The APALA 2020-2022 Executive Board election starts May 28, 2020 and ends June 11, 2020 at 9PM Pacific Time. Online voting is open to APALA members who are members in good standing as of April 15, 2020. Each eligible voting member will receive a ballot via email.
Vice-President/President-elect
- Raymond “Ray” Pun
Treasurer
- Jaena Cabrera
- Peter Spyers-Duran
Member-at-Large
- Jamie Kurumaji
- Jennie Pu
- Yen Tran
- Anu Vedantham
Candidate Information
Vice President/President Elect
Ray Pun
Raymond (Ray) Pun (he/him/his) is currently the instruction/research librarian at Alder Graduate School of Education in California where he supports graduate students, P-12 teachers and education faculty. As a solo school/academic librarian, he provides all library services including scholarly communications, collection management, research and technical services. Previously, Ray worked at Fresno State, New York University Shanghai, and The New York Public Library. He holds a doctorate in education, an MA in East Asian Studies and an MLS.
Statement of Interest: I am deeply honored to be nominated as a candidate for the APALA President-Elect/Vice President role. As a life member, I have been committed to raising APALA’s activities, presence and voice in local, national and international levels. My vision for APALA is to highlight and connect our members’ expertise internally and externally. We can shape our profession’s directions and values together, particularly illuminating EDI values, social justice and anti-racist pedagogy. My contributions came from serving on various committees:
- Program Planning Committee as Chair, 2019-2020
- Fundraising and Finance Committee as Chair, 2018-2019
- Member at Large, APALA Executive Board, 2016-2018
- APALA Archives Task Force, 2017-2018
- Association of Asian American Studies Liaison Task Force, 2018
- JCLC-APALA Awards ad hoc committee, 2018
- Membership Committee, 2017-2018
- Scholarship and Awards Committee, 2017-2018
- Leadership Development Task Force, 2016-2017
- Mentoring Committee as Co-Chair, 2016-2017
- Communication and Media Committee, 2015-2016
I collaborated with committees to establish new opportunities for member engagement such as the ALA Conference Buddy program for APALA members and a professional development webinar series. Since joining APALA in 2012, I continue to serve as an ambassador to recruit students and LIS/archival workers to join our organization. For national service work, I am an ALA Councilor-at-Large, an ALA Policy Corps member, and a Spectrum Scholarship Jury member.
I am striving to be your next APALA President-Elect/Vice President because I aim to have a part in building and strengthening this profession and its vision and values with members together for a better future. I also recognize the hurdles ahead. COVID-19 will continue to challenge us all. I am committed to building a coalition of library advocates in working together to ensure stable, safe and healthy work environments. Working with APALA members, we can expand support for each other and for our communities through promoting solidarity and combating racism and xenophobia. Other critical activities include creating leadership development opportunities for members, fundraising for programs such as Talk Story, and collaborating with our AAPI community of educators, writers, artists and activists. We also must find opportunities to uplift each other during this moment. Thank you for your time and consideration!
Treasurer
Jaena Cabrera
Jaena Rae Cabrera is the acting branch manager and adult services librarian for the West Portal Branch of the San Francisco Public Library. At West Portal, Jaena provides leadership for her 17 staff members and community, conducts outreach in the community, as well as coordinates programs, events and exhibits for the branch, and occasionally at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. She is also on the Cultural Awareness Committee for SFPL, which reviews and advises on system-wide practices and policies related to culturally relevant programming, exhibits, and outreach.
She has a Bachelor’s in journalism from San Francisco State University and a Master’s in Library and Information Science from Syracuse University. Before becoming a librarian, she was a web producer for Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting. Jaena is also on the committee that hosts and organizes the Filipino American International Book Festival in San Francisco.
Currently, Jaena is co-chair of APALA’s Media and Publicity Committee, and has been an APALA member since grad school, back in 2011. She was also a member-at-large on the APALA Executive Board in 2018. Her interests include intersectionality, diversity and equity in LIS, mental health, and the literary Filipino diaspora. In her free time, she watches reruns of her favorite shows, tinkers on her blog, explores the Bay Area via hikes, and spends way too much time on libraryland Twitter.
Statement of Interest
It is such a great honor to be nominated for the APALA Treasurer position. In this position, transparency, accountability and organization are paramount. In my work as a librarian and manager, I have learned much about coordinating professional efforts with colleagues, our community and a variety of San Francisco institutions. I coordinate our yearly programming budget between five librarians. I have also learned that transparency and accountability go hand-in-hand. As treasurer, I would keep open the lines of communication among the Executive Board members and diligently document anything related to the budget and funding in order to keep the monetary decision-making process of the Board transparent to all of APALA.
