2015 Presenter Bios

 2015 Presenters

Lisa Alderfer has a B.A. in English from Temple University and a MLIS from the University of Pittsburgh.  Lisa taught English Composition I and II at Atlantic Cape Community College and also served as the Interim Reference Librarian for the school. She has been a Librarian at the Cape May County Library since 2008. In that time she has served in multiple departments including Library IT as well as Patron Technology Education. In addition to her responsibilities at the library, she is currently a part-time IT Project Manager for Advanced Computer Solutions Group, an IT consulting and support company, where she provides training, technical support, and product and service development.

Eva Feeley is Sea Isle City, NJ writer. She has taught fiction, creative, non-fiction, and poetry in Atlantic, Cape May, and Cumberland Counties for seven years. She is a member of the Jersey Cape Writers, the Great Bay Poets, and the South Jersey Poets Group. Eva has presented at the New Jersey Writers’ Conference and twice the North Wildwood Beach Writers’ Conference. She is the author of two books, “Listen to me, Young Lady: A Guidebook through Womanhood” and “Survivors of Snake Bites”, a collection of her poetry.

Laura Frantz is a Collection Management Librarian for the Somerset County Library System. She previously worked at SCLS. Laura also worked at the mount Saint Mary Academy and Kenilworth Public Library.

Arnold D. Herman directs Experience Counts Inc.  Mr. Herman and his wife have raised a total of 32 teenagers; five were their own children.  He is a certified trainer of prospective foster parents for NJ’s DYFS Agency, specializing in teaching methods of handling teenagers acting out behavior. Mr. Herman served as a member of the Monmouth County, NJ Court System’s Child Placement Review Board for more than decade. He has written magazine articles on methods of communicating with teenagers and advice columns for various newspapers dealing with parents and teens. He is the author of “Raising Reasonable Parents, A Handbook For Teenagers”.

Meredith Hoyer is the Head of Adult Services at the Mary Jacobs Branch of the Somerset County Library.  Over a twenty year career, Hoyer has worked in circulation, children’s, teen, and adult services.  Hoyer is a community focused librarian who believes in a holistic approach to reference and reader’s advisory, meeting patron needs through the whole life cycle.

Amy J. Kearns, MLIS has worked for over ten years in the library field in New Jersey.  She is currently employed as a part-time Reference Librarian at the North Brunswick Public Library, and as a Support Specialist with ByWater Solutions, an open source support company.  She previously worked as the Assistant Director at Middletown Township Public Library where Koha, an open source ILS, is used.  Amy was also the Program Coordinator for the Central Jersey Regional Library Cooperative (CJRLC) before the separate regions were replaced by LibraryLinkNJ.  She has taught at Rutgers in the Master of Library and Information Science graduate program and given numerous presentations and workshops to conferences, libraries, and the public.  Amy is a huge baseball fan and enjoys reading, playing with technology, and spending time with her family.

Robert J. Lackie (Professor-Librarian) is Department Chairperson of the Franklin F. Moore Library of Rider University; prior to that, he co-led Moore Library’s Research Instruction Program for 15 years.  Professor Lackie holds a Master of Arts in Curriculum, Instruction, & Supervision to complement his Master of Library & Information Science.  He is a frequent presenter at library, education, and technology conferences and meetings, active in various library and educational organizations, and published within various professional and scholarly works. Prof. Lackie has also co-written or co-edited three books, the latest entitled, “Identity Theft: What You Need to Know”: a 2014 ebook available via Amazon.  For his teaching, writing, leadership, and service to the library profession, he has received several accolades, including the NJLA “2014 Public Relations Award—Tech Shoutout Category,” the ACRL/New Jersey Chapter “2011 Distinguished Service Award,” the ALA “2006 Ken Haycock Award for Promoting Librarianship,” the “2004 Rider University Award for Distinguished Teaching,” and the NJLA “2004 Librarian of the Year.”  For more detailed information, visit his directory page website.

