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2022 Charlemae Hill Rollins President's Program: Boundaries Be Gone! Using Stories to Intersect and Connect

Monday, June 27, 2022 | 1:00 - 2:30 pm | Washington Convention Center Room 146B

Authors, illustrators, and librarians create and maintain a strong bond between the literary experience and children's lives. The universality of storytelling connects children with each other. However, sometimes we need to go beyond our shared humanity: break the barriers that divide us, skip the boundaries, and reach out to connect. This year's 2022 ALSC President's Program speakers - featuring David Bowles, Dr. Cora Dunkley, and Michaela Goade - will address how they break boundaries with their own voices, using their specific skills to promote connections.

Thank you to sponsors Levine Querido and Macmillan for their support of the 2022 Charlemae Hill Rollins President's Program!

David Bowles is an award-winning author and translator from south Texas, where he teaches at the University of Texas RÍo Grande Valley. He has penned more than two dozen titles, including the critically-hailed The Call Me Güero, The Sea-Ringed World, and My Two Border Towns. His work has also been published in multiple anthologies, plus venues such as The New York Times, School Library Journal, Strange Horizons, English Journal, Rattle, Translation Review, and The Journal of Children's Literature. In 2017, David was inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters, where he now serves as vice-president. Find him online at and on IG/Twitter at @DavidOBowles.

Dr. Cora P Dunkley has been a teacher, school librarian, reference librarian and college professor. In 2002, she joined the faculty at the School of Information, University of South Florida, where she taught school media and youth services courses. Dr. Dunkley has published articles and essays, and she has made international and national presentations at academic conferences. She retired as Associate Professor Emerita and continues as an adjunct professor. Dr. Dunkley is a member of the Florida Association for Media Education and was elected president for the 2012-2013 term - the first and only African-American to have held the office. She is a longtime member of 91´«Ã½, AASL and ALSC. She has been a juror on the Coretta Scott King Book Awards Committee, the Caldecott Committee, and the Notable Children's Videos Committee. Dr. Dunkley is the founder and president of the reading program, Cuddle Up and Read Every Day, Inc. (CURED). Learn more at

Michaela Goade is a Caldecott Medal-winning illustrator and graphic designer living and working in Juneau, Alaska, where she was also raised. Forever inspired by the coastal wilds of Southeast Alaska, she works to capture its magic and honor its vibrant cultures. Michaela is from the Raven moiety and Kiks.ádi Clan from Sitka, Alaska. She is the illustrator of We Are Water Protectors, I Sang You Down from the Moon, Encounter, and Raven & The Tide Lady. Visit her at

The 2021 ALSC Charlemae Hill Rollins President's Program was organized by Alicia K. Long (State College of Florida Libraries) and Sandra Rios Balderrama (Past President, REFORMA) on behalf of ALSC 2021-2022 Board President, Lucía Gonzalez (Library Director, City of North Miami, ret.). Learn more about Charlemae Hill Rollins and her commitment to children's librarianship.