Congratulations to our 2025 award recipients!

We are delighted to recognize this year’s class of hard-working, inspiring educators through our Teacher & Librarian Scholarships.

These scholarships recognize and reward individuals who are performing impactful work in their communities around the country. The skills of reading and making sense of information are vital to individual growth and to the growth of a healthy society and we are proud to support educators in their missions to develop these critical tools.

This year we had some of our strongest candidates ever. We are honored to provide 14 individuals with full scholarships to attend our 42nd annual Seminar. We hope that participation in our vibrant literary community will inspire fresh engagement with literature in schools and libraries around the country.

Thank you to all who applied, and congratulations to this year’s outstanding scholarship recipients!

Amy Catania is the outreach and instructional librarian at Contra Costa College in San Pablo, California. She believes the college community should be like a supportive family, providing positive encouragement and guidance to students as they embark on a journey of both academic and personal exploration. She further believes that libraries should be safe spaces where all are welcome and can pursue their academic interests in a judgement-free atmosphere in order to succeed, thrive, and grow.

Darren Chase is a high school teacher and opera singer living in New York City. He’s been teaching English to newly arrived immigrants for New York City Public Schools for 21 years. He loves collaborating with the school’s library program: a nexus of community, inclusivity, representation, and inspiration for students and staff. He could not envision a better gig. He is also a writer and a translator of German and French poetry.

Anna Dunlavy is a sixth-grade English Language Arts teacher in the Bronx, New York. She previously taught English as a New Language in Brooklyn, and in Lille, France. Her main goal in creating curricula is for students to see themselves in the class texts and to create an environment that fosters student voice and choice.

Chelsea Foster is a humanities coach at Purdue Polytechnic High School in Indianapolis. Her main teaching area is US History, where she teaches a class called Re-Imagining Community Through Art. Her mission is to build community inside and outside the classroom and to also be a facilitator in young students’ learning journeys as they decide what beliefs they hold about history, art, and community.

Alicia K. Garcia works to create vibrant and inclusive spaces where students can explore their interests, engage in the community, and sharpen their critical thinking skills. Passionate about serving the beautifully diverse Miami-Dade community, “Professor AK” helps students see themselves in literature and academia, proving that everyone has a unique, powerful voice. In her courses, she ensures access to big ideas and encourages conversations meant to foster a love for learning and to inspire active community participation.

Corinne Giesen enjoys teaching creative writing, speech, comparative religions, and concurrent enrollment courses at Mayo High School in Rochester, Minnesota. She has served on a variety of committees and supported student-started clubs, and she is shifting into a new role as honor society advisor. She loves when students pursue their passions, take academic risks, and co-create with her the learning environment they need.

Lauren Holguin is a writer and educator from Southern California. She believes in the beauty of neurodivergence and the pursuit of opportunities for all learners to follow their dreams. Through working in various instructional roles including K-12 special education, college writing, and diversifying literacy curriculums in schools, Holguin has shared her love for literacy and poetry in the schools of Camden, NJ since 2016. Her novel-in-progress focuses on themes inspired by her family and teaching experiences.

Brie Mintz-Hanley, or “Ms. Brie,” is the early literacy librarian at Scotch Plains Public Library in New Jersey. She is responsible for planning, developing, and implementing early literacy programs, services, and special events for children from birth through age four, as well as their caregivers, in order to empower, nurture, and inspire their growth and development.

Katie Mitchell teaches AP Language and Composition and American literature at Alpharetta High School in suburban Atlanta and serves as the extended essay coordinator for the International Baccalaureate program. She strives to create a classroom environment where students can learn and grow, find their own voice through the written word, and use literature as a doorway to better understand the world around them. Mitchell also writes creative nonfiction, and her work often explores motherhood, grief, and a love of place.

Olajide Omojarabi is a creative writing candidate in the MFA degree program at the University of South Florida, where he teaches first-year composition and creative writing. He explores different teaching techniques that make his class inclusive for all learners. When he’s not teaching, Omojarabi is writing short stories.

Jo Boggess Phillips is a library media specialist at Ripley Middle School and Ravenswood Middle School in Jackson County, West Virginia. In this role she is committed to providing resources, support, and instruction that enhance the middle schools’ curriculum and aid in the development of all students. She loves to read (especially biographies) and is passionate about sharing her love of civics, US history and West Virginia’s history with her students.

Aimee Suzara is a Filipino American poet, playwright, multi-disciplinary performer, and educator based in Oakland, California. She launched her teaching career facilitating youth spoken word workshops and has been a college instructor in English, creative writing, and ethnic studies since 2006. She currently teaches at San Francisco State University, College of San Mateo, GrubStreet, and Hugo House, as well as with her business, Wild Tongues. She has an MFA degree from Mills College.

A. J. Verdelle is an old-school college professor committed to nurturing and expanding creative writing opportunities for African American students, many of whom wrestle with a language and national narrative that despise them. She works with both graduate and undergraduate students in the HBCU context operating a quiet GPS (Goals, Plans, Success) curriculum to guide Black students to the bridge that leads to the professional writing community. Verdelle is also a writer reconfiguring her priorities after two decades of active motherhood.

Tim Waller is passionate about what the creative arts can achieve in his teaching practice. He has taught English, speech/drama at the high school and collegiate level. Currently, he is an instructor of music and creative dramatics to elementary and middle school students in Decatur, Illinois. He wants his students to achieve academically as well as understand and embrace what makes each one unique. In addition to teaching, he writes and performs poetry.