Current Doctoral Students

Shokria Ahmadi

Shokria Ahmadi is current PhD in Library and Information Science student at Simmons University. She received BA in Library Science from Payame Noor University of Mashhad in Iran and MA in Library and Information Science from Ferdowsi University of Mashhad in Iran. She has more than ten years of job experience related to the libraries with public and private academic organizations in Afghanistan. Her recent job in the U.S. is working as library associate at a regional public library in order to learn more about American libraries systems. Now, she is Dean’s Fellow for Information Analysis at Simmons University SLIS. She would like to apply her experiences and knowledge to her most interesting research area which is analyzing the information and knowledge through social networks.

Joyce Aways

Joyce Aways is a Ph.D. student in Library and Information Science at Simmons University. Her research interests focus on information seeking behavior, assessment and leadership in the context of academic libraries. Her experience working for 17 years as a librarian at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon and Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) in Qatar has given her a deep understanding of information seeking behavior, which is a central focus of her research. At Hamad Bin Khalifa University, she is currently working as Information Literacy (IL) Librarian on establishing the IL program at the university and building the research skills of the students and community members, while offering various types of research support such as collaborations on systematic reviews, managing researchers’ profiles, in addition to the general research support work.

Joyce holds a BS in Chemistry from the Lebanese University and a MLIS from the University of Pittsburgh.

Jonathan Cain

Jonathan O. Cain serves as the Associate University Librarian, Research and Learning at Columbia University Libraries. In this role, Jonathan is entrusted with supporting the libraries’ strategic directions by devising a strategy to research support, teaching support, and access at Columbia University Libraries.

Before joining Columbia University Libraries, Cain served as Interim Director of Digital Strategies and the Head of Data Services at the University of Oregon Libraries. Before moving into management, he served as the Government Information Librarian and the Liaison for Planning, Public Policy, and nonprofit management. He also served as a Reference and Instruction Librarian (Assistant Professor) at Hunter College Libraries and a reference associate at Coles Science Center at N.Y.U. Bobst Library.

The focus of Jonathan’s work in libraries has focused on educational technologies, data education, policy and equity, digital scholarship, scholarly communication, and digital curation.

Outside of his work directly in libraries, Jonathan has lent his digital cultural heritage and higher education research technology expertise to nonprofit organizations. Previously he served on the Board of Directors of Oregon Black Pioneers and currently serves in that capacity for Code for Science and Society.

Cain holds an M.S.L.I.S. from Pratt Institute, an M.A. in Africana Studies from New York University, and a B.S. in Anthropology from the College of Charleston.

Jason Cerrato

Jason Cerrato is a recent Simmons University School of Library & Information Science graduate (MSLIS ’21), and current SLIS PhD student. His research interests include critical informatics and critical librarianship, with an eye towards investigating the production of structural bias and normativity within the historical practice of Western librarianship. He is currently a reference and instructional librarian at Weaver Library in East Providence, Rhode Island, where he works closely with patrons and community members to become confident and empowered technology users.

Prior to his studies at Simmons, Jason received a BA in Political Science and Philosophy from Fordham University in New York. He holds an MA in Political and Critical Theory from the New School for Social Research (NSSR) at the New School University—also in New York—where he researched the intersections of visual culture and collective memory. In addition, since 2010 he has taught Political Science and Sociology at Bronx Community College within the City University of New York (CUNY) system.

When he is not talking about libraries, Jason is experimenting with analog photography and thinking about what his cat is thinking about.

Meghan Constantinou

Meghan Constantinou is a Simmons PhD student and special collections librarian in the greater Boston area. She received her MLS from Pratt Institute in 2012 with a concentration in special collections; a MA in Art History from the University of Delaware in 2010; and a BFA in Painting from Syracuse University in 2001. In addition to her studies, she works as a private rare book librarian and curator. From 2011 to 2022, she was the Librarian of the Grolier Club of New York, a special collections library with a focus on the history of the book and the book trade. She is a member of the Grolier Club, the Ticknor Society, and the Society of Printers, and she actively serves on the Bibliographical Society of America. She is also the student representative for Simmons’s Doctoral Student Association (DSA).

Meghan’s research explores historical and current practices of personal book collecting and information management, particularly as they have evolved in the digital age. Other interests include cultural heritage data management and access, knowledge organization, documentation and record-keeping, and digital preservation.

Deeth Ellis

Deeth Ellis has been the head librarian at the Harry V. Keefe ’39 Library at Boston Latin School since 2013. She received her B.A. in History at Bennington College in Vermont (1987), a M.L.S. at Simmons College (2006), and an administrative license from Boston University through The Education Cooperative (2012). She has served on the Massachusetts School Library Association executive board since 2017 representing the Boston area and as co-chair of advocacy.

