It is time for the AASL membership to elect the volunteers who will lead our organization. Candidates will introduce themselves in a series of blogs, and were asked to prepare a statement. Please read through their answers below and be sure to vote when the ballot arrives in your inbox.

Statements and/or videos were a voluntary option offered to all candidates. Voting for the 2026 ALA elections will open on Monday, March 9, 2026 and close on Wednesday, April 1, 2026.

The candidates for the American Association of School Librarians, Director-at-Large are:

Valerie Byrd Fort

Mia Gittlen

Kelly Passek

Valerie Byrd Fort:

AASL’s Strategic Plan centers on three areas of engagement: Meaningful Engagement, Leadership Engagement, and Purposeful Engagement. While all three are essential to the strength of our profession, the area I feel most called to champion is Leadership Engagement. Without strong leadership, the other forms of engagement cannot fully flourish.

Leadership Engagement focuses on increasing the visibility of school librarians as leaders, expanding pathways for leadership growth, and creating meaningful opportunities for connection and networking.

Increasing visibility is critical in this current climate of book challenges and misinformation about school libraries. To increase visibility, school librarians must be (and feel) supported by their professional association. When school librarians are recognized as leaders, they are better positioned to influence policy.

We must expand pathways for leadership growth, ensuring that opportunities are accessible and sustainable. School librarians need intentional leadership development and ongoing professional learning at both the state and national levels. This includes education about emerging trends, collaboration, and strategic communication that strengthens our collective voice.

Equally important is connection. School librarians often work in isolation, and strong professional networks and mentors are essential for sharing ideas, sustaining morale, recruiting new professionals into the field, and retaining those already serving in schools.

If elected as Director-at-Large, I will work with the board to strengthen communication across AASL affiliates and support the development of leadership throughout the profession. Through active leadership engagement, school librarians across the country can feel more connected, visible, and supported.

Thank you for this opportunity.

 

Mia Gittlen:

I strongly believe in AASL’s core mission is to empower leaders to transform teaching and learning and fully endorse AASL’s Strategic Plan. As a new AASL board member, I will actively champion meaningful engagement.

The work of school librarianship is deeply important and meaningful; Because our work is often siloed, being part of a national network that connects us with current trends, best practices, and research-backed resources, which partners with like-minded organizations, and provides both collaborative learning and leadership opportunities is tremendously valuable.

As a board member, I will seek ways for AASL to offer membership regular, ongoing, interactive and impactful convenings for us to think, create, share, and grow together. I will promote meaningful engagement opportunities so our buckets are filled and our capacity to lead is expanded. By prioritizing meaningful engagement, many of the Strategic Plan’s leadership and purposeful engagement goals will also be fostered.

 

Kelly Passek:

Hello AASL colleagues! I’m Kelly Passek and I’m running for a Director At Large position on the AASL governing board and would appreciate consideration for your vote. I feel most called to champion AASL’s focus on Purposeful Engagement. Purposeful Engagement involves actively influencing policy, and my career reflects sustained success in doing just that.

As lead secondary librarian for my district, I serve as a liaison among librarians, central office leadership, superintendents, and school boards by communicating policy, advocating for equitable library services, and ensuring compliance with procedures that protect student access to information. At the state level, my leadership within the Virginia Association of School Librarians, including service as a regional director, advocacy committee member, legislative coordinator, and president has involved direct collaboration with legislators, testimony before the education subcommittee, and contributions to written position statements on censorship, representation, and intellectual freedom. These experiences have prepared me to amplify the voices of school librarians nationwide and to engage policymakers in meaningful, informed dialogue.

Purposeful Engagement requires building strong partnerships and modeling innovative practice at the school and community levels. I currently manage a thriving middle school library program, designing collaborations across disciplines from language arts to math to agriscience. I have built community partnerships that expand access, most notably by creating the first drone-based library book delivery program in the world. My work in collection development, equity-focused policies, and inclusive programming ensures that students see themselves reflected in the library while gaining access to diverse perspectives that broaden their worldviews. These local actions demonstrate how intentional engagement can influence broader conversations about equity, access, and innovation in school libraries.

I bring a career grounded in action-oriented engagement, exactly the work called for in this area of AASL’s strategic plan. As an innovative, award-winning school librarian and biologist with more than fifteen years of experience across school, academic, and public libraries, I understand how policy, practice, and people intersect at every level of education. My professional mission centers on empowering students to be critical and ethical users and creators of information while ensuring that school librarians are recognized as essential instructional leaders and advocates within their communities. If elected as a Director At Large, I will bring this same intentional, collaborative approach to the national stage by connecting practitioners, stakeholders, and policymakers through clear communication, shared goals, and evidence-based advocacy. My experience reviewing national conference proposals, presenting at conferences, and aligning my daily practice with AASL’s standards framework positions me to support librarians in translating standards into action and policy into practice. I am committed to championing Purposeful Engagement by ensuring that school librarians are not only included in policy conversations, but are leading them at all levels.