Keynote Speakers

Lydia Otero

Opening Keynote Speaker

Thursday, October 23 8:00 AM

Our opening keynote speaker, Lydia R. Otero, Ph.D. is Emeritus Associate Professor in the Department of Mexican American Studies at the University of Arizona. Their scholarship focuses on urban redevelopment and contested landscapes, with particular attention to how historical narratives are mobilized to legitimize power and dominance.

Otero is the author of La Calle: Spatial Conflicts and Urban Renewal in a Southwestern City (2010), an award-winning study of a 1966 urban renewal project that targeted the most densely populated 80 acres in Arizona. While Mexican Americans made up the majority of residents in the area, it was also home to many of Tucson’s African American and Asian American communities.

They have since expanded their work into memoir, publishing In the Shadows of the Freeway: Growing Up Brown & Queer (2019) and L.A. Interchanges: A Brown & Queer Memoir (2023), both of which merge personal narrative with archival research.

Otero’s current project centers on María Navarette Cordova (1895–1975), whose downtown Tucson home, La Casa Cordova, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. The forthcoming book, Storied Properties, will be Otero’s first interactive print publication, offering readers access to archival documents and photographs through embedded QR codes. The work continues their engagement with preservation, displacement, and how archives shape public memory.

More information at: www.lydiaotero.com

Library Advocacy 2025 - Standing Strong Together

Closing Keynote Panel

Friday, October 24 2:30 PM

Join a panel of experts to examine how advocacy works differently in a variety of scenarios. Lisa Varga, Associate Executive Director of the American Library Association's Public Policy and Advocacy Office in Washington DC, and Lisa Morris Wilkey, Librarian at Casa Grande Union High School, will join Erin MacFarlane, AzLA Advocacy Committee Chair, on a panel moderated by Cheryl Gerken from AzLA's Professional Development Committee. We'll discuss how strong advocacy differs in form depending on the scale, location, and needs of the community. You'll walk away with actionable steps to become a more effective library advocate in your own work.

Cheryl Gerken is the Course Content Initiatives Manager at University of Arizona Libraries, where she works with a team that supports students, instructors, and departments to promote and support course materials affordability on campus. As a former bilingual educator and school librarian with an MA in Language, Reading and Culture and an MA in Library and Information Science, she recognizes the importance of advocacy for promoting and maintaining intellectual freedom at all levels of society, particularly the K-16 community.

Lisa Varga became the Associate Executive Director of the American Library Association's Public Policy and Advocacy Office in Washington, DC in April of this year. Prior to that, she had been the Executive Director of the Virginia Library Association for 15 years. Lisa also served as Chair of the Virginia Beach Public Library Board and in 2024 was named Library Journal's Librarian of the Year. She is a mom to three young men who all went through a "reluctant reader" phase.

Erin MacFarlane has worked in public libraries for more than 18 years. She is currently Library Services Director for Phoenix Public Library, where she works with a team of talented staff to provide high quality library service to communities in Phoenix. Since 2017, Erin has been the Chair of the Legislative Committee for AzLA. In this role she works closely with a lobbyist to monitor legislation that could affect library services in the state. Erin is a member of ALA’s Policy Corps, which aims to expand ALA’s ability to advocate on key policy issues on behalf of the library community. Since 2023, Erin has been a member of Policy Corps’ Unite Against Book Bans Cadre, working to oppose censorship efforts across the country.

Lisa Morris-Wilkey serves as the District Librarian for the Casa Grande Elementary School District, where she plays a pivotal role in shaping the district's library programs and resources. In addition to her professional responsibilities, she also acts as the Vice President of the Friends of the Library in Casa Grande, extending her commitment to library advocacy beyond the school environment. In December 2023, she completed the American Library Association Advocacy Workshop, further strengthening her advocacy skills.