BOARD OF DIRECTORS
RIF of NOVA's board members are former or current teachers and librarians, small-business owners and authors, parents and grandparents. They bring a wide variety of experience to the job of getting books into the hands of children in Northern Virginia.
The Board of Directors and the Executive Committee meet five times a year, via Zoom in Covid times: September, November, January, and March. An annual luncheon meeting (postponed for now) is usually held in May or June. Please contact us if you're interested in becoming a volunteer board member. New ideas and creativity are so welcome, even if you can devote only a smidge of time! Click here to find our volunteer form.
The Board of Directors and the Executive Committee meet five times a year, via Zoom in Covid times: September, November, January, and March. An annual luncheon meeting (postponed for now) is usually held in May or June. Please contact us if you're interested in becoming a volunteer board member. New ideas and creativity are so welcome, even if you can devote only a smidge of time! Click here to find our volunteer form.
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JUSTINA JOHNSON, President JAMES ABRAMS, Vice-President ELIZABETH PROMEN, Recording Secretary MELISSA HINKSON, Corresponding Secretary JO ANN ABRAMS, Treasurer SHERYL LEEDS, Financial Secretary SHEILA JONAS, Sunshine Secretary |
BOOK ORDERING CHAIRS Paula B. Powell Elaine Liebesman COMMUNICATIONS CHAIR Lisa Keathley FUTURE OF RIF; CONTRACTS CHAIR Nancy King |
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AREA CHAIRS Alexandria Glenna Orr Arlington Ann Godfrey Fairfax East Chris Bury/Liz Promen Fairfax West Chris McLaughlin Prince William Barbara Foelber |
AT-LARGE BOARD MEMBERS Jeuli Bartenstein Dora Sue Black Carylee Carrington Sheila Adams Gardner Hazeline Harris Nadine James Gloria Johnson Gayle Kelley Maureen McLaughlin Julie McKinney Melba Smith-Dudley Lois Toomer Bradley Vineyard Emma Williams |
Meet our newest board member, Sheila Adams Gardner, and welcome our newest NOVA RIF baby!
Attorney, mediator, and author Sheila Adams Gardner joined the NOVA RIF board in February. In her work, Sheila coaches parents struggling to co-parent in two-household families, guiding clients toward mutually acceptable resolutions that reflect their highest family priorities. When Sheila couldn't find relevant children's books on the topic, she decided to write two of them: Two Houses One Family and Made of Love, both of which celebrate successful co-parenting families. They were featured books in our New Books...with a NOVA Connection series. Check them out here! Sheila is mom to three grown children and delighted to join the board!
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Isabelle "Izzy" Grace joined the wider RIF of NOVA family in January. She is the daughter of board member Maureen McLaughlin and the granddaughter of board member and Fairfax West area chair Chris McLaughlin. In the McLaughlin family, books are a critical source of joy. Why is Izzy smiling in the photo above? No doubt her mom just read her a story!
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Board Member Spotlight:
Melissa Hinkson Melissa Hinkson received a Teacher Tuesday shout-out from Arlington schools as part of an effort to highlight teachers who attended Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Melissa is a fifth-grade teacher at Hoffman-Boston Elementary School in Arlington. She did her undergraduate work at Daemen College and is "a proud graduate alumna of Howard University," where she earned her masters degree in education with a specialization in reading. While at Howard, Melissa says, "I was proud to look around and see people who looked like me, who believed in me, and who encouraged me to be the absolute best I could be. My full circle moment was when I became a faculty member in the School of Education," where she taught children's literature and other methods classes for seven years. In addition to being on the NOVA RIF board, Melissa is a member of the Northern Virginia Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. Both her sons attended Hoffman-Boston, and she volunteered and subbed there for many years. When her younger son went to college, she decided to take a position teaching at her "favorite" school! In her words, "Teaching is not what I do, it's who I am." |
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Board Member Spotlight:
Carylee Carrington Carylee Carrington joined the RIF of NOVA board in 2019. A longtime writer and storyteller, she became an "accidental author" of a children's book when her older son started kindergarten and was told by a child on the playground that he should be playing with kids of his own "complexion." Carylee responded by writing Everyone, Just Like Me, a picture book about a boy who needs glasses, which encourages kids to embrace their individual differences. She published another children's book, Pretty Hair, in 2019. Carylee's books are featured on our New Books...with a NOVA Connection page. Carylee is host and executive producer of a children's literary program, "The Read with Carylee Show," on YouTube. She also authors a blog called "Get Caryed Away." Learn more about Carylee Carrington on her website: www.caryleecarrington.com. |
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Board Member Spotlight:
Dora Sue Black Dora Sue Black was named a Teacher of the Year at Dr. Charles R. Drew Elementary School in Arlington in 2019. As a librarian, Dora Sue nurtures the love of reading among students who might otherwise visit the school library only once a week. She has been with APS for more than 30 years. When she was reading specialist at Arlington's Barcroft Elementary School, she also served as a RIF of NOVA liaison, staging book distributions for children at that school who have few to no books at home. During her entire career, Dora Sue has positively influenced the lives of countless students by making education an adventure. Listen to her video to hear her passion about teaching! |
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Board Member Spotlight: Glenna Orr
Author and RIF of NOVA board member Glenna Orr recently celebrated her sixth children's book — Remembering With the Heart, Stories by America's Finest — at a dinner and book signing at St. Rita's Church in Arlington. The book features conversations with veterans who reside at the Armed Forces Retirement Home (AFRH) in Washington, DC. During more than 20 years of involvement at AFRH, Glenna has grown to know and love the residents and their stories. With her nonprofit organization, The Kind Kids, she brought veterans and children together with the goal of fostering inter-generational contact and communication. In the resulting book, the veterans tell children about their experiences in the armed forces and bring to life the histories of their lives. |
COMMUNITY ADVISORY BOARD
Rita Blodgett
Pam Jackson
Audrey June
Mia Mason
Maxine McLeod Miller
Ruby Osia
Lynda Johnson Robb
Ramunda Young
Rita Blodgett
Pam Jackson
Audrey June
Mia Mason
Maxine McLeod Miller
Ruby Osia
Lynda Johnson Robb
Ramunda Young
