Alan Bugg - Library Assistant Alan Bugg has been one of the faces of the information desk at San Diego’s Central Library for more than 10 years. During those years he’s also managed the inter-library loan desk, provided various peer trainings for the rapidly changing online catalog and been involved in various aspects of the library’s cultural programming. Alan looks forward to having an even greater impact on library events and the community with his degree.

Michelle DeFazio - As a voracious reader, Michelle graduated from UCSD with a major in English and American Literature and a minor in Political Science while working at Central (Geisel) Library. She took a 13-year detour into the world of sales and learned the value of branding and marketing. Meanwhile, she was a volunteer tutor for READ San Diego. After starting a family, she volunteered for the United States Court Library and San Diego Public Library and organized a school library for her daughter's new charter school. She currently works as an Aide in the Tech Services Department of San Diego Law Library. As a future librarian, she would like to work with the community to educate them about current library services and programs, and develop new programs that benefit the diverse communities of San Diego.

Hoan-Vu Nguyen Do - Hoan-Vu was drawn to librarianship after working as a library clerk for the San Diego Public Library system. He really enjoys serving his neighborhood and being around the "fusion that is created through its diversity". His career goal is to become a Youth Services Librarian and to use his background in science to introduce youth to the importance of science in their daily lives. Now more than ever he strongly believes that libraries and librarians are needed to teach and provide a place to explore, create, and produce the next generation of academics.

Lisa Ferneau-Haynes - A Professional Assistant with the Oceanside Public Library, Lisa brings her experience working with the Young Adult community to the library setting. Her background is with Barnes & Noble as their Community Relations Manager, and as such she spent her days in the local schools and after school programs learning first hand the challenges the Young Adults of today face, and will continue to face in the future. Her goals are to continue to work with this diverse demographic to navigate the overwhelming resources available to them, to help them foster a joy of reading and to one day have the courage to be the singer on Rock Band on Playstation during a teen gaming session.

Catherine Hong - Being a part of the daily workings of the library has given Catherine a deeper appreciation for the level of knowledge and professionalism that one must achieve to properly serve the public. In her 6 plus years with the San Diego Public library, she has worked very closely with the Youth Services Librarians. This has allowed her the opportunity to interact not only with our daily patrons, but with the children, teachers, schools and performers that rely on our branch for enhanced learning. Being the only Spanish speaking person in her branch has provided the growing Hispanic community with a familiar face. Breaking down the barriers of communication has been a goal for her, because she believes that "once you make a patron feel comfortable and at ease, they are much more open to all of the possibilities the library has to offer." Through the years, she has realizated that this is how she wants to contribute to the future generations.

Kathy Mei-Fang Jung - Growing up in a suburb of Dallas, Kathy Jung won multiple awards for reading the most books during the summer reading program. She had grown fond of spending time in the library. After winning a scholarship to attend the University of Texas, she went on to obtain her degree in Management Information Systems. Since starting to work for the county library two years ago, she has been involved in multiple library programs, including teaching computer classes to seniors and performing story time for Chinese children in her local branches. Kathy would like to see the wide adoption of technology in our libraries so that they can be more accessible to the general population.

Lizeth Legaspi - Lizeth chose to come to the United States from Mexico to pursue college. She was introduced to the library through a Work-Study Program. This program led to a job offer that has her working at the Camarena Memorial Library. She enjoys working with the patrons there that remind her so much of herself when she first arrived in the United States, able to read English but uncomfortable speaking it. Lizeth hopes to further her education in an effort to serve her community at a higher caliber.

Kelly Macrorie - Kelly has worked as a student worker for the San Diego County Library system for over five years. Because of her love for her job, Kelly decided to pursue a career as a librarian. Working in a small branch, Kelly has had the opportunity to connect with customers to understand what they are looking for in today’s library. She has seen just how important the library is to people who have no other access to computers or books, and wants to make sure they will always be available. Kelly is interested in youth services because she feels that the library can offer a proper environment for teens to access information, support, and have fun during the difficult teen years. This will be her first year as a library student and she is looking forward to start her journey as a librarian.

Devon McClain - As a Library Technician in the Children's Room at the National City Public Library, Devin enjoys leading toddler story time during the school year and art class for school aged children during the summer. She learned about the importance of literacy while getting a Teaching Credential from SDSU. She was lucky enough to student teach at Rosa Parks and Benchley-Weinberger Elementary, two schools with amazing libraries that demonstrated how important libraries are to children. She has enjoyed public libraries her entire life and receives great joy in helping young patrons find just the right book, whether it be for a school project or for their personal reading pleasure.

Kristin Mulvihill - After graduating from San Jose State University with an MLIS, Kristen Mulvihill plans to become a professional librarian in the San Diego area, where she plans to capitalize on her previous master’s degree in Chinese, her technical expertise with relational databases and Web 2.0/3.0, and her 20 years of administrative and supervisory experience to work for a public library. She has applied the skills she learned to assist others in achieving their goals by helping them locate, organize, and process the information they need, and she hopes to continue to use her research skills in a library setting. While seeking this library science degree, Kristen’s educational goals will be (1) to learn how to use emerging technologies to enhance library services, particularly for people from rural areas, with diverse cultural backgrounds, or with accessibility requirements; (2) to improve her grant-writing skills; and (3) to use her fluency in Chinese to become more acquainted with the information needs of Chinese-Americans living in San Diego.

Steven Schimminger - As a self proclaimed Bookworm as a child, Steven has had a love for libraries for many years. Through his years of library experience in both in the academic and public sector, Steven has learned what a sense of purpose he feels when he helps the predominantly Hispanic community learn the value and resources the public library has to offer them. Whether it is information on how to fix their own cars or information on how to write a resume, he finds a population thriving due to the vast knowledge the library provides. He looks forward to educating future library visitors about the limitless information that the library can provide.

Elaine Sinsuan - Elaine has many years of experience working with the diverse communities throughout San Diego county. She has learned that although she may not speak the same language as many of her patrons, through patience and staff assistance all visitors to the library leave with something more than they came in with. This may include finding phone numbers, information about citizenship, or hosting story and craft time at a level that can be widely understood. She hopes to lead by example with her future as a professional librarian.

Brian Wickhem - Brian works for both the San Diego Public Library and the California Western School of Law, and begins his MLIS in Fall 2011. Prior to entering the library field, Brian spent ten years in broadcasting, working for radio stations in Wisconsin and as a professional nightclub DJ in Arizona. In 2008, he helped start a non-commercial, public-access community radio station in Phoenix, designed specifically to give voice to communities underserved by the local mainstream media. In working with Native American, Arab, South Sudanese, and other ethnic minorities to create radio programming, Brian became very interested in using media to connect and empower different cultures. He hopes to bring his experience and passion to the public library field.

Julie Wong - A Library Assistant for the San Diego Public Library, Julie has a Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration and Master of Public Administration from San Diego State University. Her philosophy is that knowledge is the key to success. Her immigrant parents taught her this at an early age. They instilled in her the principle that libraries have everything to offer; because there, the world is limitless. It is this appreciation of libraries that she shares with patrons of all ages. It is with this philosophy in mind that she chooses to pursue a Master's Degree in Library and Information Science.