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Speakers

Confirmed Inspirational Speakers for EDGE2024

Jen Nelson

State Librarian, New Jersey

Jen Nelson joined the New Jersey State Library in February 2021 where she serves as State Librarian and advances the role of public libraries as a key partner in achieving digital equity. Her extensive experience in digital inclusion and digital equity includes a focus on the needs of teens, people seeking employment, people with disabilities, and people for whom English is a second language.  Jen has more than 35 years of experience in libraries, working in a number of different capacities at the Minneapolis Public and Hennepin County libraries from 1988-2011. From 2013- 2021 she served as Minnesota’s state librarian, where she was honored by Governor Dayton with the Governor’s Award for Continuous Improvement in 2015.  In addition to a bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo, she holds a master’s degree in library and information studies, and a master’s degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Jen is the author of “Technology and Literacy: 21st Century Library Programming for Children and Teens” (ALA Editions, 2012).


M’Balu “Lu” Bangura

Chief of Equity and Fair Practice.

M’Balu “Lu” Bangura is an experienced Civil Rights Investigator, Risk Analyst, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion professional. She considers herself an Inequity Eliminator and has spent her academic and professional career as a social justice advocate and promoter of diversity, equity, and inclusion for all. Lu is currently the Chief of Equity and Fair Practice for Enoch Pratt
Free Library and Maryland State Library Resource Center. In this role, she is responsible for leading and overseeing the library’s diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. In her previous role with the City, Lu served as a Civil Rights Investigator for the Community Relations Commission, where she facilitated the highest settlement agreement in the history of the commission and led in closing difficult and complex cases. In addition, Lu played a vital role
in expanding the Office of Civil Rights to the Office of Equity and Civil Rights. Her work led to her becoming Baltimore City’s first Equity Specialist, tasked with creating, implementing, and managing agency compliance with the City’s equity initiative. As Equity Specialist, Lu facilitated monthly training for Equity Coordinators and produced Baltimore City’s first city-wide Agency Self-Assessment and the City’s first Annual Equity Report.
Before joining the City, Lu served as a Risk Analyst and the only employment Investigator for Tacoma, Washington. Lu created and developed Tacoma’s Tenant Relocation Assistance Program and played an instrumental role in Tacoma’s 2025 Equity Plan, Tacoma’s Gang Reduction Project, ProjectPEACE, and The Implicit Bias Study. Lu is recognized on the International Human Rights Commission’s 2019 Human Rights Defenders Almanac, Maryland’s 2020 Top 40 VIPs list, and Maryland’s 2021 Top 40 Leading Women list. She holds her BS and MS in Criminal Justice from St. John’s University and New
Jersey City University with concentrations in police-community relations and urban development. Lu has made it her professional and personal mission to help build a more informed and inclusive society through information sharing and capacity building. She is an avid  advocate of human and civil rights locally, statewide, and nationally.


Sue Wills MBE

Assistant Director, Arts, Culture, Heritage & Libraries, Surrey County Council

Susan Wills joined Surrey County Council in November 2019 and currently works as the Assistant Director for Arts, Culture, & Libraries. Sue is responsible for 52 libraries, c500 staff and a budget of £23m. Sue is proud of her successful track record leading services through the challenge of the pandemic and is now the architect of the ‘building back better’ strategy in Surrey that puts health, economic growth, skills, and empowering communities’ at the heart and secured the financial resilience of services post Covid, delivering innovative wellbeing cultural activity programmes and income of £10m . Sue has also continued to lead an award winning Transformation Programme in Surrey building on her successful approach originally trialled in Cambridgeshire. Achievements include a new library staff structure that delivered significant savings of £0.5m without impacting front line delivery, new partnerships with the likes of the BBC and the British Library and securing the financial resilience of services through a new robust financial plan and a £26.5m capital investment programme that put libraries centre stage in the ‘place’ agenda. Sue is a member of the advisory Arts Council English Public Libraries Stakeholder Working Group, the national lead for Community Managed Libraries and the national public library external examiner for CILIP.

