Page 9 - Houston Reading Summit Event Guide

PREsEntERs
cynthia alaniz, Elementary School Librarian
A voracious reader as a child, cynTHia alaniz taught in the elementary school classroom for more than 20 years using Reader’s Workshop and Writer’s Workshop. She is currently an elementary school librarian in Coppell, Texas, and enjoys supporting her students and teachers as they pursue their own learning and interests. She has a strong and undying passion for reading and books, and she calls herself a “children’s literature enthusiast.”
She is the author of the blog Librarian in Cute Shoes and is active in the American Library Association, the Texas Library Association, Association of Library Service to Children (ALSC), the American Library Association, and the Children’s Literature Assembly (NCTE). She believes in the power of books to change lives because she believes they have changed hers.
steve Black , Director of the Book Fair Preview program
sTEvE BlacK joined Scholastic in 1991. As manager of product programs on Scholastic’s corporate sales team, Steve currently directs the Book Fair Preview program while also writing and recording booktalk scripts and podcasts for customers and employees. He regularly delivers webinar training sessions for Book Fair customers and conducts live booktalk and product presentations for teachers, students, parents, and coworkers. Steve also works closely with Scholastic consultants in providing presentation training.
Brandon Blom, Principal, Stoneridge Elementary School, Roseville, California
BRanDon BloM is the principal and lead dreamer of Stoneridge Elementary School in Roseville, California. He is passionate about making school fun for students and staff, as well as looking critically at what schools do to meet the needs of all students. Brandon has been a CUE Rockstar presenter, NAESP presenter, and keynote speaker. He has written about why teachers need to be taken care of, why his school no longer uses computer- based reading systems, and how his school has moved away from old homework policies.
Becky calzada, District Library Coordinator
BEcKy calzaDa is the district library coordinator in Leander ISD, a fast-growth school district just northwest of Austin, Texas. She’s been an educator for 30 years, with the last 17 years of her career as a librarian in Texas. She strives to continuously improve, build relationships, and support the teachers, librarians, and administrators in her district while learning about library design, technology integration, literacy best practices, and leadership.
Becky provides staff development in her district and has presented at the Texas ASCD conference, TCEA Librarian’s Academy, and Texas Library Association Conference. She
is a co-moderator of #TXLCHAT, a Twitter chat forum primarily, but not limited to, Texas librarians to build PLN’s to share ideas and resources while expanding her learning network. She is past-chair of Texas Library Association-School Library Division. In her leisure, Becky enjoys reading to her grandkids and nding new books to read and share with others.