APALA has been a professional home for me ever since I decided to join the library field, and I’ve served on the Media and Publicity Committee since graduate school in 2011. As co-chair of the committee, I ensure our newsletter is published quarterly, and coordinate publications across committees and task forces on the APALA website. As member-at-large, I’ve served as liaison for the Media and Publicity Committee, as well as the Intersectionality Task Force. I hope to continue serving APALA in this new capacity, helping to enrich APALA’s offerings and ensure stronger connections within the Asian Pacific American LIS community.
Peter Spyers-Duran
Peter Spyers-Duran is a serials cataloger librarian at the University of Central Florida (UCF) Libraries where he has worked since 1996. In addition to his cataloging duties, Peter provides reference service and is collection development liaison to the economics and finance departments. Prior to becoming a cataloger in 2006, Peter was a reference and instruction librarian. Peter likes learning and has earned the following degrees: M.S. Accounting from UCF in 2009, M.A. Applied Economics from UCF in 2005, M.A. Library and Information Science from the University of South Florida in 1996, and B.A. Biology, Oakland University in 1994.
Statement of Interest
I am not Asian; however, being married to a first-generation Asian American and having biracial children, diversity and inclusion is personal and very important to me. I strongly support the mission of APALA to provide library services to Asian/Pacific American communities, to promote diversity in librarianship, and discuss problems and concerns of APA librarians. APALA is an outstanding organization of friendly, passionate, creative, and caring people.
I am running for reelection as APALA Treasurer because I have found the work rewarding over the last four years. In March 2020, I worked with the Executive Board to develop an investment strategy to realize the long-term appreciation of some assets. I reelected I will help the Executive Board implement the investment plan. Historically, all of APALA’s assets have sat in checking and saving accounts earning a pittance of interest that has not kept pace with inflation.
In 2009, I earned a degree in accounting that included coursework in governmental and not-for-profit accounting. It has been meaningful and some fun putting that degree to good use for APALA. As Treasurer, I balance the books every month, compile a monthly treasurer report, compile an annual treasurer report, create a fiscal year budget with the President based on requests from committees, and keep the President and Executive Board well informed. In addition, I file APALA’s IRS filing, which saves lots of money in unnecessary CPA expenses. Perhaps more importantly, I am honest, detail oriented, responsible, responsive, conscientious, and I have some good MS Excel skills.
Past and current involvement with APALA
- Member since June 2013; Life member since December 2016
- Treasurer, 2016/2018, 2019/2020
- Executive Board Member, 2016/2018, 2019/2020
- Co-chair of the APALA Local Arrangement Committee Orlando 2016 Annual Conference, 2015/2016.
- Co-chair of the APALA Program Planning Committee, 2014/2015, 2015/2016.
- Member of the APALA Finance and Fundraising Committee, 2013/2014, 2014/2015.
Members at Large
Jamie Kuramaji
Jamie Kurumaji is a children’s librarian with the Fresno County Public Library, overseeing children’s programs and services at eight branches in Fresno, CA and its surrounding rural communities. She has worked in public libraries for 6 years, starting as a library assistant with FCPL before her first position as Branch Supervisor with Kern County Library in 2016. She graduated with her MLIS from San Jose State University in 2015 and a BA in Art History from Sonoma State University in 2006. She joined APALA in her last year as a MLIS student in 2015 and served on the Membership and Picture Book Literature Award Committees in 2017-18. In 2018-19, she served as Chair for the Picture Book Literature Award. She is also the current APALA participant in the American Library Association’s Emerging Leaders Program and is a member of the 2020-21 Geisel Literature Award Committee. When not at work, she can be found outside in the garden and sometimes begging the plants to thrive, running, and baking all the things with butter.
Statement of Interest
In the brief amount of time that I have been an active participant in APALA, I have felt nothing but immediate acceptance and support. I am completely grateful for all the new opportunities that this organization has shown me. I remember being so unsure and nervous the first time I met with my committee. My first thoughts were, but “I’ve only been a librarian for less than a year! What could I possibly contribute?” Any hesitation I had about being able to contribute or feeling out of place was immediately put to rest. That level of support from my APALA family has continued and it has helped me as I grow in this profession. I wish to pay it forward and give back to APALA and its members by joining and supporting the Executive Board. I have seen the dedication and hard work that many of our members have volunteered and I hope to have the chance to continue that for our organization. It would be nothing but an honor to be considered for Member at Large for APALA’s Executive Board. APALA has been and continues to be an integral organization that does not back down from challenges, big or small, but instead thrives in the many and diverse voices that contribute towards the APALA family. It is this environment and within this organization that I hope to contribute and together we can be the change, as we build stronger bonds and promote more opportunities for POC and future librarians.
