Meet the Research Team

Dr. Michelle H. Martin (Principal Investigator): Dr. Michelle H. Martin is the Beverly Cleary Endowed Professor for Children and Youth Services in the Information School at the University of Washington. Previously, she was the inaugural Augusta Baker Endowed Chair in Childhood Literacy at the University of South Carolina. She published Brown Gold: Milestones of African-American Children’s Picture Books, 1845-2002 (Routledge, 2004) and founded Read-a-Rama (www.Read-a-Rama.org), a non-profit that uses children’s books as the springboard for year-round and summer camp programming.

Dr. Kathleen Campana (Researcher): Dr. Katie Campana is an assistant professor at the School of Information at Kent State University. Her research focuses on the learning that occurs for children in informal learning environments, looking at both what the children are learning and at how the environment is encouraging and supporting their learning. She was a researcher on the award-winning Project VIEWS2 study, measuring early literacy outcomes in library storytimes. She is a co-author of Supercharged Storytimes: An Early Literacy Planning and Assessment Guide, published by ALA Editions, and co-editor of Create, Innovate, and Serve: A Radical Approach to Children’s and Youth Programming, also published by ALA Editions.

J. Elizabeth Mills (Researcher): J. Elizabeth Mills is a PhD Candidate and the Beverly Cleary Research Assistant at the University of Washington Information School. She studies how design-based reflection enables librarians to offer culturally inclusive, public library storytimes. She was a researcher on the award-winning Project VIEWS2 study, measuring early literacy outcomes in library storytimes. She is a co-author of Supercharged Storytimes: An Early Literacy Planning and Assessment Guide and co-editor of Create, Innovate, and Serve: A Radical Approach to Children’s and Youth Programming, also published by ALA Editions.

Jacquie Kociubuk (Research Assistant): Jacquie Kociubuk is a current MLIS/MEd + K12 SLMS student at Kent State University’s iSchool. Her interests in librarianship lie in promoting diversity and multicultural experiences in children’s literature and library programming, development of early-childhood pre-literacy skills, non-traditional learning opportunities for youth, and outreach to under-served populations.