Speakers

Becky Calzada, 2024-2025 President of AASL, is a District Library Coordinator in Leander, Texas, and a co-founding member of Texas #FReadom Fighters. She was selected for the 4th ALA Policy Corp Cohort, works as a member of the ALA Policy Corp Proactive Advocacy on Book Banning cadre and is a past member of the ALA Intellectual Freedom Committee. She is actively involved in the Texas Library Association and serves on the legislative committee and served as Past-Chair for the Texas Association of School Librarians division in 2016-2017. Becky is the recipient of several intellectual freedom awards and was honored by People Magazine in their 2023 Women Changing the World portfolio. Becky is the co-author of Prepared Libraries, Empowered Teams: A Workbook for Navigating Intellectual Freedom Challenges Together which was published by ALA Editions in June 2024.

Nicole was born and raised in Ohio and graduated from Ohio University with degrees and social work,  psychology, and women's studies. She has been in the social work field for over 25 years. 

Nicole started her career working with youth and had a calling to support the senior community 4 years ago. She has now found her work family at Heart to Heart Hospice where her role is a community education representative. 

Dawn Lewis is a new member of the Rotary Club of South Austin, which she joined last Fall. She serves as the Executive Director of the TerraClear Foundation, securing funding and forging connections that enable Lao families to access clean drinking water. Dawn previously spent a decade as a teacher in Texas and authored the children’s book “My Teacher Moved to Laos,” which details life in that country, which is in SE Asia.

Through her leadership, the TerraCare program has made a huge impact on vulnerable families by expanding access to clean drinking water in several countries. TerraCare provided 10,000 subsidized ceramic filters that brought clean drinking water to over 50,000 Laotians. Dawn’s commitment also extends to clean water projects in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

A Missouri native, Dawn holds a BS in Civil Engineering and an MA in Linguistics. She speaks English, French, and Lao. She enjoys time in nature and moments with her family, many of whom reside in Austin, Texas, which Dawn now calls home.

I’m a husband to Aldine for 26 years, father of four exceptional children, and a strong advocate for public education. I believe in the power each individual has to change the world and as such, I know that the future of our globe is sitting in our public schools right now. It’s our responsibility to ensure they are ready for the extreme challenges they will face in their lifetime. As A.J. Juliani says it best: “Our job is not to prepare students for something, our job is to help students prepare themselves for anything.”

I will continue to fight to empower learners in public schools across the globe by setting the example for what can be accomplished in my community. It truly takes a village to raise a child. We must work together, empower one another, and set the example with every choice we make.