NLM/AAHSL Leadership Fellows Program 

Program Overview | Current Roster | Program Graduates | Reports | Program Evaluations | Leadership Program Brochure

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Thank you to all who applied for the 2023-2024 Fellows Cohort. Applications are now closed. 

NLM/AAHSL Leadership Fellows Program

The NLM/AAHSL Leadership Fellows Program prepares emerging leaders for the position of library director in academic health sciences libraries. Fellows develop their knowledge and skills in a variety of learning settings, including exposure to leadership in another environment. They are paired with mentors who are academic health sciences library directors. The program takes advantage of flexible scheduling and an online learning community to minimize disruption to professional and personal schedules. The sponsors, NLM and AAHSL, will provide financial support for a small cohort of fellows and will underwrite travel and meeting expenses.

The NLM/AAHSL Leadership Fellows Program is designed for librarians with prior management experience. In most cases, a minimum of three to five years of experience is the baseline for candidates to be given consideration. Applicants should have a strong interest in pursuing a directorship in academic health sciences libraries, regardless of the type of library background or current setting. In its commitment to diversity and inclusion, the program actively seeks applicants from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds

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NLM/AAHSL Leadership Fellows Program 2022-2023



From left to right: Melissa Kahili-Heede (fellow), Kelly Thormodson (mentor), Diana Delgado (fellow), Jennifer McKinnell (mentor), Elizabeth (Beth) Whipple (fellow),
Dale Prince (mentor), Michelle Harrell (fellow), Catherine Soehner (mentor), Holly Grossetta Nardini (fellow), Philip Walker (mentor)

Diana Delgado, AHIP
Associate Director, Information, Education and Clinical Services, Samuel J Wood Library
Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY

Mentor:  Catherine Soehner, MLS
Associate Dean for Research and Director, Spencer S Eccles Health Sciences Library
University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT

Michelle L. Harrell
Assistant Director, Public Services and Education, Medical College of Wisconsin Libraries
Medical College of Wisconsin; Milwaukee, WI

Mentor:  Philip Walker, MLIS, MSH
Director, Eskind Biomedical Library
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 

Elizabeth (Beth) C. Whipple, MLS, AHIP
Assistant Director for Research and Translational Sciences, Ruth Lilly Medical Library
Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 

Mentor: Jennifer McKinnell, MA, MLIS
Director, Health Sciences Library
McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario 

Holly Grossetta Nardini, MS
Associate Director, Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library
Yale University, New Haven, CT 

Mentor:  J. Dale Prince, MA, MLS
Director of Libraries, John P. Ische Library
Louisiana State University Health – New Orleans, New Orleans, LA

Melissa Kahili-Heede
Librarian III, John A Burns Health Sciences Library
University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI

Mentor:  Kelly Thormodson, MALS
Associate Dean for Library & Information Services, Library Director, Harrell Health Sciences Library: Research and Learning Commons
Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA

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Fellow Graduates

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Reports

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Evaluation

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For more information about the program, please contact Judy Cohn, Program Director, AAHSL Future Leadership Committee, [email protected].