Bridging Workers’ Digital Skills Gaps through Libraries

Panelists

Stacey Aldrich has more than twenty years of library experience and is currently the state librarian of Hawaii. Prior to Hawaii, she served as the deputy secretary for the Office of Commonwealth Libraries in Pennsylvania and state librarian of California. Aldrich has also worked in public and academic libraries. In between, she took a detour to work as a senior associate at the futuring think tank of Coates & Jarratt, Inc., where she began to sharpen her futurist thinking skills. She was selected as a Library Journal 2003 Mover and Shaker, and she received a LINK AMERICAS Foundation Knowledge Award for vision and leadership in the area of digital literacy in 2012.

Amanda Bergson-Shilcock is a senior fellow at National Skills Coalition, where she leads the organization’s work on adult education and workforce policies to expand opportunities for US-born and immigrant adults. Throughout her career, Bergson-Shilcock has worked with state and federal policymakers and skills advocates to develop policy solutions that address the challenges facing adult learners and jobseekers, including immigrant workers. As a workforce development expert for more than a decade, she has authored numerous publications and policy recommendations—on immigrant integration, workforce development, and adult education—which have helped educate policymakers, journalists, and the public, and inform public policy at the state and federal levels.

Scott Kuchinsky is the director of literacy services at the Plainfield (NJ) Public Library, where he oversees the GED, ESL, digital literacy, and general job search/training programs; and serves as liaison to a variety of county, state, and local partners. He holds multiple certificates from the New Jersey Department of Education and is an attorney in good standing in NY and NJ. Kuchinsky was lead instructor for the New Jersey State Library's (NJSL) Literacy Bootcamp programs and is the co-coordinator for the NJSL+ Partners Literacy Hub and Spokes program. He currently chairs the Union County Workforce Development Board Youth Committee. Prior to his employment at Plainfield Public Library, he taught at every level from middle school to college freshmen.

Serving as New Jersey’s state librarian since February 2021, Jen Nelson has worked in and for libraries for over thirty years. Prior to joining the New Jersey State Library she led the Charter Center and State Library Services at the Minnesota Department of Education, working with talented teams of staff to provide high quality services to Minnesotans through charter schools and libraries. At the Minneapolis Public and Hennepin County libraries from 1988 to 2011, Nelson led a variety of projects related to small business development, digital inclusion, electronic resources, and technology programming for teens. She holds masters’ degrees in political science and library and information studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, from the State University of New York at Buffalo, is in political science. She is the author of several articles and 21st Century Literacy: Technology Programming for Children and Teens (ALA Editions, 2012).

Ka‘ala Souza is part historian, part futurist, with a holistic view of the future. He is a member of the team at the Hawaii Workforce Development Council focusing on upskilling the state's workforce to be ready for anything the future brings. He is also a public speaker, corporate trainer, and author of the book, Pono: A Hawaiian-Style Approach to Balance and Well-Being. Souza combines a passion for people and technology and brings a practical approach to achieving a vision of a future Hawaii.