CLA Board Elections & CLA Awards

BY XENIA HADJIOANNOU, LAUREN LIANG & LIZ THACKERAY NELSON

Thank you to the Outgoing CLA Board Members

Term: January 1, 2020 - December 31, 2021

Cynthia Alaniz

School Librarian at Cottonwood Creek Elementary in Coppell, TX

Most recently, Cynthia served as chair of the Children’s Literature Assembly Early Career Award Committee.

April Bedford

Dean of the School of Education at Brooklyn College

Most recently, April served as chair of the Children’s Literature Assembly Research Award Committee.

Miriam Martinez

Professor of Literacy Education at the University of Texas at San Antonio

Miriam is chair of CLA's Endowment Committee. 

Congratulations to the Newly Elected CLA Board Members

Term: January 1, 2022 - December 31, 2024

Mary Lee Hahn

Retired 4th/5th Grade Teacher, Poet, and Community Volunteer

Mary Lee brings to CLA a classroom teacher’s career-long passion for the importance of children’s literature in the curriculum. She has been active in CLA since 2008, when Monica Edinger encouraged her to apply to be on the Notable Children's Literature in the Language Arts committee. She went on to serve as the committee chair in 2010. Mary Lee also served on NCTE's Charlotte Huck Award for Outstanding Fiction for Children 2017-2019. Mary Lee has served CLA by helping set up for the breakfast, establishing a website and social media presence, and currently, by promoting CLA on its Facebook page.

Andrea M. Page

(Hunkpapa Lakota) Children's Author and Educator

Currently a retired educator, Andrea writes books for children. While she was a middle school teacher, she worked to have a print-rich classroom which allowed children to recognize themselves in books, to be inspired by positive role models, and to study writing techniques of authors. As a reader and author, Andrea continues to be a lifelong learner and is committed to advocating for Native literature. As a CLA Board Member, Andrea aspires to bring awareness of Native perspectives and help teachers/librarians select books that are a natural fit for their students. 

Sara K. Sterner

Assistant Professor, Humboldt State University

Sara's work as a teacher educator concentrates on antiracist pedagogical practices, elementary literacy and social studies education, and the promotion of inclusive children’s and adolescent literature. Guiding preservice elementary teachers to understand how dominant reading experiences shape their literacy practices to more fully embrace inclusive texts that are beneficial to all readers is a central theme of Sara's scholarship and teaching. These commitments are born out of her fourteen years as a K-6 teacher, a closely held reader identity, and a lifelong passion for children’s literature. Sara has previously served on the CLA Student Committee and been a recipient of the CLA Research Award.

Congratulations to the 2021 CLA Award & Grant Recipients