Virtual President's Program ~ Join us June 5

Leading with the Freedom to Read Foundation
and a Call to Action

You are invited to the Freedom to Read Foundation’s Virtual President’s Program
Thursday June 5, 2025, 7 - 8:30 p.m. Eastern

Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF) leaders and guests will showcase the stellar work that has been done to champion First Amendment Rights, especially for and by those in our library community. FTRF President Sophia Sotilleo brings together a dynamic group of panelists to discuss First Amendment rights, how they look different in different sectors, and how our staff, members, and colleagues are dealing with challenges to their intellectual freedom.  You will leave this program with knowledge of ways to move forward and tackle these issues with the support of each other and the support and expertise of the Foundation.  Whether you are a long-time member or being introduced to FTRF for the first time, our mission is clear - Free People Read Freely®.

Register for the virtual President’s Program now at this link.  See you there!

Thomas Allen - is an appellate attorney and a partner in the Dallas office of Frost Brown Todd LLP.  With more than 20 years of experience in complex civil and appellate litigation, he has presented numerous oral arguments in federal and state appellate courts, including multiple federal circuit courts and the Texas Supreme Court.  Thomas and his colleagues at Frost Brown Todd were recipients of the FTRF 2024 Roll of Honor award for their extensive work on anti-censorship litigation in Texas.

Jonathan Hernandez Perez - is an associated researcher and professor at the Library and Information Institute (IIBI) at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). His research interest focuses on information diversity, misinformation, and digital forgotten. He is the Chair of the International Federation of Library Association’s Free Access to Information and Freedom of Expression Group. Jonathan is currently working on a book related to Global Perspectives on Censorship.

Erin Hollingsworth – has been a librarian in the American Arctic since 2011. She currently works as the District Librarian for the North Slope Borough School District; her position requires her to visit all eight remote communities on Alaska’s North Slope. Erin has shared her experiences with MLIS students from San Jose State University and the ISchool at the University of Illinois as part of the FTRF intellectual freedom course collaborations.

Joseph Earl Thomas - is the author of Sink, a memoir, and the novel God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer, winner of the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize. His writing has been published in Harper’s, Vanity Fair, Dilettante Army, The Paris Review and elsewhere. Joseph teaches writing at Sarah Lawrence College, and courses in Black Studies, Poetics, Video Games, Queer Theory and more at The Brooklyn Institute for Social Research.

Theresa Chmara –is the General Counsel of the Freedom to Read Foundation. She is the author of Privacy and Confidentiality Issues: A Guide for Libraries and their Lawyers (ALA 2009). She has been a First Amendment lawyer for over thirty years and is a frequent speaker on intellectual freedom issues in libraries and is a contributing author for the Intellectual Freedom Manual published by the Office of Intellectual Freedom of the American Library Association.

Sophia Sotilleo – FTRF President and Dean of the Thurgood Marshall Library at Bowie State University, Maryland. She is a seasoned academic librarian with experience and strengths in collaborative grant writing, library programming, project management, and assessment. Her current area of research and interest is Embedded Librarianship, with a focus on access, advocacy, and leadership in the field of Librarianship.

Deborah Caldwell-Stone – Executive Director, Freedom to Read Foundation and Director, ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom. She shas worked closely with library professionals for over 20 years and has served on the faculty of Lawyers for Libraries and Law for Librarians workshops. She is a contributor to the 10^th edition of the Intellectual Freedom Manual and has contributed articles on law, policy, and intellectual freedom to American Libraries and other Publications.

We will have door prizes for several lucky attendees who are (virtually) present. 

Register for the virtual President’s Program now at this link.  See you there!