Member Achievements - Nov., 2025

Dana Abbey earned a Public Health Law Academy Certificate.
Liz Kellermeyer renewed AHIP at Distinguished Level.
Hannah Pollard earned a Systematic Review Services Specialization Level I from the Medical Library Association.
Kristen DeSanto earned a Level II Consumer Health Information Specialization (CHIS) from Medical Library Association.
Katherine Downton was appointed to the Joint MLA/AAHSL Legislation Committee.
Rachel Helbing was appointed to the MLA Bylaws Committee.
Tina Drew was appointed one of the co-chairs of the MCMLA 2026 Annual Meeting Planning Committee.
Ben Harnke was appointed Parliamentarian for MCMLA.
Sarah Villere was appointed MCMLA ECLI Taskforce 2026 Co-Chair.
Catisha Benjamin was appointed MCMLA DEI Committee Chair and AAMLA Committee Member.
  
PRESENTATIONS:

2025 AVSL (Association of Vision Science Librarians) meeting:

• Michelle Schonken “The Role of Library Investment in Higher Education Performance:  A T-Test & Regression Analysis of Graduation Rates at Public and Private Universities”
• Michelle Schonken, Laura Riley, Hannah Pollard, and Katherine Downton “Critical Conversations in the Stacks: Dismantling Vocational Awe Through Journal Club Dialogue”

 2025 Medical Library Association (MLA) Annual Meeting in Pittsburgh:

• Lightning talks: Ellie Svoboda, Liz Kellermeyer
• Posters: Dana Abbey, Rachel Helbing, Ruby Nugent, Carole Durst
• Symposium panelist: Liz Kellermeyer

 2025 National REFORMA Conference

• Ruby Nugent co-presented the session, Make Some Noise: Remixing the Scholarly Narrative, with fellow REFORMA Research Committee Members.

South Central Chapter of the Medical Library Association Annual Meeting

• Sarah Villere was co-author on a poster: Brewed connections: Bringing early career librarians together through virtual coffee chats
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Ruby Nugent and Maggie Shawcross were awarded a professional development grant from NNLM Region 4 to attend and present a variety of scholarship at the NDLA/SDLA/MPLA 2025 Tri-Conference in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
·         Maggie and Ruby taught a pre-conference workshop together entitled A Librarian’s Guide to Consumer Health
·         Maggie presented her session entitled Think Fast, Search Smart: Finding Quality Articles in a Hurry
·         Ruby presented a poster entitled Tell Me More: Demystifying Medical Librarianship

Dana Abbey had several presentations:
 Enhancing Public Health Through Legislative Awareness (co-authors Brown D, Strawley G)

• South Central Chapter of MLA, October 2025
• National Association of County Health Officials, July 2025
• Association of Public Health Nurses, May 2025
• Medical Library Association, May 2025
• New Mexico Public Health Association, May 2025

Unlocking Social Services: Navigating FindHelp.org (co-authors Steele F, Strawley G)

• New Mexico Library Association, October 2025
• South Central Chapter of MLA, October 2025
• Association of Rural and Small Libraries, September 2025

Empowering Communities: Libraries Leading Public Health Partnerships (co-authors Brown D, Strawley G)

• Utah Library Association, May 2025