Vice-President / President Elect
John Mack Freeman
John Mack Freeman is the Head of Public Services Librarian at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Prior to joining the team at GT, he was a public librarian for eight years.
Mack has been deeply involved in the Georgia Library Association from the beginning of his career. He served five years on the GLA Executive Board (Vice President for Membership, Interest Group Council Vice-Chair/Chair, and Parliamentarian). Additionally, he is a past chair of both the Scholarship and Awards Committees. He has also served on numerous ad hoc GLA committees including the ALA Midwinter Welcoming Committee and the Conference Recommendations Implementation Task Force. Mack restarted the Intellectual Freedom interest Group in 2016 and has been chair since that time. For his work, GLA awarded Mack the McJenkin-Rheay Award in 2021.
Mack has also held several offices in national library organizations. He has been chair of ALA’s Intellectual Freedom Round Table, chair of the Stonewall Book Awards, and a member of the ALA Intellectual Freedom Committee. Additionally, he is on the Board of Directors for the Georgia First Amendment Foundation and a member of the Library Freedom Project.
You can find out more about Mack (including his full CV) at: www.johnmackfreeman.com
I want to be GLA president because I have a deep love for this association. This has been my professional home since I started working in libraries. Being GLA President is being a steward of the great work of the past while pushing the association into an even brighter future. During my presidency,
I would work to:
- Expand the advocacy efforts of GLA,
- Increase partnership with external affiliated organizations, and
- Increase new member recruitment and involvement.
If you want to know more, email me at johnmackfreeman@protonmail.com
Tamika Strong
Hello. My name is Tamika Strong and I am an archivist, genealogist and librarian who has a love for sharing information. I have been a professional librarian for nearly 20 years and have worked in libraries in some capacity since high school. Libraries have been and continue to be my home away from home.
Though I am an Archivist now, I still understand the important role that libraries play in their community. While a staff person with Georgia Public Library Service, I saw firsthand the impact that libraries had statewide in their local communities. My varied experiences in libraries, from school libraries, academic libraries, public libraries to now working as an archivist with responsibilities that include managing the print collection, has prepared me for an opportunity such as this.
If selected to serve as the Vice President/President Elect, I will work hard to make sure that all libraries, regardless of their focus or community will be represented and heard. I will work to continue cultivating a relationship between libraries and archives in the state. I will also do my part to make sure that GLA will continue to build on its firm foundation and adapt as needed to the changes confronted by the library community as a whole.
Vice-president for Marketing and Branding
Kahlil Griffin
My name is Kahlil Griffin, and I am running for the Vice-President for Marketing and Branding position. As the chairman of GLA’s Marketing and Branding Committee for a few years, I understand the benefits that the committee brings to libraries throughout Georgia. For example, the committee hosted Instagram Takeovers, which consisted of library systems throughout Georgia using the Marketing and Branding Committee’s Instagram to promote its services, programs, and on-goings for a week. The feedback from the different library systems was tremendous regarding the public engagement that ensued during and following the takeovers, and so, I want to ensure that similar activities continue within the committee. Volunteering as the chairman of the M&B Committee gave me the opportunity to truly understand what the committee is all about, but now, I want to step up and increase my role as its vice president.
Moreover, I believe that I have the credentials to push the committee forward and expand its horizons. For example, I have worked in libraries for four years, and at each library that I have been employed, I worked with the social media teams in different capacities to help promote library programs and services. Currently, I am a youth services librarian/supervisor with the DeKalb County Library System and am a member of its Tik-Tok Committee. In addition, I have garnered some of the highest participation for library programs for youth within DCPL, using the Tik-Tok committee and through my own efforts of promoting using social media such as Facebook and Instagram. Also, I will have a master’s degree in public administration with a concentration in management next month, so I believe that I have the theoretical and practical experience to lead a committee.
The opportunities to promote Georgia Libraries and their services are endless in today’s society. Everyone is using social media from kids to middle-aged adults, and even older adults. I have the fortitude, experience, and knowledge to reach these audiences and am willing to put in the work to ensure the M&B Committee shines! However, social media is not the only avenue to promote, as the vice president must be willing to go out and mingle amongst the public to engage them properly, which I am eager to do. Please select me as the Vice-President for Marketing and Branding, as I am certain that my passion for libraries will be exemplified, and I will ensure the committee succeeds.
Deborah Hakes
Deborah Hakes leads the Georgia Public Library Service marketing and communications team that was named Library Journal’s 2020 Marketer of the Year, in part for launching marketing toolkits and a grant program to libraries. Hakes has a passion for amplifying the voices of those who do good and telling stories that drive people to take action. She has spent her career at state, national and globally-focused nonprofit organizations. At Georgia Public Library Service, she works to broaden awareness of the value of public libraries to build engagement and support, and she provides counsel to libraries to build their own communications expertise.
I am running for this position because libraries do great work but often lack the marketing skills needed for their communities and funders to know their value. I hope to raise the profile of the organization, maintaining a consistent voice and message, while also broadening awareness of the good libraries do.
Secretary
Sarah Grace Glover
Sarah Grace Glover has worked in libraries in Massachusetts and Georgia. Her library experience includes private, public, and academic libraries. She got her MLIS from Simmons University in 2019 and during that time worked at the historic Boston Athenaeum, a private library in downtown Boston.
After moving to Georgia, she spent time at the Athens Regional Library System as a children’s librarian before making the move to academic libraries. She worked as a Reference Specialist at Georgia State’s Perimeter College before moving to her current position as a Reference Services Librarian at the University of North Georgia.
Sarah Grace has previously served on smaller committees in GLA and would love to expand her involvement in the organization.
Betty Wright
Betty Wright is a Technical Services & Collection Management Librarian for the Fulton County Library System. Since 2002, she has fulfilled many roles in academic, corporate, and public libraries and received her MLIS from Valdosta State University in 2009. She currently manages the ILS, selects children’s materials for the system, and works with branches on various collection-related projects. Previously Betty served as Reference/Technical Services Librarian with Smith Gambrell and Russell LLP and Reference Specialist with the Georgia State University College of Law Library. She served as Secretary of the Atlanta Law Libraries Association (ALLA) from 2015-2017 and served in various other committee roles in regional and national law library associations.
As GLA secretary Betty would bring her skills of effective and responsive communication, time management, and dedication while fulfilling a personal goal of a renewed commitment to professional service.
SELA Representative
Austina Jordan
Austina M. Jordan is Head of Access Services at the University of North Georgia Libraries. She joined the UNG Libraries in 2017 after working at Emmanuel College in Franklin Springs, GA, as Public Services Librarian and Director of Library Services. She graduated from Covenant College (BA, History) and Kent State University (MA, Public History & MLIS) and is currently enrolled at The University of West Georgia, pursuing an EdD in Higher Education Administration.
Austina currently serves on the GLA Annual Conference planning committee, focusing her efforts on the GLC registration process. She is presently the chair of the GIL Fulfillment Committee for this fiscal year. She is committed to the success of libraries and library employees, in particular, by finding meaningful ways for them to develop in their professions.
She is interested in serving as SELA Representative on the GLA Executive Board because she is grateful for both organizations and what they do to bring library employees and libraries together. She thinks this particular position is important because it is a vital link between two important professional organizations. She is eager to find ways to continue strengthening the partnerships between SELA and GLA. If elected, she is committed to active participation in the meetings and providing clear communication as an ambassador between these two groups.