Susan Wills became Head of Service for Cambridgeshire Libraries in April 2017. Providing a testbed for a new model of philanthropic funding while building on existing income generation successes, the service had a key prevention role across the county with over 60% of residents now a member. Sue is also proud of her recent Transformation Programme, ‘Think Libraries First’, which put the service at the heart of the Council. Other achievements include new partnerships with the likes of Cambridge University and the British Library, as well as £380k of new income through an innovative strategy. She also led on a new co-production strategy, working with local and national stakeholders to re-energise the position of libraries in communities while improving the financial security of the service.

From May 2013 to March 2017 Sue was the Library Service Manager for Poole. During that time she worked on secondment to DCMS Library Taskforce. She produced briefing papers for ministers & No10 looking at areas including universal library membership and new opportunities around commissioning. She was also a contributor to Libraries Deliver: Ambition for Public Libraries in England 2016-2021 with achievements recognised at ministerial level. Her key achievements in Poole included an 8% increase in new customers, a workforce development strategy that significantly improved work force diversity, £200k of savings with no impact to front line services, an income generation pilot for the Arts Council and a 66% increase in events at no extra cost.

Prior to that Susan worked as Assistant Head of Libraries in Lambeth. She also worked for Kensington & Chelsea library services and saw the service through the transformation to the new tri-borough model. Sue took up her first post in a London authority after graduating from university and subsequently became a chartered librarian. Although much of her career has been spent working in the public sector, she has also worked in local authorities as a consultant, specialising in business planning.


Ian Gilson

Innovation, Insight and Learning Lead, London Borough of Camden

Ian recovered from his early career in finance to work as a contractor and consultant to the public sector and is now Innovation, Insight and Learning Lead at Camden Council. He has a passion to create great public services and is one of 32 Imagination Activists at Camden – part of the first programme of its kind in the UK.


Neil Macinnes OBE

Head of Libraries, Galleries, Culture and Youth Services, Manchester ​City Council

Neil began working in Glasgow Libraries in 1985 and has almost 40 years experience within the sector.  Leaving Glasgow Libraries in 2005, he joined Manchester Libraries as Head of Service Improvement, becoming Head of Libraries in 2010.  Neil led on the £50m Central Library Transformation Programme and has also overseen the transformation of libraries across the city, with the two new co-located sites opening over the last two years.  Neil is responsible for a wider portfolio and is Head of Libraries, Galleries, Culture and Youth Services within the Neighbourhoods Directorate, Manchester City Council.  Neil was awarded an OBE in 2019 for services to public libraries and was a member of the Libraries Taskforce for a number of years whilst President of the Society of Chief Librarians.  Neil is also on the Board of Public Libraries 2030, a European Library Network and also a member of the Library Committee for Chetham’s Library, Manchester.


Tinderbox & Edinburgh Libraries

Jack Nissan - Founder

We Make Music Instrument Libraries

Hear about a new initiative getting musical instruments into public libraries across Scotland so that people can borrow them for free, just like taking out a book. The programme started in Edinburgh through a partnership between Tinderbox Collective & Edinburgh Library Services and has now grown to 20 instrument libraries across 8 local authorities in Scotland. It has opened the door to lots more music workshops and performances in Edinburgh’s libraries, and Tinderbox Orchestra are now planning a UK tour of libraries to share the idea further.


Nick Tanzi

Library Leader; Author, Speaker, & Technology Enthusiast, Assistant Director Huntington Public Library, New York

Nick Tanzi is an internationally recognized library technology consultant, and author of the books Making the Most of Digital Collections Through Training and Outreach (2016) and Best Technologies for Public Libraries: Policies, Programs, and Services (2020). Nick is a past column editor for Public Library Magazine’s “The Wired Library”. His work has also been featured in publications including Computers in Libraries, Library Journal, American Libraries, and Marketing Library Services. You can find his thoughts on the intersection of libraries and technology at the-digital-librarian.com.


