Ericka Butler 
Ericka Butler is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science (MLIS) from the University of Missouri. She has a Master’s Degree in Adult Education from the University of Missouri St. Louis and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Columbia College St. Louis. She first fell in love with libraries when she worked for the Wellston School district as the Assistant Librarian. After working in the school library her next library adventure was working for the Department of Mental Health as a Librarian. Throughout all of her library journeys she has had the opportunity to empower and motivate her patrons. She has met and helped some incredible people at the library.
She currently lives in St. Louis Missouri and is the Assistant Branch Manager for the St. Louis Public Library. She has two children who are both in their third year of college. She is a community leader who loves to empower her community by keeping them knowledgeable on the latest trends in libraries and connecting them to community resources. On her days off she enjoys walking and dancing.
She chose the MLIS program because she has over 10 years library experience and wanted to expand her career in libraries. Her goal is to become more knowledgeable in health, digital, government and collegiate libraries. Following graduation, she would like to open pop up health information centers library.
Ericka is implementing virtual programming for stress reduction and holding community health meetings, focusing on Medline Plus materials. She has created “Health Bags to go” through a partnership with local church
Charissa Evans 
I’m Charlee Evans. I live in Springfield, MO and work at the Christian County Library in Ozark, MO as Programming Coordinator. I have worked in libraries for seventeen years and have held five different positions during that time. In my current position, I get to do just about everything from planning exciting adult programs to answering reference questions to checking out books. I am always challenged and never bored. In my spare time, I wrangle three kids and one puppy along with my husband. When I am not reading picture books to my kids, I am currently in a reading non-fiction and biographies phase.
Charlee is creating free access to smoking cessation programs through a partnership with the American Lung Association.
Brandon Jason 
I was born in Joplin, Missouri and raised in the Ozarks, and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in English from the College of the Ozarks in 2012. Since that time, I’ve worked in management at Branson theatre before becoming part of the growing Christian County Library District. I helped our library pass a tax levy renewal, which has resulted in new branches for Christian County Library for the first time (one of which, the Nixa Branch, I am the manager for). I have been a lifelong user of libraries; indeed, as a child, my mother’s and my Saturday tradition every week was going to the Joplin Public Library. I became more exposed to library services during my tenure at the College of the Ozarks, where I worked at the campus library as part of a work-study program. In my free time, I enjoy reading, writing, TV, and film, traveling (New Orleans is my favorite!), going to museums & the theatre, playing games, and spending time with friends and family.
Brandon Jason assisted the All of Us Community Engagement Network for bilingual virtual programming about vaccine efficacy, targeting rural and Spanish- speaking populations
Brandon Kennedy
I was born in Los Angeles, CA and raised in Las Vegas, NV. Growing up I always had an interest in the health sciences and art. I remember trying to incorporate health into my artwork during grade school. I attended the University of Nevada Las Vegas, Nevada where I majored in photography. My photography focused on mental health themes such as depression, compulsion, sexuality, and various other subjects. I wanted to somehow visually represent mental health through the camera lens. Simultaneously, I was also working within my university’s library system. This is where my passion for the library field began to blossom. I now look to further my experience within the library field while bringing my knowledge of health sciences and art with me.
Brandon is connecting LGBTQI community to health resources. Partnerships across the University.
Melanie Newell
I’m Melanie Newell from Lincoln, NE. I studied Peace and Conflict Studies at the College of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph, Minnesota. I now reside in Lincoln, with my fiancé, mother-in-law, dog and cat. In my work, I’ve focused on educational access and multicultural education issues. I ran a student advising office at Southeast Community College serving low-income Freshman students. I also worked for the Department of Health and Human Services with families in crisis. After that I’ve been working in public libraries in Lincoln now for 5 years. I’m excited to deliver librarians to impactful places in my community. I have a good feeling, or calling that this work will make a difference and I can’t wait to get started.
Melanie has created a toolkit to display ready-made health info from NNLM and other hubs, to be distributed nationwide and is promoting citizen science.