Marissa Lieberman is a Children’s Librarian at the East Orange Public Library in the Nassau County Library System (NY) before relocation to New Jersey.  An Anime fangirl for fifteen years, Marissa is grateful to be able to share this passion with library patrons by running the tween anime club and planning Tosho-con, a full day anime and comic convention.  She reviews books for multiple professional journals and has presented at library events and New York Comic Con.

Zarita F. Mattox is in her 12th year at the Ocean County Library. She began as an intern in March of 2002 and upon acceptance at Rutgers University that September she became a Librarian in Training. August of 2003, at the completion of her graduate studies, she interviewed and received the position of Young Adult Librarian in Jackson, New Jersey.  Two years later Zarita became Outreach Librarian for the Ocean county Library system and was then promoted to Principal Librarian doing Outreach and Branch Services at the Lakewood Branch.  Zarita has been Supervising Librarian and Branch Manager of the Lakewood Branch developing innovative programs for the community youth partnership and revitalizing the Friends group in the branch.  Zarita also does trainings and a variety of workshops for the Ocean County Library, NJLA, NJALA,FBLA, 4H, churches and private schools, staff development days for the Ocean County Library, the State Library, East Orange Public Library, Wayne Public Library, and Micro Conferences for the NJLA Professional Development Committee.  In 2013, Zarita accepted the position as Chief Librarian for the Ocean County Library. Her hobbies are taking award winning photography and exhibiting, traveling all over the world, cooking, tennis and snorkeling.  Zarita believes in making every minute count and “living your dream”.

Brian Nielsen began working with public libraries in 1999 as an independent rep for Books on Tape (now BOT). Brian officially joined Random House in 2006 and has continued to work closely with public libraries to support their audio book needs, provide new title information and facilitate library special events.  In addition to his direct work with public libraries, Brian also has responsibility for aggregator relationships specializing in servicing the library community. When Brian is not visiting a library in his northeast territory, he can likely be found at one of the state or national library conferences.

Maria Robinson After graduating from Rutgers University with a degree in psychology, Ms. Robinson began a career in Human Resources. She was a Training Manager for Saks Fifth Avenue in NY, and an Employee Relations Specialist for TRW, Inc in Parsippany, NJ. She began teaching at Ocean County College Department of Continuing Education in 1983 and has been a consultant to many businesses, including Jersey Central Power and Light, UniLever, New Jersey Natural Gas and the Ocean County Library System.  Ms. Robinson has been a featured speaker for many local organizations and events including the Successful Business Women’s Conference sponsored by Millennium Radio Group, New Jersey Association of Women Business Owners, Brookdale Community College Women’s Conference, and the Staff Development Programs for Ocean County College and Brookdale Community College.

In addition to her consulting, Ms. Robinson has embarked on a new adventure in her career. In March 2013, she began working as a crisis counselor for New Jersey Hope and Healing, working with people who were affected by Super Storm Sandy.  Although the program ended in 2014, it was some of the most rewarding work she has ever done.  Continuing her work with the Super Storm Sandy Survivors, she is currently employed as a Community Outreach Coordinator for the Ocean County Long Term Recovery Group.

Sandi Stark is a Senior Librarian at the Toms River Branch of the Ocean County Library; Ocean County serves one of the largest older adult populations in the state. Her interest in this population began as a child while visiting older relatives in nursing homes.

Linda Tripp has an MLIS from the School of Communication, Information and Library Science, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey and a B.S. in Early and Elementary Education from the University of Illinois.  Linda is a Collection Management Librarian for the Somerset County Library System.  Prior to her current position, she was a Young Adult Librarian at the Warren Township Library and a Youth Services Librarian at the Bridgewater Library.  Linda is an active member of the New Jersey Library Association – Young Adult Services Section and a member of the Garden State Teen Books Awards Committee.

Jeff Trout is the Head of the Technology Learning Center at the Cape May County Library.  He has had a love of technology since he was introduced to the TRS-80 in 1977.  He has grown up with video games, computers, and every technological gadget he could get his hands on.  Now, he wants to share that love and experience with the community.
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