Welcome to the 2025 APALA Elections! Elections open on Monday, March 3, 2025 (12:00 am Eastern Time) and end on Friday, March 28, 2025 (11:59 PM Eastern Time).
Please vote for Vice President/President-Elect, Secretary, and Member-at-Large (two positions).
Each eligible voting member will receive a ballot via email. Eligible members include active members (Free, Library Support Staff, Life, Personal, Retiree, Student, Unemployed, and Corporate) in good standing on or before March 3, 2025. Institutional members are ineligible to vote.
Thank you to all APALA members willing to serve!
Sincerely,
APALA Nominating Committee
Annie Pho, Ray Pun, and Sherise Kimura
If you have questions please contact annie@apalaweb.org
Meet the candidates!
President-Elect/Vice President:
• Tina Chan
• Danilo Baylen
Secretary:
• Christine Wei
Member-At-Large:
• Maria Shackles
• Melissa Ernst
Candidate Information
Vice President/President-Elect:
Tina Chan
Tina Chan (she/her) is the Reference Services Program Manager and Humanities Libraries at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She coordinates reference service operations for four libraries and is the liaison to global languages, writing, and women’s and gender studies. She previously served on APALA’s executive board as a member-at-large and as a member of numerous APALA committees. Tina is currently in her second year of serving as a co-chair of the Family Literacy Focus Committee. In addition to her APALA service, Tina has served as an ALA councilor-at-large, ALA Sustainability Round Table coordinator, and is currently a member of the ALA Sustainability Committee.
Tina is an APALA-sponsored 2012 Emerging Leader and a 2007 Spectrum Scholar. She earned an MSLIS at Simmons College and an MA in Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University.
Statement of interest: I am honored to be nominated for APALA President-elect/Vice President. As a longtime APALA member who has been involved with APALA committee work, I have witnessed how APALA has evolved and grown into an organization that serves Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander library workers. APALA welcomed me when I was a library school student and has nurtured me throughout my professional career. I believe I have the leadership, organizational, and interpersonal skills to achieve the President-elect/Vice President’s responsibilities, and to undertake the next level of my commitment and service by leading APALA to further its vision, mission, and goals.
Danilo Baylen
Danilo Madayag Baylen is an Instructional Technology, Media, and Design Professor at the University of West Georgia. He teaches K-12 teachers who want to use and integrate technology in their contexts effectively or become school library media specialists. He received an MLIS degree from the University of Alabama and completed a graduate certificate program in Children’s Literature from Pennsylvania State University. In addition, he completed graduate degrees in Instructional Technology, Elementary Education, and Counseling, as well as an undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of the Philippines Diliman.
Danilo joined APALA as a lifetime member because he found a professional “home” given his interest in children’s literature, DEI, technology integration practices, visual and media literacy, and global librarianship. His first APALA experience involved serving as a jury member for its Literature Award subcommittees (Youth, Children). He volunteered to co-chair the Engagement Task Force and was elected a member-at-large in 2022. As a member of the Executive Board, he was the liaison to the 2023 and 2024 Local Arrangement Task Forces and the 2023-2024 Chapters. He also participated in the 2022 mentoring program as a mentee and as a mentor in 2023 and 2024.
Beyond APALA, Danilo served as the Executive Secretary to the AECT Board (2019-2022) and the ALA Libraries Ready to Code Task Force (2018-2019). He also participated as a selection committee member for the ALSC Batchelder Award (2020), USBBY Outstanding Books for Young People with Disabilities (2019, 2021), and Outstanding International Books (2023, 2024). He was involved in the 2022 JCLC conference and program planning, the ALA Awards Task Force (2023-2024), and the ALSC Notable Children’s Digital Media List (Co-Chair, 2023-2024). At present, he is serving in the ALA Scholarships and Study Grants Committee (2023-2025), IRRT Webinar Series Committee (2024-2025), and USBBY Committee for the U.S. author and illustrator nominees to the Hans Christian Andersen Award (2024-2026).
Other engagements related to professional librarianship include participation in the National Forum on Advancing Asian/Pacific Islander American Librarianship (2022), International Librarians Networking Program (2022), School Librarians Facilitating the Success of English Language Learners Forum (2022), Bill Morris Seminar on Book Evaluation (2022), and University of the Philippines SLIS Research Bootcamp (2022). In addition, Danilo was named a Fulbright U.S. Scholar (2022-2023) and completed the fellowship in the Philippines. Locally, he volunteers at the public library and community college to teach English as a second language to adult learners from Central and South America, Haiti, and Vietnam. He also teaches workshops on computer literacy to seniors. Finally, he was recognized as one of the 100 Centennial Scholars by the University of Alabama’s Graduate School and the 2025 Outstanding Alumni by the School of Library and Information Studies.
Statement of Interest: Looking ahead to my future involvement with APALA, I am eager to make significant contributions by sharing my perspectives on leadership, offering valuable insights on program development, and implementing best practices that enhance member development. Also, becoming part of APALA and its activities has brought me full circle, given my initial work on AAPI children’s literature, especially on visual representation as a core component of identity, authenticity, and mutual respect.
