Representation Matters: Expanding Institutional Narratives, A Roundtable

Join us at the Bethlehem Area Public Library, Main Branch, for an engaging roundtable discussion on cultural representation in institutional collections. This free event, co-sponsored by The Museum and Library Alliance of the Greater Lehigh Valley (MLA), brings together five local experts in academia and cultural institutions to explore critical topics such as securing funding, identifying donation sources, achieving collection goals, and understanding self-bias. Registration is encouraged.

Panelists:

• Mary Foltz, Associate Professor of English and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Lehigh University

Mary Foltz, Associate Professor at Lehigh University, co-directs the South Side Initiative, promoting public humanities and civic engagement. From 2016-2023, she partnered with the Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center to expand regional 2SLGBTQIA+ archives, create exhibitions, and collect oral histories, earning an ACLS Fellowship in 2021.

• Katelyn Lucas: Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, Delaware Nation

Katelyn Lucas is the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for Delaware Nation and manages the Nation's extension office at Lehigh University. She is also a PhD candidate at Temple University, focusing on Native American and early American literatures, with her dissertation examining Lenape representation in American literature.

• Ana Luhrs: Special Collections Librarian at Lafayette College

Ana Ramírez Luhrs is co-director of Lafayette College Special Collections and College Archives. Previously, Ana was the Kirby Librarian for the Government and Law department and a member of the research and instruction team at Skillman Library, Lafayette College. She has called Easton “home” for the past twenty years and serves on the Board of Directors for the Easton Area Public Library and the Friends of Historic Easton Cemetery.

• Janine Santoro: Director of Equity and Inclusion, City of Bethlehem

Janine Carambot Santoro is the Director of Equity and Inclusion for the City of Bethlehem, leading efforts to develop the City's first Equity Plan and Environmental Justice framework. She is also the President of the Latino Leadership Alliance of the Lehigh Valley and the creator of the “Voces de la Comunidad” community oral history project in Southside Bethlehem.

• Jill Schennum: Professor of Sociology and Anthropology, County College of Morris

Jill Schennum, author of As Goes Bethlehem, holds a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology and has spent 15 years researching ex-steelworkers and deindustrialization in Bethlehem, PA. She chairs the Department of Social Sciences at the County College of Morris and has actively engaged in public anthropology, including serving as an officer with the Steelworkers’ Archives.