SPEAKERS

Pamela Archer Hamlin is the Family Literacy Specialist for the Prince George’s County Memorial Library System (PGCMLS) in Maryland. With over 30 years of experience in early education, Pam has held roles as an early childhood educator, administrator, teen parent resource and referral counselor, trainer for teachers and child care providers, and public librarian. In her current role, she is dedicated to the successful implementation of library programs and services that support children under five and their caregivers. 

Pam has previously served as a member of the Association for Library Service to Children’s (ALSC) Early Childhood Services and Programs Committee. She has also served as a member  of the 2024 Capitol Choices Booklist Committee, the 2019 Newbery Book Award Committee, and the 2018 Maryland Blue Crab Young Reader Award Committee. In 2023, Pam was honored to be nominated to the 2023 PBSKids Early Learning Champions Cohort. 

Caroline Kistin, MD, MSc, is a pediatrician and health services researcher. Her work to date has been funded by grants from NIH, PCORI, CDC, and the USDA. Many of her primary studies have focused on family mental health and more broadly on developing and testing family-focused and community-delivered interventions to improve both parent and child outcomes. Dr. Kistin has previously served as the Primary Investigator and Program Director for a T32-funded fellowship program through AHRQ, where she trained and mentored doctoral students and post-doctoral trainees in health services research, with a focus on health care quality, delivery, and health outcomes specific to low-income populations. 

Karen Keys is Coordinator of Young Adult Services at Brooklyn Public Library where she oversees programs and services for teens at 62 locations. She advocates a for-teens-by-teens service model and provides training, mentoring, and coaching to young adult services staff throughout Brooklyn. Karen is part of the team named Library Journal’s 2023 “Librarians of the Year” for their efforts on the Books Unbanned anti-censorship campaign. 

Lisa Kropp began her career in youth services as a public librarian, a school librarian, and a youth services coordinator at the county library system. She was the early learning columnist for School Library Journal from 2013-17. Lisa is the Director of the Lindenhurst Memorial Library, the third library in the country to achieve Sustainable Libraries Certification. She is a member of the 2026 John Newbery Committee for ALSC and is the Past President of the New York Library Association. Lisa also serves on the Advisory Board of the National Sustainable Libraries Initiative and as a mentor to libraries in five states undertaking sustainable library certification. 

Ada Ren-Mitchell is a Learning Programs Designer at the MIT Public Library Innovation Exchange (PLIX), where she designs cozy communities and creative STEAM learning experiences. Since 2014, her experiences encompass innovative education pedagogy, STEM research, and web and graphic design, weaving together equity, science communication, and community. Celebrating the multidimensionality of life, Ada has been a multimodal gesture researcher for the past 15 years, and pursues hobbies in digital fabrication, data visualization, and paper and fabric crafts. 

Jessica Ralli is the Coordinator of Early Literacy Programs at Brooklyn Public Library, where she manages grant-funded programming for the First Five Years initiative, including Ready, Set, Kindergarten and the Early Childhood Symposium. She holds an M.A. in Early Childhood Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and has taught in museums, schools, and libraries. Jessica co-authored the award-winning First Conversations series (RISE X Penguin Workshop), and received the prestigious Library Journal Movers and Shakers Award in 2020 for her advocacy work in libraries. 

Kristen Todd-Wurm is the National Coordinator for Family Place Libraries and Coordinator for Early Childhood Services at Middle Country Public Library. She earned a Masters Degree in Library and Information Science along with a Certificate in Library Administration and Leadership from Long Island University in Brookville, NY.   She began her career at Middle Country Public Library as a youth services librarian in 2005 and immediately started working on the Family Place Libraries project.  During that time, Kristen was a lead trainer for the Family Place Training Institute and the coordinator for the Family Center project (social worker integrated into library services). Kristen has served as President of the Children's Librarian Association of Suffolk County as well as President of the Suffolk County Library Association.  She currently sits on the leadership team for Help Me Grow Long Island and the board of the Child Care Council of Suffolk County.  Kristen is passionate about early childhood development and parent support and the library's role in these crucial areas. 

Isaiah West (he/him) is the Teen Services Specialist for the Prince George’s County Memorial Library System (MD). With a decade of experience working with teens, tweens, and young adults, he is dedicated to creating empowering spaces and fostering strong community partnerships to support teen-friendly environments. Off the clock, he’s likely over-caffeinated and dancing in his kitchen. 

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