MLA Rising Stars
The MLA Rising Star program gives members the opportunity to develop skills, knowledge, and personal characteristics needed to become a leader in MLA. The yearly leadership development program matches each Rising Star with a mentor in a curriculum that includes:
- Monthly classes led by MLA member leaders.
- Experiences and training to develop self-awareness of skills and dispositions as a leader.
- Opportunities to discuss, reflect upon, and apply concepts from classic leadership texts.
- Opportunities to gain a comprehensive, intimate view of all aspects of MLA, from Board meetings to MLA history, with a focus on strategic planning.
- A group project that relates to current MLA initiatives.
- Working with a matched career mentor.
Rising Star Criteria
- The applicant must be an MLA member throughout the duration of the program.
- The applicant is considered ineligible if they have held a national level MLA position as chair of a committee or task force; elected officer of a caucus; or have served on the MLA Board of Directors.
- The applicant must have attended at least one national MLA annual conference.
- The applicant must have demonstrated interest and commitment to professional service through participation in activities or conferences related to medical librarianship.
- The applicant is encouraged to update their MLA member profile page.
Rising Star Program Requirements
- To fully participate in the one year program, complete all assignments, and participate in 10-12 virtual meetings (90 minutes each).
- An estimated time commitment of 8-12 hours per month.
- Attendance at MLA '22 to meet program members and fellow Rising Stars is encouraged, but optional.
- Attendance at MLA '23 to present your achievements is required.
- The recipient assumes all costs of attending the annual conference.
Rising Star Applications
- The online application must be completed and all supporting documents uploaded no later than October 15.
- A brief (one page) personal statement describing the applicant’s background, previous professional service, goals for MLA involvement, how the applicant would benefit from the program, and potentially contribute to the group’s learning (please upload this as an attachment in addition to answering questions in the application);
- A current curriculum vitae or resume;
- A letter of support from the applicant’s library director indicating support for time to participate in all aspects of the program and attendance at the annual conferences.
- Late and incomplete applications will not be considered.
The recipients will be notified in March. If there are no appropriate applicants, the association may elect not to run the program in a given year.
Ready to Submit an Application for the Program?
- Applications for the 2024/2025 Rising Star program will open in August 2023.
Rising Stars
2023-2024
- Michelle Keba Knecht, AHIP
- Kimberly R. Powell
- Rachel Lane Walden
- Rachel Whitney, AHIP
2022-2023
- Rising Star: Steph Hendren
Mentor: Erika Sevetson - Rising Star: LaTeesa James
Mentor: Tony Nguyen, AHIP - Rising Star: Hilary Jasmin
Mentor: Laura Menard - Rising Star: Alessia Zanin-Yost
Mentor: Amy Allison, AHIP
Program Director, Gail Kouame
Project Director, Stephanie Swanberg, AHIP
Assessment Director, Rachel Lerner, AHIP
Leadership & Management Curriculum Committee Chair, Debra Werner
2021-2022
Exploring Strategies to Improve Association Membership Diversity, Recruitment, and Retention
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- Rising Star: Jacqueline Freeman
Mentor: Kelly Thormodson - Rising Star: Nancy Shin
Mentor: Emily Glenn - Rising Star: Laura Wright
Mentor: Cathy Pepper
Program Director, Rachel Lerner, AHIP
Project Director, Gail Kouame
Assessment Director, Gregg Stevens, AHIP
Leadership & Management Curriculum Committee Chair, Tamara M. Nelson, AHIP
2020-2021
Advocacy is All of Us: Recommendations to Enhance MLA's Advocacy Initiatives
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- Rising Star:Alyssa Kathryn Migdalski, AHIP
Mentor: Randall Watts. AHIP - Rising Star: Kathleen Elizabeth Phillips
Mentor: Amy Blevins - Rising Star: JJ Pionke
Mentor: Mellanye Lackey - Rising Star: Erin M. Smith, AHIP
Mentor: Holly Grossetta Nardini, AHIP
Program Director, Gregg Stevens, AHIP
Project Director, Rachel Lerner, AHIP
Leadership & Management Curriculum Committee Chair, Tony Nguyen, AHIP
2019-2020
MLA Communities Transition Case Study: Looking Back to Guide the Future
See MLA vConnections Series for research presentation.