Her research interest is to understand better how the structure of collaboration between city and state institutions contributes to the state of school libraries in Boston. Currently, the marginalization of school libraries at the state and city level has led to unequal access. Part of the research would be to examine current views on the roles of collaborators and develop a model for consistent improvement. Ultimately, linking learning in BPS school libraries to institutional collaborations could provide research on which a foundation can be built for improved decision making, clarity of roles, and eventually a more equitable student experience in schools.

Tanya Finney Estrada

Tanya Finney Estrada is currently the Director of the Pennsauken Free Public Library in New Jersey. Prior to Pennsauken, Tanya held numerous positions in academic and public libraries in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Tanya has presented at PaLA (Pennsylvania Library Association), NJLA (New Jersey Library Association) Annual Conferences, and NJLA Small Libraries and Diversity & Outreach Section Unconferences. Her presentations often focus on using open-source technology to enhance library services, advocating the importance of offering STREAM (Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Art & Math) programs in public libraries, fine-free libraries, and EDI (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion). Tanya served many years on the Executive Board of SLA (Special Libraries Association) Philadelphia Chapter, Drexel College of Computing and Informatics Alumni Network Board, and LibraryLinkNJ. She currently serves on the Executive Board of SAIL (South Jersey Alliance of Independent Libraries), NJLA Library Workers of Color, Diversity & Outreach Sections, and New Jersey Makers Day. She is also a member of the NJLA Emerging Technology Section.

Tanya is a member of the American Librarian Association (ALA), Public Library Association (PLA), Black Caucus of ALA (BCALA)Technology Section, and Black Librarians Mentorship Program. Tanya received her B. S. in Information Systems and her master’s in Library and Information Science from Drexel University. In 2006 Tanya Finney Estrada was a recipient of the Evelyn Walker Armstrong Endowed Scholarship.

Jonathan Golden

Jonathan Golden ’17LS is the Systems Librarian at St. Mark’s School, a private, secondary school in Southboro, Massachusetts. Prior to that he was a library assistant at Concord Academy, and the digital repositories assistant at the Whittemore Library at Framingham State University, where he earned his B.A. While earning his MSLIS at Simmons SLIS, Golden concentrated mainly on information science, technology, and the philosophy of information. He was part of a team tasked with evaluating the usability of the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners website, and the team was invited to present their findings at “Service Design: The Holistic Experience,” a one-day conference held by the New England Association for Information Science & Technology at Simmons in January 2017.

Golden’s current research interests are in the areas of information evaluation, philosophy of information, doxa and epistemology, and the information lifecycle. He spends his summers teaching woodshop to young children at Concord Academy Summer Camp.

Jaime Hammond

Jaime Corris Hammond has served as Director of Library Services at Connecticut State Community College Naugatuck Valley (formally known as Naugatuck Valley Community College) since 2012. Prior to that, she served as a Reference/Instruction Librarian. She received an MEd in Instructional Design from UMASS Boston in 2024, an MLS from Southern Connecticut State University in 2005, and a BA in Liberal Arts from Sarah Lawrence College in 2000. In addition to her library work, Jaime regularly teaches First Year Experience/College and Career Success as an adjunct instructor. Some of her previous work includes serving as Chair of ACRL’s Value of Academic Libraries Committee, president of ACRL New England Chapter, and co-chair of her institution’s Achieving the Dream committee.

Jaime’s research centers around information literacy, college readiness, information management, and equity for community college students. She is interested in exploring partnerships between librarians at the high school, community college, and four-year college level to support and advocate for students as a direct means of improving student success and reducing college anxiety and imposter syndrome.

Khiana Harris

Khiana Harris (she/they) is a SLIS PhD student based in Shawnee, Kansas. Before studies at Simmons they received a B.A. degree in Anthropology and a B.A. degree in Psychology from Kansas State University in 2015. After living in Japan for two years teaching English with the JET Program, they returned home and had the opportunity to work in academic libraries, a middle school library, public libraries, a special library, as well as a Data Services Internship with the NCDS (2023). Having found their home in libraries, they earned their MLS from Emporia State University in 2023 through an IMLS funded internship at Lawrence Public Library and partnerships with NEKLS, University of Kansas Libraries, and Tommaney Library at Haskell University. With a graduate certificate in African American Studies from the University of Kansas in 2024, they are now working on the next step of becoming an educator and faculty within the field of LIS.