My experience as a member-at-large in the APALA Board and the various committees and task forces provided an understanding of advocating for the needs of APALA members and AAPI librarians and library workers. Further, my active participation in ALA offers stronger insights into moving the association forward in programming, recruiting, retention, and continuing professional development activities during these challenging times.
I am well-prepared to serve as an APALA leader. I am an asset to the association in meeting the role expectations, especially in managing various stakeholders and partnerships. The time has come to serve in a new capacity for the APALA board and membership. After observing, engaging, and nurturing various APALA activities, connecting with stakeholders, and performing multiple committee and task force roles, I am ready to serve as the next APALA Vice-President and President-Elect.
Secretary:
Christina Wei
Christine Wei (she/her) is a Youth Services Library Assistant for Wake County Public Libraries in North Carolina. Through this position, she’s performed multiple Storytimes (including a bilingual Lunar New Year storytime), led crafting events for pre-kindergarteners, and organized teen and adult events. Her primary focus is on serving diverse community members, and she played an integral part in developing the Chinese language collection in Wake County. She is also currently the North Carolina Library Association’s Administrative Assistant. Prior to this position, she worked for two years as an Administrative Support Specialist for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Earth, Marine, and Environmental Sciences Department.
Christine will graduate with her Master’s in Library and Information Science and Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Instructional Design from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro this May. Topics that interest her include EDI, artificial intelligence, academic librarianship, and instructional design. In her free time, she enjoys watching sitcoms and anime, gaming, rock climbing, doodling, and crocheting.
Statement of Interest: I’m honored to be considered for the secretary position. Although I’m relatively new to the library field, I’ve flourished under the guidance of my APALA mentors over the past three years. I will be bringing my experience as an administrative assistant to this position: I’m familiar with writing e-mails, setting meetings and agendas, taking minutes, and more. Through my past positions, I’ve also had experience with web design and maintenance and responding to membership and organization inquiries. I would love the opportunity to use my skill set and knack for organization to give back to APALA as the secretary. Thank you for considering me as a potential candidate.
Member-At-Large:
Maria Shackles
Maria (Pontillas) Shackles is the Neighborhood Services Manager at the Wheelock Branch of the Tacoma Public Library in Tacoma, WA. There she oversees 12 staff and daily operations at the busiest branch in the system. Maria got her start as a Children’s Librarian and leads the Youth Services team to deliver system-wide programs like the Summer Reading Challenge, storytimes, Teen Times, and more. She loves playing the ukulele in Storytime as much as she loves facilitating Books on Tap, a library book club on Meetup that meets at bars and breweries around town.
Maria has worked as a librarian for over 20 years and holds a Master of Science in Library & Information Science (MSLS) from Simmons University in Boston, MA and a BA in Art Education from Drury University in Springfield, MO. She contributes APALA to her professional growth as well as her experiences as an ALA Emerging Leader, ALA Spectrum Scholar, and Synergy: The Illinois Library Leadership Initiative participant.
Statement of Interest: I have been honored to serve APALA in multiple capacities over the past 15+ years: Literature Awards Committee member, Mentoring Committee member, and most recently as the Membership Coordinator for 8 years. I am excited to support initiatives that amplify APA perspectives, foster professional growth for members, and ensure that our communities are well represented. I found my professional home in APALA and as a Member-At-Large, I will work to keep it a friendly and welcoming organization where members feel supported and engaged.
Melissa Ernst
Melissa Ernst (she/her) recently moved to the traditional homelands of the Daḳota people to work as the Dentistry Librarian at the University of Minnesota Health Sciences Library where she supports faculty and student research, instruction, as well as student engagement. She previously worked in the Youth Services department at Madison Public Library in Wisconsin where she co-lead the Racial Equity Change Team, including efforts to review and update youth banning procedures. Melissa holds a MLIS from the University of Wisconsin Madison where she was an officer in the Tribal Libraries, Archives, and Museum student group, which supports tribal communities in Wisconsin with limited library resources. Her own library work has been supported as an ALA Spectrum Scholar, with the Besty Ross Scholarship from Madison Public Library, and the Wisconsin Library Association Diversity Scholarship.
Multiracial Thai/Chinese and White, Melissa was born and raised in the Thai community of Colorado Spring. In moving to the midwest and working in predominantly white spaces and institutions, APALA has been a lifeline to finding connection and sustainability within librarianship.
Statement of Interest: Thank you for considering my nomination to serve as a Member-At-Large. I am grateful for the opportunities and experiences I’ve had in APALA. As I’ve mentioned, my connections with other members, whether at conferences, in committees, or with local members have truly been a lifeline as a second career librarian. APALA is my professional home and has inspired me to provide that same level or support for others in the field. During these uncertain times, it’s vital to celebrate and advocate for our communities. I am particularly passionate about connecting with and supporting historically marginalized and underrepresented groups within the AAPI community. If elected, I look forward to bringing my enthusiasm and background working in both academic and public libraries to support APALA and the needs of our members. Thank you for your consideration.