- Rising Star: Kelsa Bartley
Mentor: Deborah Sibley - Rising Star: Kathryn Houk, AHIP
Mentor: Marie Ascher - Rising Star: Jane Morgan-Daniel, AHIP
Mentor: Tara Douglas-Williams - Rising Star: Elaina Vitale
Mentor: Amy Gische Lyons, AHIP
Program Director, Elizabeth Hinton, AHIP
Project Director, Gregg Stevens, AHIP
Assessment Director, Linné Girouard, AHIP
Leadership & Management Curriculum Committee Chair, Erinn Aspinall
2018-2019
Making Leaders Amazing: A Proposal for a Leadership Training Program
2018–2019 Rising Stars’ Experience
- Rising Star: Alexandria Leigh Brackett, AHIP
Mentor: Kristine Alpi, AHIP - Rising Star: Rachel Helbing, AHIP
Mentor: Neville Prendergast - Rising Star: Liz Kellermeyer
Mentor: Rikke Ogawa, AHIP - Rising Star:Terry Kit Selfe, AHIP
Mentor: Michael Kronenfeld, AHIP, FMLA
2017-2018
Defining a project proposal to enhance the Medical Library Association’s Annual Meeting through session-level assessment.
Hypothesis, vol. 30, no. 1, Fall/Winter 2018
- Rising Star: Rachel Keiko Stark, AHIP
Mentor: Gail Yokote, AHIP, FMLA - Rising Star: Laura Menard
Mentor: Michael Kronenfeld, AHIP, FMLA - Rising Star: Hanna Lee Schmillen
Mentor: Ruth Holst, AHIP, FMLA - Rising Star: Nicole Theis-Mahon
Mentor: Derek Halling, AHIP
2016–2017
Action Research to Improve MLA’s Communities
Hypothesis, vol. 29, no. 2, Fall/Winter 2017
- Rising Star: Phill Jo
Mentor: Linné Girouard, AHIP - Rising Star: Rachel Charlotte Lerner
Mentor: Karen Liljequist, AHIP - Rising Star: Tony Nguyen, AHIP
Mentor: April Schweikhard, AHIP - Rising Star: Gregg A. Stevens, AHIP
Mentor: Michael Kronenfeld, AHIP, FMLA
2014–2015
- Rising Star: Roy Eugene Brown, AHIP
Mentor: Helen-Ann Brown Epstein, AHIP and the Hospital Libraries Section leadership team
Project: Hospital Libraries Section VALUES@ Initiative - Rising Star: Lisa Huang
Mentor: Laurie L. Thompson, AHIP, FMLA
Project: MLANews Feasibility Study - Rising Star: April Joy Schweikhard
Mentor: Angela Dixon, AHIP
Project: Chapter Council Roundtables - Rising Star: Debra Werner
Mentor: Linné Girouard and Linda Hasman
Project: Public Policy Toolkit for Members, Sections, and Chapters
2012–2013
2012–2013 MLA Rising Stars hosted by MLA Board of Directors
- Rising Star: Heather L. Brown
Mentor: Julia Shaw-Kokot, AHIP
Project: Work with a Chapter Council team to implement recommendations for interactive web features in the communications plan drafted by 2010 Rising Star Karen L. Hanus, AHIP. | Reflections on the MLA Rising Stars Program - Rising Star: Elizabeth V. Fine Weinburger
Mentor: Diane G. Cooper, AHIP
Project: Work with the Federal Libraries Section web committee to evaluate the section's website. | Assessment of the Federal Libraries Section Website | Participation in the 2012–2013 Rising Stars Program - Rising Star: Rolando Garcia-Milian
Mentor: Mary Riordan, AHIP
Project: Work with the Awards Committee to increase the number of nominations for MLA awards. - Rising Star: Kristi L. Holmes
Mentor: Jerry Perry, AHIP
Project: Serve on and work with the Task Force on MATE. Association Value and Planning Survey Project | Poster - Rising Star: Annabelle Nunez
Mentor: Nancy Allee, AHIP
Project: Work with the Leadership and Management Section's New Members/Emerging Leaders Survey Project | Association Value and Planning Survey Project | Poster
2010–2011
Hosted by MLA Board of Directors
- Rising Star: Karen Hanus
Mentor: Julia Shaw-Kokot
Project: Communications Plan for Chapter Council | Communication Plan for Chapter Council | Reflections on my experience as a Rising Star - Rising Star: Emily Hurst
Mentor: Connie Schardt
Project: Evaluate CORE Toolbox | MLA CORE Toolbox Assessment & Recommendations - Rising Star: Bob Johnson
Mentor: Rikke Ogawa
Project: Assist in planning section programs for MLA '11 | - Rising Star: Rex Robison
Mentor: Julia Kochi
Project: Review MLA benchmarking program and recommend ways to use data more effectively | "Tracking Trends in Hospital Libraries" (please contact via email for a copy of the report)
Have a question?
Contact MLA's Director of Education, Barry Grant.