Posted by Rick Taylor on Dec 06, 2019
Presentation Topic:    Early Literacy: Books for Kids
 
The summary is: Reading with young children is proven to make a big difference to their future success. Children who grow up with books in their home do better in school and life, and the number of books in the home directly impacts their future achievements. Books for Kids is a new initiative in Stark County to put books in the hands of children in our own community.
 
 
Mary Ellen Icaza is an innovative library leader who is fervent about making library services accessible for all. She has expertise in strategic planning, community engagement, and library technology, and is passionate about early childhood literacy – a passion that extends into her personal life.
 
With more than 15 years of experience serving diverse populations, Mary Ellen has a stellar track record of community collaboration to form lasting and beneficial partnerships. She is thrilled to work with the Stark Library team and Board of Trustees, and to learn from Stark residents, businesses, nonprofits, schools, and governments about how the Library can expand its current offerings, services, and activities to delight patrons and proactively meet the changing needs of the community.
 
Mary Ellen sees libraries as vibrant and dynamic centers of the community. She believes that libraries must re-imagine themselves to not only meet the learning and information needs of the community, but to transform the individual library experience to engage, surprise, and inspire creativity and lifelong learning in its patrons.
 
In 2018, Mary Ellen was honored with the EPIC Award for Education from Montgomery Community Media, which recognizes leaders for excellence in creating and sharing within the community. In 2004, she was named a Library Journal Mover & Shaker and was selected as a participant in the 2015 American Library Association Leadership Institute.
 
Prior to joining Stark Library, Mary Ellen led educational programming, community outreach and special events for Montgomery County Public Libraries (MCPL) in Maryland, a large urban county near Washington, DC.  She represented MCPL to county and state government agencies, local schools, partners, and elected officials, and managed nine of the library system’s 21 branches.  Her programming expertise includes workforce development, business, early literacy, summer reading, children’s, teens’, and adults’ and programs for the under-served in the community.
 
Previously, she was the Virtual Services Program Manager for MCPL, responsible for the development and implementation of all web and social media communications and new technologies for the library system. She led the system-wide development of an interactive online summer reading program that is now used by over 200 libraries across the country. She also worked in web communications and project management in education and government.
 
Mary Ellen earned a Master of Library Science from the University of Maryland and a Bachelor of Arts in English (Magna Cum Laude) from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.
 
Mary Ellen, her husband Javier and their children, Christian and Victoria, reside in Plain Township and are thrilled to be a part of the Stark community and excited about this new chapter in their lives.