Stephanie O’Connor 
Hello, I am Stephanie O’Connor, a Library Director from Alliance, NE. I have served in my library for 13 years. The first three I served as the Children’s Librarian, and then became our director in 2010. I hold Bachelor’s degrees from Chadron State College in both Library Information Management and Business Administration. I also have many credits in life in physical science.
My work experience includes several years of public service not only in my library, but also in our public school system and as our County Red Cross Director. I applied for this opportunity as I felt it would help build a better relationship between our library, where people come to seek information, and our healthcare community. Our county has just built a new multi-million dollar hospital that has opened the door for rural healthcare opportunities. I feel the knowledge I will gain through this degree opportunity will aid those I serve by helping them to understand that healthcare options that were geographically, or in some cases economically, not possible before are now right here in their own community. The addition of this facility and the traveling specialist that now visit it will greatly increase the wellness opportunities for this community. My goal now is to be able to help patrons navigate and implement these services by helping them develop a better understanding as to what is now available. I am excited and thankful to have been chosen for this opportunity and look forward to what I can bring to my community through it.
Stephanie has created a one-stop shop for available healthcare to people in her rural area and is a liaison between the hospital and the library
Sarah Oliva
I am Sarah, I work as a library associate at Centennial Park library. I got my BA from The University of Northern Colorado in Anthropology. Minored in gender studies. I’m very interested in social justice. I am married to a talented aspiring musician. I have two dogs a five-year-old boxer named Vita and a Maltipoo puppy named Pepper. They are my prides and joys. I also love video games and that is what I do when I have any free time. I love heavy metal but also 80s early 90s music. I aspire to have a garden one day.
Sarah has implemented teen projects destigmatizing reproductive health through menstrual product project and a parental program to support teens’ mental health
Kimberly Rothgeb 
My name is Kimberly Rothgeb. I grew up in South Dakota and after many moves, my husband and I have settled in Omaha, NE. Currently, I work at the University of Nebraska Medical Center as the Education Program Coordinator for the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Biomedical Sciences (IGPBS) PhD program. I see every day at work what reliable health information can do in a community. So I’m excited to see what impact we will be able to make with the information we learn from this program. When I am not traveling for work, you can find me helping out at the improv or community theater, visiting my adult children, or planning our next trip to see a Major League Baseball game.
Kimberly has created themed monthly fliers and educational material in a busy church that serves the region through outreach and community spaces
Ellen Thieme
Ellen is a Columbia, MO “townie”. She received her Bachelor of Educational Studies from the University of Missouri- Columbia in 2016 and is now pursuing her Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) through Mizzou, where she acts as president of the Society of American Archivists MU Student Chapter (SAAMUSC) in addition to her studies with C4CH. Her health interests lie in connecting communities with relevant, accessible, and accurate information. She is particularly enthralled with the mission of removing stigma from public health issues, which she sees as one of the greatest barriers to education. Currently, she works with Compass Health as a Crisis Line Clinician, providing resource referrals to her community. Additionally, Ellen is working towards volunteering as a decedant activist. In five years she hopes to still be working in community resource dissemination, with a focus on domestic and sexual violence survivors, sex workers, and people experiencing loss. She dreams of collaborating with organizations such as the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence (MCADSV), Sex Workers Outreach Project (SWOP) USA and the Order of the Good Death. When not occupied by work or school or attending every possible death companionship seminar, Ellen loves to learn about Missouri native plants and study any form of movement- she is particularly enamored with swing dancing and circus arts at this time.
Ellen has participated in extensive mixed-method study and environmental scan of equity, diversity, and inclusion in NNLM MidContinental Region
Student Coursework Projects:
For their Reference Sources & Services class, C4CH students composed LibGuides on health related topics.
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health Resources
Self Care: Mental Health Resources for Adults
Network of the National Library of Medicine Blog Posts
Brandon Jason, “Working With a Virtual Health Programming Team“
Melanie Newell, “On Being a Catalyst for Community Health“