Keynote Speakers
At age 35, John Wood left a distinguished executive career track at Microsoft Corporation to form Room to Read, a nonprofit organization that “combines the heart of Mother Theresa with the scalability of Starbucks” to help over one million children across the developing world break the cycle of poverty through the power of education.
Wood founded Room to Read out of deep concern that nearly one billion people lack basic literacy skills. Blessed with a solid education which was a wonderful foundation for his future, Wood started the organization as a way to give that same opportunity to children in the world’s poorest countries.
Since its inception in 2000, Room to Read has sponsored the opening of more than 280 schools and 3,800 multi-
lingual libraries across the developing world. It has distributed over 3 million children’s books and supports more than 3,400 girls with long-term scholarships. Wood describes these results as “total tip of the iceberg” as Room to Read plans to increase this literacy network to 20,000 libraries and schools serving at least 10 million children. The organization currently operates in eight countries in Asia and Africa, ranging from Nepal to Sri Lanka to South Africa.Wood raised over $25 million of financial commitments from a “standing start” and illustrates this experience in his memoir, Leaving Microsoft to Change the World, a book described by Publishers’ Weekly as “an infectiously inspiring read.” Translated into 16 languages, it is popular with entrepreneurs, philanthropists, educators, and internationalists alike. Most recently, John Wood had the honour of being a featured speaker at the 2007 Clinton Global Initiative.
Thanks to Alberta Municipal Affairs and Micromedia ProQuest for sponsoring this keynote speaker!
The eldest of eight children, Loriene was born in Cloquet and raised in Carlton, rural towns bordering the Fond du Lac Reservation in northern Minnesota. Loriene is Anishinabe, enrolled on the White Earth Reservation, a member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe.
Loriene received an MLS degree from the University of Arizona and worked as a reference librarian at the Yuma (Arizona) City-County Public Library. While a doctoral student, she worked in the Library Research Center at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She joined the faculty at the University of Texas at Austin in January1987 where she teaches “Public Libraries,” “Library Instruction and Information Literacy” and reference classes.
Loriene was inaugurated as the 2007-2008 President of the American Library Association at the 2007 ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. She serves on the Advisory Boards/Committees for El Día de los Niños/El Día de los Libros, the International Children’s Digital Library, the Sequoyah Research Center, Knowledge River, WebJunction.org, and the WGBH-Boston “American Experience” television series, “We Shall Remain.” Her work is centered on developing and promoting library services and cultural heritage initiatives with and for indigenous populations. She founded and directs “If I Can Read, I Can Do Anything”, a national reading club for Native children and “Honoring Generations”, an IMLS-funded graduate scholarship program for indigenous students. She has written extensively on these and other efforts.
Loriene has received a number of professional awards including the 2006 ALA Equality Award, 2005 Library Journal “Mover & Shaker”, Outstanding 2002 Alumna from the University of Arizona’s School of Information Resources and Library Services, the Joe and Bettie Branson Ward Excellence Award for Research, Teaching, or Demonstration Activities that Contribute to Changes of Positive Value to Society, two Texas Exes Teaching Awards, and two James W. Vick Texas Excellence Awards for Academic Advisors.
Thanks to the University of Calgary for sponsoring this keynote speaker!