Her research interests include but are not limited to critical pedagogy in LIS classrooms, addressing epistemic injustice, and figuring out the role that libraries and librarians can play in facilitating social change. Beyond libraries, Khiana enjoys crocheting, playing with their cats, video games, and spending time outdoors when it’s not too hot.

Tamanna Hossain

Tamanna Hossain is a Ph.D. student in the School of Library and Information Science at Simmons University. She holds a B.A. and an M.A. in Information Science and Library Management from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. She served as a Lecturer from 2016 to 2021 in the Department of Information Studies at East West University, Bangladesh. Prior to joining the academia, she held the position of Librarian in Alliance Française de Dhaka. Her research interests include scholarly communication and research data management.

Jie Jiang

Jie(Jae) Jiang, is a new doctorate student in the School of Library and Information Science at Simmons University. Jiang earned her MLIS from the University of Pittsburgh in 2018 with an individual track in Digital Stewardship. Her research interests include Research Data Management and Health Information Behaviors.

Chelsea Jordan-Makely

Chelsea Jordan-Makely has worked in libraries since 2009, in a variety of settings and locations, including Canada, Tanzania, and South Africa. Most recently, she was the Director at the Griswold Memorial Library in Colrain, Massachusetts—a 2024 recipient of the National Medal for Library and Museum Services from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. She now works as a part-time researcher with Knology, Ltd. and is the Dean’s Fellow for Data Analysis while pursuing her PhD in Library and Information Science at Simmons. Chelsea is passionate about information access for all people, including and especially those impacted by mass incarceration, and has served as a Co-Chair for Library Services to the Justice Involved, and also contributed to the Expanding Information Access for Incarcerated People Initiative and to the PRISM Project to investigate the pro-social impacts of prison libraries in Colorado. Outside of her work and studies, Chelsea spends a lot of time exploring the woods, gardening, and riding her gravel bike in western Massachusetts

Chris Kaufmann

Chris Kaufmann is a PhD student and the current Dean’s Fellow for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives at Simmons University. She was most recently the Head of Technical Services and IT Librarian for a small library system, and has worked in public libraries for 9 years, advocating for collection and programming diversity and for increased information access for users with special needs. Some of her research work has included the state of library and information science in Cambodia, and methods of quantitatively and qualitatively evaluating knowledge management systems in public libraries. Prior to her library career, she was a legal researcher primarily specializing in intellectual property litigation. Chris holds an MLIS in Information Science & Technology from Simmons University and a BA in French & History from the University of Richmond.

Yolanda Keahey

Yolanda Keahey is a new doctoral student at Simmons University. She has worked in a public library for eight years. Her current position is a Librarian in the special collection department. She received a B.S. in Economics and a Master of Business Administration from St. Peter’s College and earned a Master in Library and Information Science from Pratt Institute.

Abigail Lance

Abby Lance is currently a PhD student and the Dean’s Fellow for Information Analysis at Simmons University SLIS. Previously she managed the maker space at Buda Public Library in Buda, TX. She received her MLIS from University of Texas, Austin and her BS in Sociology from Northeastern University. She has a deep personal interest in bringing access to information to populations that are typically denied access, such as inmates. She primarily works with teens and is interested in the intersection of young adult books with social justice messaging and social justice actions taken by youth.

Kimberly Lavoie

Prior to studying at Simmons, Kimberly Lavoie worked as a high school librarian in both urban and suburban public school districts. She is certified as a school librarian and instructional technology specialist in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Her research interests include teacher-librarian collaboration in the digital age, e-learning platforms and school libraries, and information needs and behavior of young adults. Lavoie earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Boston College, a Master of Arts degree in History from Providence College, and a Master of Library and Information Science degree from Simmons.

David Leonard

David Leonard, leads the 170-year old Boston Public Library, one of the city’s great educational, cultural and civic treasures. Leonard began working at the BPL in 2009, bringing deep experience from the technology, management and consulting fields. Appointed president by the Library’s Board of Trustees and Mayor Martin J. Walsh in June 2016, Leonard’s focus is on developing the BPL as a twenty first century institution providing dynamic library experiences to the residents of Boston, of Massachusetts and beyond. Boston Public Library has a Central Library in Copley Square, twenty-five neighborhood branches, an archival center, and also serves as the ‘Library for the Commonwealth’ of Massachusetts. In his role, Leonard oversees a collection estimated to be more than 23 million books, maps, manuscripts, prints, and an expanding digital collection. Prior to his appointment as President, Leonard served as Interim President for one year. During that time, he focused on the completion of the $78 million renovation of the Central Library in Copley Square, which opened in July 2016, as well as a significant number of branch and collections management improvement projects, enhancing access and the customer experience; collaborating with city departments and with local cultural institutions; and supporting Mayor Walsh’s arts and culture vision.

