Dr. Brandy McNeil Named PLA 2025-2026 President
The Public Library Association (PLA) has announced the results of its 2024 election. Members elected Dr. Brandy McNeil, Deputy Director, Branch Programs and Services, The New York Public Library (NYPL) , to the office of 2025–2026 PLA president. Dr. McNeil will serve a three-year term beginning this June, including one-year stints as president-elect (2024–2025), president (2025–2026), and immediate past-president (2026–2027).
“I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to serve as the President-elect of the Public Library Association,” said Dr. McNeil upon learning the election results. “This honor represents a shared success, and I am thrilled to continue the legacy of outstanding leadership set by those who came before me. I am eager to support and collaborate with public library professionals nationwide. Together, alongside the exceptional PLA Board and staff, we will tackle the challenges ahead, adapt to the changing landscape of information dissemination, and ensure that our libraries remain beacons of knowledge and cultural enrichment.”
Under Dr. McNeil’s stewardship, NYPL has transformed and expanded community access to technology, knowledge, and opportunity across the 89 branches of the New York Public Library. Her contributions to library science include serving on the PLA Board of Directors, as a liaison on the PLA Conference Committee, as the chair and co-chair for the PLA Digital Literacy Committee, as well as serving on the Executive Board of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association and being a contributing writer for the book “Libraryland; It’s All About The Story”(2020). Dr. McNeil is also a proud member of the New York Library Association, a columnist for Public Libraries magazine, and the recipient of the 2017 Library Journal Movers and Shakers Award.
Dr. McNeil’s expertise is not limited to her work in libraries, she holds a doctorate in business, a master’s degree in entrepreneurship, and has worked for several Fortune 500 companies. Dr. McNeil is a mother, caretaker of her paralyzed mother, an entrepreneur, tech mentor volunteer, and motivational speaker.
The following candidates also were elected to the PLA board:
Director-at-Large Seat A
- Laura McGrath, Deputy Director, Skokie (Ill.) Public Library
Director-at-Large Seat B
- Padma Polepeddi, Assistant Director of Public Services, Community Outreach, Jefferson County (Lakewood, Colo.) Public Library
Each will serve a three-year term beginning in July 2024.
PLA thanks all the candidates who stood for election, as well as all the members who voted. Their efforts to impact and enhance PLA are extremely valuable to the future of the organization. Special thanks to the 2024 Nominating Committee, chaired by Melanie Huggins, PLA Past President (2021–2022), for its outstanding work.
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