NLM/AAHSL Leadership Fellows Program 

Program Overview  Program Graduates | ReportsProgram Evaluations
2024-2025 Leadership Program Brochure | AAHSL Leadership: A 20-Year Journey

Learn about our New Director Buddy Program! 

NLM/AAHSL Leadership Fellows Program

The NLM/AAHSL Leadership Fellows Program prepares emerging leaders for the position of library director in academic health sciences libraries. Fellows develop their knowledge and skills in a variety of learning settings, including exposure to leadership in another environment. They are paired with mentors who are academic health sciences library directors. The program takes advantage of flexible scheduling and an online learning community to minimize disruption to professional and personal schedules. The sponsors, NLM and AAHSL, will provide financial support for a small cohort of fellows and will underwrite travel and meeting expenses.

The NLM/AAHSL Leadership Fellows Program is designed for librarians with prior management experience. In most cases, a minimum of three to five years of experience is the baseline for candidates to be given consideration. Applicants should have a strong interest in pursuing a directorship in academic health sciences libraries, regardless of the type of library background or current setting. In its commitment to diversity and inclusion, the program actively seeks applicants from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds

Back to top


NLM/AAHSL Leadership Fellows Program 2024-2025

Lindsay Blake, EdD, MLIS, AHIP
Clinical Services Coordinator
Professor Adjunct Faculty, Department of Emergency Medicine
Division of Research and Evidence-Based Practice
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Little Rock, AR

Mentor: Melissa L. Rethlefsen, MSLS, AHIP
Executive Director & Professor
Health Sciences Library & Informatics Center
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM

Francisco J. Fajardo, Ph.D., MLIS, MPA, MA, AHIP-D
Assistant Director, Public & Information Services
Medical Library
Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine
Florida International University
Miami, FL

Mentor: Michelle Kraft, MLS, AHIP, FMLA
Director, Cleveland Clinic Libraries
Cleveland, OH

Shalu Gillum JD, MLS, D-AHIP
Head of Public Services
Associate Medical Librarian
Harriet F. Ginsburg Health Sciences Library
University of Central Florida College of Medicine
Health Sciences Campus
Orlando, FL

Mentor: Amy Allison, MLS, MPH, AHIP*
Associate Provost for Library Services
Geisinger College of Health Sciences and Geisinger Health
Scranton, PA

Brian Leaf, MS
Executive Director, Region 3
Network of the National Library of Medicine
University of North Texas Health Science Center
Fort Worth, TX

Mentor: Anne K. Seymour, MS
Associate Dean and Director, Welch Medical Library
Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine-
Biomedical Informatics and Data Science Section
Johns Hopkins University & Medicine
Baltimore, MD

Faith Steele, MLS, AHIP
Interim Executive Director, Region 1
Network of the National Library of Medicine
Health Sciences and Human Services Library
University of Maryland, Baltimore
Baltimore, MD

Mentor: Joy Summers-Ables, MLIS, AHIP
Director, Robert M. Bird Health Sciences Library
Professor & Chair, Health Sciences Library and Information Management
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences
Oklahoma City, OK

Back to Top


Fellow Graduates

Back to top


Reports

Back to top


Evaluation

Back to top


For more information about the program, please contact Judy Cohn, Program Director, AAHSL Future Leadership Committee, judith.s.cohn@gmail.com.