I can hardly believe that it has already been a year since I started my work here at ACLA. I knew before I began that it would be a challenging year of learning a new job, in a new community, with all new faces and expectations. While this year has not always been easy, I can also honestly say that it has been an amazing year for me. There were so many challenges and opportunities over this past year, and I am excited about where the next one will take us. We’ve had some defeats and we’ve had some victories, but through each, I am learning about how well we all can work together to make our libraries stronger.

I have met so many new people and have learned so much about these amazing – and amazingly different – communities here in Allegheny County and the libraries that serve them. There is a complexity to this county that I never could have expected which shows the richness of history and strengthens the sense of pride in one’s community that I feel no matter where I go. Our libraries are a large part of that history and need to be preserved as such, all while advancing into the future in ways that we never imagined.

As I look back over the past year, I feel like I’ve learned so much and still have so much more to learn. Thank you to everyone, from the ACLA staff and the libraries, to the foundations and organizations that we work with for making me feel welcome and giving me the room I needed to find my way. I still have a lot to learn, but I know that I have a lot of people at my back to help me. I am so proud to be a part of Allegheny County libraries and I am honored to be ACLA’s CEO. I see a great future in store for us and I cannot wait to see what we can do with it!