Advisory Board

Laura Bush

Honorary Chair
Founder of the Texas Book Festival, 1995
Co-Founder of the Library of Congress National Book Festival, 2001

David Baldacci

Honorary Member
No. 1 New York Times best-selling author
Founder, Wish You Well Foundation

James Patterson

Honorary Member
No. 1 New York Times best-selling author
Founder, ReadKiddoRead.com, winner of the National Book Foundation’s Innovations in Reading Prize 2009
Founding partner, Children’s Reading Fund (UK)

Laura L. Bailet, Ph.D.

Chief Academic Officer at Kaplan Early Learning Company

Anthony Bloome

Founder and Executive Director, Mobiles for Education (mEducation) Alliance

Lois Bridges, Ph.D.

Executive Director, Bring Me A Book

Allister Fa Chang

Former Executive Director, Libraries Without Borders

Lesley S. J. Farmer, Ed.D.

Professor, College of Education, California State University
Standing Committee on Literacy and Reading, International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA)

Chantal Francois, Ed.D.

Assistant Professor, College of Education, Towson University

Juan Felipe Herrera

U.S. Poet Laureate emeritus

Susan H. Hildreth

Former Distinguished Practitioner in Residence, University of Washington Information School
Former Director, Institute of Museum and Library Services
Former City Librarian, Seattle and San Francisco public libraries, State Librarian of California

Barbara Johnson

President (retired), Rowland Reading Foundation
Senior Strategic Advisor, Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism
Past President, American Lawyer Media

Karen Lotz

President and Publisher, Candlewick Press
Group Managing Director, Walker Books Limited

Meg Medina

2019 Newbery Award winner

Ernest Morrell, Ph.D.

Professor, College of Arts and Letters, University of Notre Dame
Director, Notre Dame Center for Literacy Education

Karen M. Ristau, Ed.D.

Former President, National Catholic Educational Association
Professor, University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minn., Retired

Lynda Johnson Robb

President, The National Home Library Foundation
Founding member and former chair, Reading Is Fundamental

Loriene Roy, Ph.D.

Professor, School of Information, University of Texas at Austin
Past President, American Library Association

Benita Somerfield

Founding Executive Director, Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy (1988-2012)
Finance Chair, Reach Out and Read

Michael F. Suarez. S.J.

Director, Rare Book School
University Professor and Professor of English, University of Virginia
Co-editor, The Oxford Companion to the Book (2010)