Anita Luby

Head of Cultural Services, Redbridge Culture and Leisure

Anita is Head of Culture & Libraries for Vision Redbridge Culture & Leisure – A Charitable Trust delivering  culture and leisure services on behalf of Redbridge Council. Anita has worked in the arts and culture sector for almost 30 years before moving to public libraries in 2011 when a temporary 6- month secondment turned into a 12-year career with the library service!

Her pioneering death positive work in Redbridge has inspired a national death positive framework for libraries. She is the current Chair of London Libraries and a Board Member for  the London Culture Forum.

Away from work, Anita can be found arguing with Siri, drinking prosecco, and listening to her eclectic and extensive vinyl collection.

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anitaluby/


Aat Vos

Architect and Creative Consultant, The Netherlands

Renowned architect, speaker and award-winning designer Aat Vos, with over 35 years of experience in library design, serves as the Creative Director of Dutch advisory and design agency includi. Their mission is to create inclusive and welcoming public spaces. Aat Vos and his team have contributed to library renewal projects across Europe, partnering with organisations such as Cologne Public Library, Amsterdam Public Library, Oslo Public Libraries (Deichman), Reykjavík City Library, and the Goethe Institut.

Collaborating with residents and professionals, Aat Vos and includi elevate public spaces, transforming them into ‘third places for all’ that support localism. Through workshops and talks, Aat Vos provides insights into urban issues and inspires audiences on the role of ‘third placemaking’ in society.
Key projects include the Kalk District Library and Cologne Central Library, both of Cologne Public Library, and the acclaimed and award-winning Deichman Biblo Tøyen youth library in Oslo, but also the library and testimony archive of Berlin Documentation Center Flucht, Vertreibung, Versöhnung (SFVV) and the new Huttrop District Library (Essen City Library).

Aat Vos received the Karl Preusker Award of Bibliothek & Information Deutschland in 2021, acknowledging his significant contributions to the German library landscape and the widespread adoption of inviting third places. While Aat Vos and his team specialise in libraries and cultural organisations, his universal principles are detailed in his book, “3RD4ALL – How to Create a Relevant Public Space.”


Margie Singleton

CEO of Vaughan Public Libraries, Canada

Margie has worked in Public Libraries her entire professional career holding a vast array of positions but none as rewarding as the position she currently holds of Chief Executive Officer, Vaughan Public Libraries. Under Margie’s leadership Vaughan Public Libraries has become recognized as an award winning, innovative, empowering employer that facilitates community engagement, inspires creation and stimulates learning. During Margie’s tenure as CEO, Vaughan has opened 6 new libraries with another under construction and an 8th being designed. One of Margie’s greatest pleasures was when one of these libraries, the Civic Centre Resource Library, earning the praise as “one of Canada’s coolest libraries”.  2023 was a big year personally for Margie as she was awarded the Ontario Library Association’s Public Librarian of the Year Award and was recognized as Alumni of the Year by her alma mater Dalhousie University. After many years Margie is still passionate about her career choice and would choose Public Libraries all over again if given the opportunity.  Margie is long-time wife to one, Mom to 3, Mother-in-Law to 3, Grandma to 5 and adoptive Mom to a very poorly behaved chocolate Lab puppy.


Alison Nolan & Gail Colbron – Inverclyde Libraries

Team Leader & Service Development Officer

Alison Nolan

Alison is Team Leader Libraries at Inverclyde Council and former Vice Chair of the Association of Public Libraries in Scotland 22-23. A team-oriented librarian and passionate climate change advocate with over 25 years’ experience of working in public, education, and special libraries both in Ireland and Scotland. In 2022/23 Inverclyde Libraries incorporated a health and wellbeing focus into strategic and operational planning and were highly commended by SLIC as a service for their delivery of Health and Wellbeing resources and programming.  Alison has presented widely on libraries and sustainability including at the Next Library Conference in Aarhhus, helping to raise the profile of the contribution of Scotland’s public libraries to the circular economy to an international audience.

