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The ¾«¶«´«Ã½ (ALA) has appointed Marjory Blumenthal and Dr. Christopher Harris as Senior Policy Fellows in ALA’s Office of Public Policy and Advocacy.

Blumenthal will focus on information technology policy issues, including copyright and licensing policy, strategic directions in information and technology, and other areas. Harris will engage on issues affecting school libraries, school librarians and library youth programs.

“Marjory Blumenthal and Dr. Christopher Harris will provide needed research and policy capacity on highly relevant library issues,” said Alan Inouye, ALA’s interim associate executive director for public policy and advocacy. “Blumenthal’s depth of knowledge and relationships in the information technology space will greatly benefit ALA’s efforts in this complex policy area. And at a time when school libraries face myriad challenges, Harris has the hands-on experience to help protect their core mission.”

The two Senior Policy Fellows bring a range of experience and practical policy knowledge to ALA. Blumenthal is a science and technology policy and strategy expert, currently advising public and private sector clients as a Principal at MSBlumenthal LLC. Previously, she was Executive Director of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology under President Barack Obama, and Executive Director of the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. She also served as Associate Provost at Georgetown University and has held roles with the RAND Corporation and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Blumenthal earned an A.B. from Brown University and an M.P.P. from Harvard University.

Harris is an innovative library leader specializing in technology and gaming. He is currently the Director of the School Library System for the Genesee Valley Board of Cooperative Educational Services in Western New York. Harris is a longtime ¾«¶«´«Ã½leader, from his participation in the first ¾«¶«´«Ã½Emerging Leaders Program in 2007 to his service on the Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP) advisory committee and as a Fellow for the OITP Youth and Technology Policy Issues program. He earned a B.A. from Hobart and William Smith Colleges, an M. Ed. From North Carolina State University, an M.L.S. from the University of Buffalo, and an Ed.D. from St. John Fisher University.

Blumenthal and Harris will work with Inouye and ALA’s Public Policy and Advocacy office, and their Policy Fellow appointments will run through August 2023.

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