Leonard’s background prior to BPL spans academia, the non-profit sector, and most recently ten years in the private IT consulting world in roles that included business development, management, and technology consulting. Leonard is currently enrolled in the PhD program in Library Information Science at Simmons University. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy and Mathematics and a Master’s Degree in Philosophy from the University College Dublin.

Jiebei Luo

Jiebei Luo is a PhD student in the School of Library and Information Science at Simmons University and currently works as the Financial and Economic Data Analysis Librarian at New York University. In her role at NYU, she supports the data analysis needs of researchers from the Stern School of Business and the Economics Department through collection development, research coaching, and teaching. She holds an MLIS from Rutgers University and an MS in Analytics from Georgia Institute of Technology. Her research interests center on data literacy and evidence-based assessment in academic libraries.

Ramin Naderi

Ramin is a PhD student and the Dean’s Fellow for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives at Simmons University’s SLIS. Ramin takes pride in his practice as the Adult Librarian III for the Western Region of the Los Angeles Public Library. Additionally, his bilingual, Farsi-speaking skills have empowered him to develop collections, services and programs tailored to the unique characteristics of LA’s diverse communities. As a councilor-at-large with the American Library Association, he strives to advocate for DEI, especially when immigrant and BIPOC communities are concerned. Ramin’s career journey includes strategic planning for libraries and serving as a member of the Steering Team for LAPL’s Leadership Development Project. He completed his MLIS in 2010 at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran and also has a BA in Librarianship.

His research interest is leadership development in library organizations and the leadership role of public libraries in developing immigrant communities. Libraries and professional organizations invest in developing leaders who can sustainably advance libraries and the library profession as a whole in the evolving information landscape. Public libraries are uniquely positioned to develop communities and provide spaces and opportunities that foster a sense of belonging. Ramin’s research is aimed to contribute to our understanding of how investment in leadership development programs manifests as investment in library communities.

In his personal time, Ramin enjoys kneading dough and baking pizza with his wife and daughter, writing poems in Persian, and challenging himself with a cookbook or simple woodworking projects.

Zachary Newell

Zach Newell has worked in varied roles in libraries as both educator and administrator. He is writing his dissertation on creativity and information literacy. As part of his passion for shaping the future of the library, Zach continues to examine and reimagine the relationship the campus community has to the library and its space, and continues to cultivate the potential for cross-disciplinary collaboration in an effort to facilitate the library as a hub for transformative learning. As part of an ongoing interest in internationalization and student success, Zach also continues to work closely with colleagues to explore informational constructs and creative/artistic practice in a global context. Zach was previously a Fulbright Scholar at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Alexandria, Egypt during the so-called Arab Spring. Zach holds a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in Art History and an M.S. in Library Science.

Emily Remer

Emily Remer received her MLIS from Kent State University in 2001 and is currently a middle school librarian. She created and developed the library program for her school, and led the district libraries through a collection and resource improvement phase. Prior to her certification and work as a school librarian, she was a public librarian in children’s, YA, and reference departments. During her time in public libraries, she also acted as a library liaison for the local Brazilian immigrant community, using her language skills and experience living in Brazil to build and enhance Portuguese-language collections and services.

Emily has mentored multiple school librarians, consulted for public libraries on collections and services for young adults and for Portuguese-speaking patrons, and worked as a selector for the Commonwealth eBook Collections. She has written articles for the Massachusetts School Library Association and for WebJunction, and kept an award-winning library blog. She loves libraries and the selection, accumulation, and distribution of information; her research interests are many and varied. She lives in Western Massachusetts with her husband, dog, cat, and chickens. She keeps fruit trees and berry bushes and volunteers on a farm in the summer.

Anna Sarneso

Anna Sarneso is a PhD student in the School of Library and Information Science at Simmons University. Anna earned her MLIS from Simmons in 2013, an MA in English Literature from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada in 2010, and a BA from Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, PA in 2008. Anna’s research interests include Open Educational Resources and information literacy. She is the Library Director at Lasell College in Newton, MA.

Georgette Spratling-Leon

Georgette E. Spratling is a PhD student in the School of Library and Information Science at Simmons University. She holds an MA in Library and Information Science from the University of South Florida, an MA in Liberal Studies from the University of Miami, and a BS in Sociology and Social Work from Florida A & M University (FAMU). With more than six years of experience in public libraries, Georgette is currently the Assistant Director at the North Miami Public Library. Additionally, she is the Dean’s Fellow for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives at Simmons University SLIS. Georgette has dedicated her career and research to supporting underserved communities and educating librarians and library workers on effective engagement with these communities through various resources and innovative programming.

