Diversity Recruitment Summit for the Information Professions

Our Keynote Speakers

José A. Aponte, Director, San Diego County Library System
After graduating from Bard College, José Aponte wrote, directed, and performed off-Broadway for a number of years before pursuing an MLS at the University of Arizona.  Positions he has held have included: Coordinator of Ethnic Services, County and City of Santa Barbara; Principal Administrative Librarian, San Juan Capistrano Regional Library; Director, West Palm Beach Public Library; Director, Oceanside Public Library; Deputy City Manager, Neighborhood and Community Services, City of Oceanside; City Liaison to US Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton and Oceanside Unified School District.  In 2002, Mr. Aponte received a White House appointment to the Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries Advisory Council.  In January 2003, Mr. Aponte became the Executive Director of the Pikes Peak Library District in El Paso County, Colorado.  In March 2005, he became the director of San Diego County's library system, which includes 32 branch libraries and 2 mobile libraries.

Eric Brasley, Manager, Project Management Office, LowerMyBills.com
Eric Brasley is a project manager, specializing in the development of Internet and e-commerce applications.  He has served as an officer with the California Librarians Black Caucus (CLBC) and as an Executive Board member and Technology Advisory Committee co-chair of the Black Caucus of American Library Association (BCALA).  With CLBC, Mr. Brasley has been a consultant in formulating a CLA-funded mentor program, organized an Internet program at Los Angeles Public Library (Bringing the Internet Home: African American Access to Information, Communication and Technologies), and has been a part of numerous career and recruitment events.  He also supports the websites for CBLC, BCALA, the Office for Literacy and Literacy Outreach Services (OLOS) of the American Library Association, and the Coretta Scott King Book Awards. He is examining African American websites to prepare a guide to African American resources on the Internet.

Abel Valenzuela, Jr., Associate Professor and Director, Center for the Study of Urban Poverty, UCLA
Professor Abel Valenzuela was born and raised in Los Angeles.  He earned his B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley; his Masters in City Planning and his Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Studies from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  He holds a joint appointment in the Department of Urban Planning and the César E. Chávez Center for Interdisciplinary Instruction in Chicana/o Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles.  At UCLA, Professor Valenzuela directs the Center for the Study of Urban Poverty; teaches courses on immigration and U.S. society, urban poverty and public policy, labor markets, and planning issues in minority communities.  Professor Valenzuela’s research is primarily concerned with the issues faced by minorities and immigrants in the United States, focusing on three key areas: 1) immigration and labor markers; 2) poverty and inequality; and 3) immigrant settlement patterns and related services.