Meet the New Face of Library Makerspaces Advisory Group

Our group of project advisors have many years of scholarship and experience in the domain of maker education, equity and inclusion, library programs, and creating and sustaining learning networks. We are thrilled to have them on board to help us build our national Collective and support inclusive, creative, community-centered maker programming.

Kelly Depin, MLIS

Kelly Depin is a long time lover of all things library. After receiving her MLIS at University of Rhode Island, she became certified as a School Librarian K-12. Most recently, she was the Director at Whelden Library in West Barnstable on Cape Cod Massachusetts but is set to become the Children/Youth Librarian in Hyannis, MA later this year.She serves as Co-chair of the Partnerships Committee for the Association of Rural and Small Libraries.

Maggie Melo, PhD

Maggie Melo (she/her) is an assistant professor in the School of Information and Library Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her research specialization resides at the intersection of critical making and the development of equitable and inclusive STEM-rich learning spaces (e.g. makerspaces) in libraries. Her research is funded by an NSF CAREER Award entitled, "Equity in the Making: Investigating Spatial Arrangements of Makerspaces and Their Impact on Diverse User Populations." She is the Director for the Equity in the Making Lab.

Jerry D. Valadez, EdD

Jerry D. Valadez is CEO/President of the Community Science Workshop Network. He is an Advocate for underserved youth, a Maker, and co-founder of the SAM Academy (Science Art Music) and the Mobile Science Workshop – non-profits that provides underserved youth in isolated rural communities access to quality STEM and Arts experiences. Earned doctorate in STEM education and experience as microbiologist, water scientist, middle school science teacher, K-12 Science Coordinator, school site administrator, adjunct professor, and Director of major federal and state supported STEM initiatives. Involved with state and national issues related to formal and informal STEM education, Environmental and Maker education, NGSS, and appointments to commissions and National advisory boards.

Vera Michalchik, PhD

Vera Michalchik is the Associate Director and Sr. Researcher at the Connected Learning Lab at University of California, Irvine. She studies learning in its many forms and settings—including community, school, home, online and workplace environments—through work funded by federal agencies such as NSF and numerous private foundations. She has also contributed to several National Academies studies on science learning and been an advisor to program developers and educational institutions worldwide. She previously led projects in research, evaluation and design at SRI Int’l, Stanford University and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and holds her Ph.D. from Stanford, master's from Harvard and B.A. from UC Berkeley.

Rafi Santo, PhD

Rafi Santo is a learning scientist focused on the intersection of digital culture, education, and institutional change. As principal researcher at Telos Learning, he partners with education institutions, foundations, intermediaries, coalitions and government agencies to generate insights through basic and applied research, develop novel strategies for impact, and create new designs for equitable learning. He has studied, collaborated with, and facilitated a range of organizational networks related to digital learning, computing, and technology in education including the Mozilla Hive NYC Learning Network, CSforALL, NASA, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. His scholarship spans multiple levels of activity—from understanding youth learning pathways across settings to investigating policy implementation and organizational network design—in order to develop practical insights that come from a holistic perspective. His work has been supported by the Spencer Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the Wallace Foundation, the National Science Foundation, the Mozilla Foundation, the Susan Crown Exchange, Google, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Rafi holds a PhD in Learning and Developmental Sciences from Indiana University.

Christina Fuller-Gregory, MLIS

Christina Fuller-Gregory (she/her/hers) is a librarian, maker, and Equity, Diversity, Inclusion (EDI) practitioner. Her practice includes working with libraries to develop individualized approaches to building an EDI Social Justice framework, policy development, and governance.

Christina currently serves as program facilitator for the American Library Association’s Emerging Leaders program. She is also co-chair of the Public Library Association’s Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Social Justice Committee (PLA EDISJ). In addition to her committee work, Christina is a frequent contributor to Public Libraries magazine, a course facilitator for Library Journal’s Equity in Action series, and most recently acted as course instructor for PLA’s Leadership Lab: Embedding EDI in Library Leaders.  

Led by Fannie Lou Hamer’s belief that ‘Nobody’s free until everybody’s free,’ Christina's work is driven by a desire to see Libraries develop strategies for weaving equity, diversity, and inclusion into the very fabric of their organizations. In recognition of her work, Christina was named as a 2021 Library Journal Mover and Shaker.