in branches and in the Traveling Library Center serving the homebound.

Her boss eventually posed the question: “Have you considered a career in libraries?” After graduating with a degree in journalism from Washington State University, she went on to obtain her MLS from the University of Washington iSchool.

Aaron Louie is a Director of User Experience at ZAAZ, a digital marketing agency in Seattle, managing a team of UX consultants.

Since the first version of Netscape, Louie has been designing user experiences for the web, desktop applications, and, most recently, conferences and board games. He has continually evolved along with and beyond the web, first as a graphic designer, a web designer, and a web developer, then as a systems librarian, an information architect, and a user experience consultant. Throughout his career, Louie has brought user-centered systems thinking to non-profits, local governments, small businesses, health care organizations, libraries, banks, media companies, software companies, consumer electronics companies, retail companies, startups, and heavy industry.

Louie holds a B.S. in Biology & Psychology from University of Oregon and a Masters in Library & Information Science from University of Washington Information School.

Along with other iSchool alumni, he co-founded InfoCamp, an un-conference for the information community, and founded the Seattle UX monthly meetup.

Marilyn Mason recently retired as Founder and Executive Director of WebJunction.

Previously she was Director of the Cleveland Public Library and the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library. She also served as the Director of the First White House Conference on Library and Information Services from 1979 to 1980 and was appointed by President Clinton to the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science in 1999.

Mason is a frequent contributor to the professional press and is a regular speaker at national and international meetings, conferences and seminars. Mason received a bachelor's degree from the University of Dallas, a Master of Library Science from North Texas State University and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University.

Jill McKinstry is the Director of the Odegaard Undergraduate Library and Special Assistant to the Dean of University Libraries for Undergraduate Education and Programs at the University of Washington. McKinstry is a graduate of the University of Washington Information School and has been a librarian at the UW for the past 23 years.

McKinstry is a passionate advocate for libraries and partnerships. Working closely with the UW Office of Undergraduate Academic Affairs, she co-founded the lecture series “Research Exposed” to introduce students to the research efforts of faculty on campus in a variety of disciplines. In 2003, McKinstry created the UW Library Research Award for Undergraduates to celebrate and reward students’ research and creative activities. She is the past co-chair of the selection committee for the UW Common Book and also a member of the Board of Trustees for University Book Store. She received the University of Washington David B. Thorud Leadership Award in 2009.

McKinstry and her husband established the McKinstry Libraries Fellowship in 2001, an endowment that provides financial assistance to graduate students from underrepresented populations to pursue an MLIS degree. For more on the McKinstry fellows, visit the Fellowship website.

Nancy Pearl speaks about the pleasures of reading to library and community groups throughout the world and comments on books regularly on NPR's Morning Edition. She’s the author of Book Crush: For Kids and Teens: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Interest; Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason; and More Book Lust: 1,000 New Reading Recommendations for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason, all published by Sasquatch Books. In 2004 she was awarded the Women's National Book Association Award, given to "a living American woman who … has done meritorious work in the world of books beyond the duties or responsibilities of her profession or occupation." In 1998, Library Journal named her Fiction Reviewer of the Year. On her monthly television show, Book Lust with Nancy Pearl, she has interviewed authors as diverse as E. L. Doctorow, Ann Patchett, and Terry Pratchett.

Pearl received her library degree in 1967 from the University of Michigan. Among her many honors and awards are the 2004 Women's National Book Association Award; the Brava Award from the Seattle Women’s University Club, recognizing "women of exceptional ability in the Greater Seattle Area;" the 2004 Louis Shores Greenwood Publishing Group Award for excellence in the reviewing of books and other materials for libraries; the 2004 Media and Communications Award from the Ontario, Canada, Library Association; the 2003 Humanities Washington Award, "which recognizes an individual or organization whose time and talents enlarge the meaning of the humanities in our lives and whose work reflects the spirit and programs of Humanities Washington;" and the Public Library Association’s 2001 Allie Beth Martin Award, which "recognizes a public librarian demonstrating a range and depth of knowledge about books and other library materials and the distinguished ability to share that knowledge." She also was named the Totem Business and Professional Women’s "1998 Woman of Achievement" award and received the 1997 Open Book Award from the Pacific Northwest Writers Conference. She is the model for the Librarian Action Figure.

Susan Presley
Manager, Metadata Services
Serials Solutions

Susan Presley is the Manager of Metadata Services at Serials Solutions managing data and content teams across both the Summon and KnowledgeWorks product families as well as contributing to metadata initiatives across ProQuest.

Prior to her time at Serials Solutions, Presley has worked in the taxonomy, information architecture, and content management consulting space, as well as in corporate and special libraries.  She loves information puzzles -- particularly in the space bridging the user and the information systems.  During an undergraduate class on research at Evergreen, the instructor (a librarian, of course) said, "The future of research is in data, and the ability to efficiently store and retrieve it" then introduced her to line command Dialog search, and the world of information puzzles suddenly got a lot bigger and more exciting.  Currently she is combining her passion for metadata with her love of the service libraries provide in making information available.

Presley received her bachelor's in Liberal Arts from The Evergreen State College and her MLIS from the University of Washington's Information School.

Marisa Quinn directs the corporate library group within BlackRock Alternative Advisors, the firm's fund of funds platform. Quinn provides research assistance and information organization expertise across the platform.

