It is with great joy and optimism that I report that as of today, May 20th, I have stepped down as Executive Director of Urban Librarians Unite. My colleague, creative partner, and friend Lauren Comito will be stepping into this role and will do an amazing job of it as we enter a new stage of our organization. I will be staying involved and am honored to have been asked to join the Board of Directors.
We started ULU over a decade ago. It has been the single biggest accomplishment of my professional life. We have done AMAZING things together. We have helped to claw back over a quarter of a BILLION dollars for libraries in New York City. We have helped distribute over 60,000 books to kids in migrant detention centers. We have created the best little library conference in the industry with our next one coming up in September. Now we have looked deeply into trauma in urban public libraries and are working to make a better world for library workers everywhere.
ULU has been the place where I have learned to be a leader and was the place where I was seen as a leader capable of bigger things than I was doing in my career at the time. It’s time for Lauren to take over now. In the years that we have worked together I have never found a more dedicated, inspiring, and creative leader in libraries. ULU will be stronger and better as we continue to grow. Thank you for being a part of that.
With the deepest of gratitude,
Christian Zabriskie
Urban Librarians Unite