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  Board of Trustees 2023-2024


Executive Board


  

President: Beth Raff  president@njasl.org

Beth is a graduate of Cornell University (BA), Rutgers University Graduate School of Education (M.Ed) and Rutgers School of Communication and Information (MI). After teaching fifth grade in the Hillsborough Township public schools for many years, Beth pursued a degree and career as a school librarian. Currently, she is the media specialist at Mt. Tabor Elementary School in the Parsippany-Troy Hills School District.  Beth as been selected as an Emerging Leader 2019 by the ALA and sponsored by NJASL. The project, “Developing Inclusive Learners and Citizens,” can be found here. Beth is the proud mother of two adult sons, Joshua and Benjamin, and her husband, Steve, is a high school math teacher.   
   

PRESIDENT ELECT: Karen Grant presidenTELECT@NJASL.ORG

Karen Grant, MEd, MLIS has been a media specialist for the Ewing Township Public Schools since 2015. She began her career in education as a special education teacher in the district. Her experiences with struggling readers over the years led her to become a reading specialist. In this role, Karen realized the depth of her love of literature and information literacy. With the encouragement of a beloved school librarian and colleague, she began her studies at Rutgers University to become a librarian. As a Board member and co-chair of NJASL’s Diversity Taskforce, Karen is especially motivated to continue in the work of strengthening NJASL’s impact in the areas of equity, diversity, and inclusion in school library programs.   
   

VICE PRESIDENT: GABRIELLE CASIERI VP@NJASL.ORG

Gabrielle “Gab” Casieri (she/her) was inspired to pursue her MLIS while volunteering in her children’s elementary school library. Gab graduated from Rutgers School of Communication, Information and Library Science (SCILS) in 2009. She worked in the Fine Hall Library at Princeton University and the Hopewell Branch of the Mercer County Library System before landing her dream job at Lawrence Intermediate School in 2011. Gab previously chaired the NJASL Standards Subcommittee, the Annual Conference Signage Committee, and was selected as the Ruth Toor Outstanding School Library Media Specialist of 2022. She is passionate about connecting students and staff with books they love to foster lifelong literacy and advocates for mental health for everyone.
 

Secretary: Jessica Piazza  secretary@njasl.org

Jessica Piazza began her career in education as an Early Childhood Educator in 2004 and spent twelve years as a classroom teacher, until she became a School Library Media Specialist/STEAM teacher at Harmony Township School in 2016. She received her Bachelor's degree from the University of Miami and her teaching credentials through The College of New Jersey. She also holds a Master of Arts in Educational Technology with a Specialization in School Library Media through New Jersey City University. Recently, she has presented several professional development workshops locally regarding the integration of technology and literature in the classroom and beyond.

 

Treasurer: Elizabeth (Beth) Willoughby treasurer@njasl.org

Beth has been a member of the Finance Committee for NJASL for several years.  She is the librarian for Dunellen Public Schools and works at John P. Faber School and Lincoln Middle School.  Currently she is treasurer of UMASL, vice-regent of her local Catholic Daughters and serves on the Municipal Alliance.  She was appointed by Dunellen’s Mayor to be on the library trustees and is proud to serve as a member. Beth has been working in Dunellen since 2013.  Prior to that she was the Media Specialist at Red Bank Middle School. Beth has served on the conference committee and for the past conference she was head of the photography committee.


 

Member-at-Large:  Iveth Mollinedo Yelegen   membersatlarge@njasl.org

Iveth Mollinedo Yelegen began her career as a 3rd-grade teacher and after 4 years in the classroom, transitioned into the role of School Library Media Specialist. Her entire experience in education has been in the school and district she attended as a student- Cliffside Park in Bergen County NJ. She earned her B.A. in Early Childhood Education/Spanish Language and Literature and her M.A. in Educational Technology with SLMS certification from New Jersey City University. She recently earned her MLIS Degree from San Jose State University. She is a library enthusiast and has also worked part-time in numerous public libraries for the past 15 years. Aside from being a librarian, some of her favorite hobbies are cooking, crafting, trying new “eats” and spending time with her family and newborn. 
   

 MEMBER-AT-LARGE: Darla Kaminsky 

Darla Kaminsky began her journey in the school library working as a library aide. Inspired by the amazing librarian Gail Bogan, she pursued her dream of becoming a school librarian. After thirteen years and completing the M.Ed program at William Paterson University, Darla is living that dream. She's had the privilege of working in various school libraries, currently in the Parsippany Troy Hills School District, collaborating with talented librarians. In 2022, she was honored as Teacher of the Year at Lake Parsippany Elementary School. At home, she's supported by her loving husband, funny children, a silly dog, and a lazy cat. Her hobbies include gardening and her favorite exercise is reading. 


 

Immediate Past President: Ewa Dziedzic-ElliotT  pastpresident@njasl.org

Ewa Dziedzic-Elliott serves as the subject librarian for all departments in the School of Education. She has 10 years of experience as a K-12 librarian, including work in both elementary and high school settings. She holds an MLIS from Rutgers University and an MA in Polish Language and Literature with a minor in Speech Therapy from Jan Kochanowski University, Poland, EU. She also holds NJ supervisor and principal certifications. Her research interests include research skills of high school and first year college students, diversity and equity in collection management and barriers to information, especially in the immigrant, multicultural, and bilingual communities. She has published in the Journal of Academic Librarianship and Library Connections. She is an executive board member for New Jersey Association of School Librarians (NJASL) and currently serves as NJASL Immediate Past President.

                                                                                                                                               

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