Quinn joined BlackRock in 2007 following the acquisition of the fund of funds business of Quellos Group, LLC. At Quellos, she was an Associate Director and Head of the Corporate Library, providing research assistance, collaborating with portfolio managers and analysts on manager identification and providing information management expertise to all departments within the company. From 1998 to 2001, Quinn managed The McKenna Group's Technology Research Center, providing in-depth market research on high-tech, telecom and Internet markets. From 1996 to 1998, she was a Research Associate with the Stanford University Computer Industry Project, which was funded by the Sloan Foundation.

Quinn earned a BA degree with a concentration in mathematics and a BA degree with a concentration in history from the Dominican University of California in 1996 and a MLIS degree from San Jose State University in 1998.

In the past eight years Aaron Schmidt has been a circulation clerk, reference librarian, and library director. Shortly after completing his MLIS at Dominican University, Schmidt saw the potential of applying new media technology to libraries and launched successful programs at his suburban Chicago public library.

Helping the library connect to its community through things such as instant messaging, weblogs and social software led to Schmidt publishing articles in Library Journal, School Library Journal, Library High Tech News, Online, and others. He has presented on the topic of library technology and usability throughout the United States, and in Canada, the UK, the Netherlands and Spain. In 2005, Schmidt was named a Library Journal "Mover & Shaker."

Schmidt moved to Portland in 2006 and became the director of a nearby public library. He helped the library grow and gain full membership in the Washington County Cooperative. During this time he continued to write, give presentations and workshops, and consult for other libraries.

Currently he is the Digital Initiatives Librarian for the District of Columbia Public Library. He helps plan forward-thinking, fun projects for the library, helping them connect to the community and teaching them about the Read/Write Web. He also assists with Web site visioning, conducts usability testing, leads the library's Library 2.0 Interest Group and helps coordinate and generate ideas for the library's digital research and development project called DC Library Labs.

His library technology and usability weblog is www.walkingpaper.org.

Marcie Stone is a graduate of the University of Washington with a B.A. in English Literature and a Master of Library Science. She recently retired after a 30-year career with the federal government, and moved back to Seattle after a long absence. She and her husband have founded their own company, Custom Consulting, LLC, which is a component of the UW’s Creative Consulting Network and also provides writing and program management consulting services to the region’s nonprofit community.

Stone's career began in Army post libraries in Germany, where she managed all library operations and provided services ranging from pre-school story hours to post-graduate research. After transferring to the Washington, D.C., area in 1980, she joined the staff of the Pentagon Library, working as a cataloger and subsequently heading a specialized reference and research program.

In 1987, Stone moved to the Defense Technical Information Center, the central Defense Department resource for the collection, organization and dissemination of technical reports and research management information. In 20 years with DTIC, she served in a number of positions, including: Pentagon Liaison to provide customized information products for the Defense research community; User Services manager for Congressionally mandated programs; conference planner; manager of research, reference and training; management of financial and personnel resources; and oversight manager for strategic planning. Her favorite assignment was the 10 years she spent heading a division that combined IT personnel, program analysts and librarians into teams that conceived and implemented emerging IT applications. This division developed and hosted more than 100 Web sites, beginning in the mid 1990s, and DTIC went on to become the center of excellence for Web development and hosting within the department.

Jeanne Thorsen has been with the King County Library System for 25 years and for 15 years was Manager of Community Relations. In addition to her role in promoting the System to the public and the media, she coordinated the successful passage of more than $100 million in elections for new buildings and services.

Prior to joining the Library System, she was Assistant Director of the Municipal League, a civic organization involved in rating candidates, reviewing ballot measures, and conducting studies of local government policy issues.

Thorsen earned her Masters of Library Science from the University of Washington in 1976 and her Masters in Public Administration from Seattle University in 2000. Later that year, she took over the directorship of the KCLS Foundation.

Thorsen began working in libraries while in high school, and she continues to be a passionate advocate of the library’s role in society and in daily life.

Marcellus Turner
City Librarian
Seattle Public Library

Marcellus Turner oversees The Seattle Public Library, which includes the world-renowned Central Library and 26 new or renovated branches. The Library operates on a $50 million budget and has approximately 640 staff members. The busy system served more than 14 million visitors last year and circulated nearly 12 million books and materials.

Turner is the former executive director of Jefferson County Public Library in Lakewood, Colo., where he managed a $27 million budget and a staff of 250.

Prior to joining Jefferson County Public Library in 2002, Turner was assistant executive director of the Rockford Public Library in Rockford, Ill. He also served as a departmental supervisor at both Tacoma Public Library in Tacoma, Wash., and Atlantic City Free Public Library in Atlantic City, N.J. In addition, he held several positions with academic libraries in Tennessee and Louisiana. Turner holds a master's degree in library science from the University of Tennessee.

Alex Wade is Director for Scholarly Communication within Microsoft's External Research division, where he oversees several projects related to researcher productivity tools, semantic information capture and the interoperability of information systems. Wade holds a bachelor's degree in Philosophy from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master of Librarianship degree from the University of Washington.

During his career at Microsoft, Alex has managed the corporate search and taxonomy management services; has shipped a SharePoint-based document and workflow management solution for Sarbanes-Oxley compliance; and served as Senior Program Manager for Windows Search.

Prior to joining Microsoft, Alex held Systems Librarian, Engineering Librarian, and Philosophy Librarian, and technical library positions at the University of Washington, the University of Michigan, and the University of California, Berkeley.