Libraries Without Borders US Staff

Nina Safane

Executive Director

Nina (she/her) is a community-based leader who has built and led systems, teams, and organizations that increase access to education and public health services. Most recently, she led COVIDCheck Colorado, a social benefit enterprise that partnered with communities across the state to support Coloradans to safely return to community amidst the pandemic. Prior to this work, as co-founder of the Girls Athletic Leadership Schools, Nina spent over 10 years designing, building, and leading an innovative school model in Denver, Colorado. She worked as a coach for rising school leaders within the network and through Columbia University’s Summer Principal Academy. Nina has a BA in Education Studies from Brown University and an MA in Education from Columbia University.

Kat Edmiston

Development & Research Coordinator

Kat Edmiston (she/her) is eager to support LWB’s mission of expanding access to information through her role as Development Associate. In this capacity, she works on grant writing, prospecting, donor stewardship, fundraising events, and capital campaigns. Previously, Kat worked in research, studying trauma-informed practices for education and institutional barriers to long-term school success. She recently graduated from the University of Chicago with an M.A. in Social Sciences and a B.A. in Law, Letters, and Society.

Eden Gebregiorgis

Communications & Design Specialist

Hailing from Chicago, Eden (she/her) is an Eritrean-American who is passionate about empowering youth and communities through education and digital inclusion. She obtained a Master of Public Policy focused on education and communications and has worked across public, private, and nonprofit organizations. She studied and lived in Germany for over three years, enjoys traveling and learning about different cultures, and is an art enthusiast.

Kathryn Treder

Data Analyst

Kathryn (she/her) is especially interested in answering questions related to place, inequality, and marginalization in a data-informed manner. She graduated from Stanford University as a double major in Political Science and Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity with a concentration in data science. Since graduating, Kathryn gained experience as a research associate in MIT’s Political Science Department and at Harvard’s Center for Population and Development Studies, but most recently as a data scientist at a tech start up. In her free time, Kathryn plays rugby which has allowed her to travel and build community not only across the country, but around the world.

Vanesha McGee

Program Manager

Vanesha (she/her) is a community advocate with a background in education. She has ten years of experience as an educator, building communities within classrooms. She has five years of professional writing expertise focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion across industries. Vanesha is also a photographer and poet. She develops art that uplifts stories of Black and marginalized communities. Vanesha holds a Bachelor of Arts from Temple University and a Master of Science in Education from the University of Pennsylvania.

Michelle Anderson

Operations Specialist

Michelle (she/her) grew up in Denver and graduated from MSU with a degree in Human Nutrition & Dietetics. She is passionate about community health and feels called to encourage connection, bolster education, and increase access to resources in underserved areas. Michelle is an authentic, entrepreneurial thinker who thrives in ambiguity: creating structure, driving special projects, and integrating workflows across various business functions. After a diverse career journey, she is thrilled to bring her expertise in Operations, Marketing, Project Management, and Client Services to Libraries Without Borders. Outside of work hours, you may find Michelle upside down in a yoga class, playing ukulele, or designing floral arrangements.

José Luis Vargas

Project Coordinator

José Luis Vargas (he/his/el) is a visual artist, art professor and independent educator and cultural community producer. He is a graduate of the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, he earned an MFA at Pratt Institute and from the Royal College of Art. His paintings have been exhibited across the world. José Luis served as community radio coordinator for the Channel 6 Communication Project, and he has created youth media centers for various non profits. In 2011, he founded the first youth media center for Boys and Girls Club in Puerto Rico which created and produced comic books and video campaigns and spots touching on human rights and health-related themes.

Alex Aldarondo

Program Manager

Alex Aldarondo serves as a facilitator trainer for the Agile Learning Centers Network and as an education consultant for various independent community-based projects in Puerto Rico and abroad. Engaged in the field of education for over 15 years, Alex specializes in self-directed learning initiatives and community development framed in agile management, emergent strategies, and evolutionary stages of organizational development. He has collaborated with and helped initiate self-directed learning communities in México, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Portugal, Spain, and the United States.

Jerome Robles Rivera

Technology and Media Arts Coordinator

Jerome Robles Rivera is known for his interpretations in the film industry as a professional actor on Netflix, HBO, Pepsi and others. He is a video editor, writer, event animator, host and motivational speaker. Jerome has been involved in the film/tv industry for over 12 years building and accumulating knowledge and experience in different fields with a diploma in Digital Cinematography. He has been part of human rights movements such as Paz Para La Mujer and others. In 2010, he created his first Poets Community, and in 2012 he started his first poetry open mic session called Juntes Poeticos. He became the first Youth Video Editor and Coordinator of the Boys and Girls Club of Loíza, PR ’s Youth Media Center.

Board of Directors

Patrick Weil

Chairman of the Board

Founder

Georges Lurcy Visiting Professor of Law and Senior Research Scholar in Law
at Yale Law School

Senior research fellow at the French National Research Center in the University of Paris 1, Pantheon-Sorbonne

Peter Sahlins

Deputy Chairman of the Board

Director of Interdisciplinary Studies Department and Professor of History at UC Berkeley

Yves Istel

Deputy Chairman of the Board

Senior Advisor, Hanseatic LLC

Katherine Reisner

Co-Secretary of the Board

Senior Counsel at States United Democracy Center

Ramona Naddaff

Co-Secretary of the Board

Associate Professor of Rhetoric at UC Berkeley

Nicholas C.E. Walter

Treasurer of the Board

Counsel

Jones Day

Rebecca Duane

Adjunct Assistant Professor, NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service

Owen Fiss

Sterling Professor Emeritus of Law at Yale Law School

Nate Hill

Executive Director, Metropolitan New York Library Council

Mary Lee Kennedy

Executive Director, Association of Research Libraries

Jo Ling Kent

Senior Business and Tech Correspondent at CBS News

Amber Koonce

NAACP Legal Defense Fund/Fried Frank Fellow

Sara McDougall

Professor, John Jay College and the CUNY Graduate Center

Antonio García Padilla

Dean Emeritus, University of Puerto Rico School of Law

Eric Parrie

Leadership, Alvea

Gary Stewart

Managing Director, Techstars NYC

CEO, FounderTribes

Chelsea Stieber

Assistant Professor of French and Francophone Studies at Catholic University

Tse-Sung Wu

Biotech Drug Development Leader