Gail Colbron

Gail is the Service Development Officer for adult services within Inverclyde Libraries at Inverclyde Council. A librarian within public libraries with previous experience as a School Librarian, Gail has a particular passion for health and wellbeing, originating from a previous career as a Registered Nurse (RGN), and Registered Midwife (RM). As a librarian, Gail has been active in contributing to Inverclyde Libraries’ Health and wellbeing offer which has been an integral part of Inverclyde Libraries’ strategic and operational planning. In 2023 Inverclyde Libraries were highly commended by SLIC for their contribution in this area. Her passion for health and wellbeing extends to wild swimming in the Firth of Clyde throughout the year which, so far, has not become incorporated into Inverclyde Libraries’ services.


Chairs

Chair – Councillor Val Walker

Convenor of Culture and Communities Committee

Val Walker is the Convener of the Edinburgh Council’s Culture and Communities Committee, the executive decision-making body on Edinburgh’s cultural development, festivals and events, cultural venues, museums, libraries, and community centres, community empowerment, parks and green spaces, and community safety. She is also the Labour councillor for Fountainbridge/Craiglockhart ward.

Val’s first post was in Aberdeen City Libraries, and since then she has had experience of academic libraries and information services. Val’s most recent post was as a Development Officer in the CEC’s Education Department.


Chair – Joan Parr

Director of Culture and Wellbeing

Joan joined City of Edinburgh Council in January 2022 as the first Director of Culture and Wellbeing.  Her remit spans cultural strategy, museums and galleries, cultural venues, libraries, community empowerment and sports and leisure. Joan has over 20 years’ experience of working in the cultural sector in Scotland with previous posts in the National Galleries of Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland, Falkirk Council and most recently as Director of Arts and Engagement at Creative Scotland. Joan is a trained teacher and also worked abroad for many years in India, Cameroon and Abu Dhabi. She is passionate about the value of arts, culture and creativity to learning and to the wellbeing of societies, communities and individuals as well as the need to eradicate barriers to access and participation.

Joan joined City of Edinburgh Council in January 2022 as the first Director of Culture and Wellbeing.  Her remit spans cultural strategy, museums and galleries, cultural venues, libraries, community empowerment and sports and leisure. Joan has over 20 years’ experience of working in the cultural sector in Scotland with previous posts in the National Galleries of Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland, Falkirk Council and most recently as Director of Arts and Engagement at Creative Scotland. Joan is a trained teacher and also worked abroad for many years in India, Cameroon and Abu Dhabi. She is passionate about the value of arts, culture and creativity to learning and to the wellbeing of societies, communities and individuals as well as the need to eradicate barriers to access and participation.

Joan joined City of Edinburgh Council in January 2022 as the first Director of Culture and Wellbeing.  Her remit spans cultural strategy, museums and galleries, cultural venues, libraries, community empowerment and sports and leisure. Joan has over 20 years’ experience of working in the cultural sector in Scotland with previous posts in the National Galleries of Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland, Falkirk Council and most recently as Director of Arts and Engagement at Creative Scotland. Joan is a trained teacher and also worked abroad for many years in India, Cameroon and Abu Dhabi. She is passionate about the value of arts, culture and creativity to learning and to the wellbeing of societies, communities and individuals as well as the need to eradicate barriers to access and participation.


Chair – Paul Lawrence

Executive Director, Place

Paul Lawrence is the Executive Director for Place at the City of Edinburgh Council. His responsibilities include Economic Development, Environmental services, Culture, Housing, Planning & building standards, Parks and Greenspaces, Regulatory Services and Transport. He is also the Council’s lead officer for the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal.
Paul joined the Council in late 2015. Prior to this, he was the Corporate Director for Place at Stockport Council – one of the ten local authorities in the Greater Manchester city region, with a similar range of responsibilities.
Paul started his working life in the cultural sector, before being appointed as Head of Cultural and Economic Development at Newcastle City Council in 2000. He later became Assistant Chief Executive with responsibility for Economic Policy, City Region Partnerships, and Corporate Communications.


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