Jennifer Sunoo

Jennifer Sunoo is Chief of Staff at Chi-Fro, a nonprofit Focused Research Organization (FRO) that focuses on computation and human intelligence. She is adept at analyzing, planning, and implementing innovative programmatic initiatives and operational processes through a unique combination of big-picture thinking and attention to detail, and also has a passion for mobilizing constituents to enthusiastically achieve stretch goals.

Jennifer is also a PhD Candidate studying Human Information Behavior at Simmons University. Her academic background includes an MLIS in Library and Information Science with an Information Science and Technology concentration from Simmons University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Smith College. Her research interest is in Information Encountering/Serendipity.

Maria (Dani) Thurber

Maria Daniela (Dani) Thurber (she/her) is a Reference Librarian in the Hispanic Reading Room, where she assists users in finding Library of Congress treasures. As a Reference Librarian, Thurber recommends materials for acquisition to build the national collections, reviews resources to be included in the Handbook of Latin American Studies, and develops access tools such as Research Guides. She serves as the recommending officer and collection specialist for the Library’s Latina/o/x holdings, as well as the countries and regions of Mexico, Central America, and Ecuador. Thurber holds a Library Science master’s degree from the Catholic University of America, where she also completed her undergraduate studies in Spanish and Theology.

Neal Whitefur

Neal Whitefur (he/they) is currently based in western Washington and recently graduated from Simmons’ MLIS program with a focus in Cultural Heritage Informatics. As a doctoral student, he’s interested in what he calls the “typographic explosion”—the enormous increase in typeface designs that resulted from the advertising boom of the Industrial Revolution in the United States. He graduated with a BS in Information Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with a second major in Religious Studies and a minor in Russian Culture. Since 2019, he has designed and managed the websites for the Digital Theological Library, a born-digital nonprofit religious studies library. His experience in web design and development work has made him passionate about web accessibility, which he maintains a Simmons Libguide about Web Accessibility. He is a member of both the Society of American Archivists and the American Printing History Association, as well as an alum of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, which funded his education from high school through his MLIS.

Beyond work and school, Neal is an artist of many media, a video gamer, and a proud trans and queer husband.

Jennifer Woods

Jennifer Woods is a School of Library and Information Science PhD student at Simmons University. She has an MA in special education and an MLS from East Carolina University. As a former Exceptional Children’s teacher, Jennifer is dedicated to finding the right story for every student. In her current job as a lecturer Education Librarian in a PreK-12 grade curriculum materials center at Appalachian State University’s Belk Library and Information Commons, she works with pre-service teachers to develop practitioner-based research skills and pedagogical strategies for using youth literature in a variety of content areas. She believes that in order for the right book to find the right child, pre-service teachers should have robust access to and experience with youth literature. Her research interests are centered on the vital role curriculum materials centers play in supporting pre-service teachers and the power of youth literature to connect, heal, and teach.

Jennifer serves as the secretary of the North Carolina Curriculum Materials Center Committee, the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of NCTE Nilsen-Donelson Committee, and the ACRL EBSS Curriculum Materials Committee.

Matti Yarn

Matti is a SLIS PhD student based in Oklahoma City. Prior to attending Simmons University, Matti earned their B.A. in English, with a concentration in Creative Writing, from Cornell University. After teaching high school biology in Oklahoma for a couple of years, Matti returned to academia to earn their MLIS, alongside an Archival Studies certificate, from the University of Oklahoma, before seeking a position in a local library. As a teen librarian in a public library, Matti’s passions lie in enriching the teen
experience at the library, helping patrons reconnect with nature via outdoor programs, and finding new avenues and methods to teach technical skills to audiences of all ages. They hope to expand their knowledge in the field of community and family archives and examine how to best serve marginalized and vulnerable populations. When not at the library or studying, Matti enjoys gardening, learning new fibrecrafts, birding, relaxing with their cats, or playing video games to unwind. When it comes to reading, they can be found exploring comics, reading or listening to fantasy and sci-fi books, or delving deep into niche science topics.

Yishan Zhang

Yishan Zhang is a PhD student in the School of Library and Information Science, Simmons University. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Information Management and Information System and another Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Peking University. He also holds a master’s degree in Information Science from Peking University. Since 2013, Yishan has been working in the field of government information management. He has participated in several projects of open government data and data-sharing in Beijing. His research interests include open government data, data-sharing activities among different institutions, and the digital divide.