Jennie Pu
Jennie Pu is the Dean of Libraries at Hudson County Community College. She is the chief administrator of an award-winning, urban academic library and oversees two full service campus libraries in Jersey City and Union City, NJ. As a member of the senior leadership team at the college, she serves on the President’s Executive Council, Dean’s Council and the President’s Advisory Council on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Her diverse professional experiences span academic, museum, and school libraries. Jennie is the 2020-2021 President Elect of the Chinese American Librarian Association Northeast Chapter and an Asian/Pacific American Librarian Association Mentor. Jennie holds a MLS from Queens College and a New Jersey School Media Library Specialist certification. She currently lives in Jersey City, NJ with her spouse and two children.
Statement of Interest:
I am honored to be nominated to run for the position as APALA Member-at-Large. I joined as a lifetime member recently and consider APALA to be my home in the library community. Having worked in libraries for over a decade, the sense of belonging and solidarity that I have felt in APALA and with the other ethnic caucuses is unlike any other library group I have encountered. My only ‘regret’ is not joining APALA much earlier in my career!
Currently I am volunteering as a mentor through APALA’s Mentoring Program to two early career librarians. This has been a deeply rewarding experience for me. As a mentor I am given the opportunity to share my knowledge and offer guidance to early career librarians on navigating the workplace as an APA librarian. The experience has not only made me reflect more deeply upon my non-linear career progression, it has also given me exposure to the innovations in the field that our newer librarians bring from graduate school and other libraries. I am especially grateful for the structure of accountability that APALA has built into the mentoring program. If elected as one of the Members-At-Large, I intend to continue to support the strategic priorities of APALA in cultivating new APA library professionals and preparing them as our future leaders.
Yen Tran
Yen Tran is the research impact librarian and library liaison to the sciences at San Jose State University. She received her MLIS from the University of Washington and double BA in English and art history. Yen has been an academic librarian for more than 12 years, working at a variety of academic libraries and in different roles, including outreach and student engagement librarian, collection development manager, and public services librarian. She is highly involved in local, regional, and national associations, including being an ALA Councilor-at-Large, ACRL Arts Section Chair, and Treasurer for California Academic and Research Libraries. Yen is also actively involved in research and scholarship, including a recent co-edited publication with ACRL titled, Supporting Today’s Students in the Library: Strategies for Retaining and Graduating International, Transfer, First-Generation, and Re-Entry Students and an ACRL 2019 Conference contributed paper on the gender gap in academic library monograph publishing.
Statement of Interest
I am honored to be considered for an APALA Member-at-Large position. I joined APALA in 2008 as a newly-minted librarian and after a few years of learning from the APALA family, I wanted to strengthen the association by being involved. In 2010, I joined the Literature Awards Committee as a category chair of the children’s and young adult category; later in 2013 as a member of the adult fiction category, and then category chair in 2016 of the adult non-fiction category. From 2011-2015, I was a member of the Newsletter & Publications Committee. In recent years, I was a member of the Finances & Fundraising Committee (2018-2019) and currently am co-chairing the committee (2019-2020). I am interested in working with the APALA Executive Board as a Member-at-Large in support of APALA’s mission, but specifically with a desire to support new asian and pacific american librarians in the same way that I was taken care of when I joined APALA at the beginning of my library career.
Anu Vedantham
Dr. Anu Vedantham is the Assistant University Librarian for Research Services at Princeton University. Anu joined Princeton from Harvard where she served as the Director of Learning and Teaching Services for the FAS Libraries and Interim Director for Science and Engineering Services. She previously directed the Weigle Information Commons at Penn Libraries.
Anu received the 2018 Harvard Heroes award for reopening the Cabot Science Library. Her research on aviation emissions for the Environmental Defense Fund has been recognized by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as a significant contribution to the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.
Anu holds her doctorate in Higher Education Management from Penn’s Graduate School of Education, her New Jersey Principal Certificate, her Masters in Public Affairs from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University and her Bachelors and Masters in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Statement of Interest
I would like to become a Member at Large with APALA so that I can become more deeply involved. Over the past few years, I have been volunteering with several APALA events and initiatives. I have mentored two early career librarians through the APALA mentor program, and I have served on APALA Local Arrangements Task Force for ALA Midwinter 2020. I am on the APALA Literature Award Committee for 2019-2021, and I have participated in APALA panel presentations.
I have held a variety of higher education positions since 1997. I am increasingly aware of barriers to access to higher education as well as the complex impacts of Asian American identities. Through my doctoral work in higher education, I have grown to understand conceptual frameworks such as model minority assumptions, stereotype threat, cultural and social capital limitations and imposter syndrome.
My first library job began in 2007 at the University of Pennsylvania and was an unexpected outcome. As a first-generation immigrant from South India, I struggled to explain to my family why a career in academic librarianship made sense. I became aware of how few Asian Americans work in academic libraries. Through supervising a large number of library-school students, I gained insights about how young people approach librarianship. I believe APALA is doing important work supporting early career librarians and connecting people across libraries, and I want to contribute to APALA’s work.