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Samantha Quiñon, Assistant Director and Head of Research & Instruction at Lesley University Libraries in Cambridge (MA), has been selected as one of two LITA-sponsored Emerging Leaders for 2018.

enables newer library workers to participate in problem-solving work groups, network with peers, gain an inside look into 91´«Ã½ structure, and have an opportunity to serve the profession in a leadership capacity. It kicks off with a day-long session during the 91´«Ã½ Midwinter Meeting. Afterward, it grows and develops in an online learning and networking environment for six months, culminating in a poster session presentation of the groups' work at the 91´«Ã½ Annual Conference. LITA is sponsoring two Emerging Leaders for 2018 thanks to donations from LITA members and supporters in celebration of our 50th anniversary.

Samantha was the 2016-17 co-chair of 91´«Ã½’s New Member Round Table Student and Student Chapter Outreach Committee and an ACRL 2017 Teaching with Technology Immersion Program alumna. She recently led her library's website reconstruction project using agile software development methodology and has given several individual and panel presentations at regional conferences on learning experience design for websites and critical pedagogy.

Asked to sit on a curriculum committee, Samantha helped decolonize course resources for a certificate program delivered to students in Nicaragua. Her university then sent her to Nicaragua to teach a “Critical Skills Intensive” delivered over five days, focused on engaging with and understanding information sources to produce better quality, personally meaningful research and amplifying marginalized voices.

Reflecting on her selection as a LITA Emerging Leader, Samantha said, “I wanted to be a part of 91´«Ã½'s EL Program to benefit from a variety of perspectives on leadership, which I could then use in my own practice as a library administrator, a role where I view technology as an important force for change. I'm particularly honored to be sponsored by LITA, which so successfully supports the challenge of making technology expertise and knowledge both accessible and attainable in an incredibly dynamic digital landscape.”

Samantha takes inspiration from the words of Maya Angelou: “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Samantha has incorporated this philosophy into her leadership style, saying, “I don’t think great leaders need to have an official leadership position to lead; they just need to be good at uniting people under a common goal and making them feel heard and good about themselves.”

She earned a B.A. in Communications Arts from Florida International University and a M.S. in Information Science & Technology from Simmons College.

About LITA

LITA is the leading organization reaching out across types of libraries to provide education and services for a broad membership of more than 2,500 system librarians, library administrators, library schools, vendors, and many others interested in leading edge technology and applications for librarians and information providers. For more information, visit , follow us on or , and stay current on all things library tech through .