I am currently the Youth Services Librarian at the Pleasant Hill Community Library of the Contra Costa County Library in San Francisco's East Bay. After a couple of brief exploratory years in public education, my passion for inspiring independent learning drew me to libraries. While completing my MLIS at San Jose State University, I spent several years interning at the research library of the San Francisco Asian Art Museum. Ultimately, I succumbed to the siren's song of public libraries, where I find service to children an inexhaustible joy.

I am thrilled at the growing role that my library is playing in the life of our community, especially through outreach to schools, markets, and city celebrations. In the Youth Services and Collection Development Committees, I have contributed to numerous systemwide initiatives, including our county's Summer Reading Festival, and the revision of policies and procedures to promote access. As the volunteer coordinator at my library, I have the pleasure of directing a diverse volunteer corps almost one hundred members strong. I also recently contributed to the successful launch of the Discover & Go service, by which cardholders can print out free tickets to museums, zoos, and other cultural and educational institutions in the Bay Area. This program in particular resonates with my love of the arts: when I'm not working or reading, I enjoy drawing, especially while visiting the Legion of Honor or the California Academy of Sciences.

I applied to the Eureka! Leadership Institute in order to expose myself to new perspectives and approaches that will challenge and cross-pollinate with my own. I seek experiences to refine my leadership and organizational talents, that awaken a deeper sense purpose and possibility in myself and my peers.