2023 Beta Phi Mu Election
Polls are now open! Please vote in our 2023 election for the next Vice President/President Elect, Treasurer, Director-at-Large, and Two Directors.
Polls Open: Monday, June 6.
Polls Close: Thursday, June 22nd, 5:00 pm
CLICK HERE TO VOTE: BPM 2023 Ballot
YOU MUST BE A MEMBER OF BETA PHI MU TO PARTICIPATE IN ELECTIONS.
Polls Open: Monday, June 6.
Polls Close: Thursday, June 22nd, 5:00 pm
CLICK HERE TO VOTE: BPM 2023 Ballot
YOU MUST BE A MEMBER OF BETA PHI MU TO PARTICIPATE IN ELECTIONS.
VP/President Elect (3 year term)
Dr. Zachary Stier
Director of Children's Library Services, Public Speaker, Consultant, Researcher, Adjunct Lecturer, and Business Owner
Dr. Stier has been the director of Children's Services at Ericson Public Library in Boone, Iowa since October 2011. He has revolutionized services at the library for children
and families through the expansion of early literacy programming, the redesign of space to emphasize play, family engagement initiatives, enhanced community partnerships with community, state, and national partners, after-school STEAM programming, to name a few. He was project director for NASA@My Library, is the Project Director for the library's equity project, Activating Community Voices, and Project Director for the library's piloted mobilized family engagement program, Little Engines. He recently became an independent consultant for the Space Science Institute. In 2011, Stier opened Mr. Z and Company, LLC, a consultancy firm for educators and librarians. He is also an adjunct lecturer for the University of Illinois Champaign iSchool graduate program teaching Early Literacy. He serves on numerous state and national boards and was recently selected to be part of the Fred Rogers Institute program, The Educators Neighborhood. He is a published author. He holds degrees from Grandview University, Drexel University, and Concordia Portland, as well as postgraduate studies in Early Childhood from Erikson Institute, and a Doctorate in Education from Concordia Chicago.
Director of Children's Library Services, Public Speaker, Consultant, Researcher, Adjunct Lecturer, and Business Owner
Dr. Stier has been the director of Children's Services at Ericson Public Library in Boone, Iowa since October 2011. He has revolutionized services at the library for children
and families through the expansion of early literacy programming, the redesign of space to emphasize play, family engagement initiatives, enhanced community partnerships with community, state, and national partners, after-school STEAM programming, to name a few. He was project director for NASA@My Library, is the Project Director for the library's equity project, Activating Community Voices, and Project Director for the library's piloted mobilized family engagement program, Little Engines. He recently became an independent consultant for the Space Science Institute. In 2011, Stier opened Mr. Z and Company, LLC, a consultancy firm for educators and librarians. He is also an adjunct lecturer for the University of Illinois Champaign iSchool graduate program teaching Early Literacy. He serves on numerous state and national boards and was recently selected to be part of the Fred Rogers Institute program, The Educators Neighborhood. He is a published author. He holds degrees from Grandview University, Drexel University, and Concordia Portland, as well as postgraduate studies in Early Childhood from Erikson Institute, and a Doctorate in Education from Concordia Chicago.
Treasurer (3-year term)
No candidate yet.
Director-at-Large (2-year term)
Karen Keesing
Experienced Library Director with a demonstrated history of working in the higher education industry. Skilled in Urban Planning, Leadership, Programming, Team Building, and Christian Theology. Strong community and social services professional with a Master of Library & Information Science - MLIS focused in Higher Education/Higher Education Administration from Wayne State University
Director-at-Large (3-year term)
No candidate yet.
Director-at-Large (2-year term)
Karen Keesing
Experienced Library Director with a demonstrated history of working in the higher education industry. Skilled in Urban Planning, Leadership, Programming, Team Building, and Christian Theology. Strong community and social services professional with a Master of Library & Information Science - MLIS focused in Higher Education/Higher Education Administration from Wayne State University
Director-at-Large (3-year term)
Candidate A
Abigail Mastin
Abby Mastin has been the reference and instruction manager at University of St. Francis Brown Library since September 2021. She graduated from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with her MS/LIS in May 2022 and is a member of Beta Mu Phi Alpha chapter. While at UIUC, Abby was awarded the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI) graduate student scholarship. Previously, Abby ran a marketing/advertising firm with her husband. She's also worked in commercial real estate research and marketing in the publishing industry. She lives in Joliet with her husband, her children, a dog, a cat, and many, many plants, some on the verge of expiration.
Abigail Mastin
Abby Mastin has been the reference and instruction manager at University of St. Francis Brown Library since September 2021. She graduated from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with her MS/LIS in May 2022 and is a member of Beta Mu Phi Alpha chapter. While at UIUC, Abby was awarded the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI) graduate student scholarship. Previously, Abby ran a marketing/advertising firm with her husband. She's also worked in commercial real estate research and marketing in the publishing industry. She lives in Joliet with her husband, her children, a dog, a cat, and many, many plants, some on the verge of expiration.
Candidate B
Dr. Laura Clark Hunt
As an Assistant Professor at The University of Southern Mississippi School of Library and Information, Dr. Laura Clark Hunt has served in libraries for over ten years. Her experience has involved cultural heritage preservation, public libraries, and academic libraries. Her professional roles have included management, programming, assessment, and collection development. Her dissertation focused on emergent literacy in public libraries and was celebrated as one of the most Notable Dissertations for 2017 by American Libraries https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2017/05/01/2017-notable-dissertations/.
Her last position, before coming to USM, was an academic library director at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton, GA. Laura is positioned to pursue research in libraries and cultural heritage. Collaborative research projects are of special concern to her because they offer opportunities for interdisciplinary discovery and impact. Needs-Based Research is at the core of her interest. Some of her research interests are cultural heritage, assessment in libraries, information literacy, privacy, censorship, library users with disabilities, and management in libraries.
Dr. Laura Clark Hunt
As an Assistant Professor at The University of Southern Mississippi School of Library and Information, Dr. Laura Clark Hunt has served in libraries for over ten years. Her experience has involved cultural heritage preservation, public libraries, and academic libraries. Her professional roles have included management, programming, assessment, and collection development. Her dissertation focused on emergent literacy in public libraries and was celebrated as one of the most Notable Dissertations for 2017 by American Libraries https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2017/05/01/2017-notable-dissertations/.
Her last position, before coming to USM, was an academic library director at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton, GA. Laura is positioned to pursue research in libraries and cultural heritage. Collaborative research projects are of special concern to her because they offer opportunities for interdisciplinary discovery and impact. Needs-Based Research is at the core of her interest. Some of her research interests are cultural heritage, assessment in libraries, information literacy, privacy, censorship, library users with disabilities, and management in libraries.
