The 2024 Virginia Library Association President Nan Carmack and the 2024 Virginia Library Association Conference Committee Chair Natasha Payne Brunson welcome all attendees to the conference. Our opening session will also feature a welcome from the Mayor of Norfolk, Dr. Kenneth Cooper Alexander.

A Letter from the President

A Letter from the 2024 Conference Committee Chair

Land Acknowledgment

Virginia was one of the first points of contact between Indigenous peoples and European settlers. We recognize the Nansemond, who now live near Norfolk and who are not strangers to land that was once considered their territory. As we are able to have air to breathe and water to drink, we remember the original people who have been stewards of this land for centuries and have made it possible for us to enjoy many of the natural resources we still have today. 

Virginia was also the first site of the African slave trade in the Thirteen Colonies, and has had a long history of racial injustice over the past four hundred years. We acknowledge the library profession’s history of supporting structures of racial inequity in its services, collections, and physical and digital spaces. 

This year and at this conference, the Virginia Library Association is working towards reconciliation through several actions. We encourage you to support the work of the Librarians of Color and LGBTQIA+ Forums and national library organizations such as the American Indian Library Association and the Black Caucus of the ALA.

VLA has made a contribution to the Pocahontas Reframed Film Festival as part of our land acknowledgment. The event will be held in Richmond, VA from November 22 - 24, 2024.

Mayor of Norfolk, Mayor Kenneth Cooper Alexander, Ph.D.

Dr. Kenneth Cooper Alexander is actively engaged in practical work and scholarly pursuits in leadership, politics, and public service. His scholarship focuses on leadership in diverse settings, with an emphasis on nontraditional forms of leadership and the dynamics of power, influence, and information within leader-follower relationships. As a guest columnist and the author of "Persistence: Evelyn Butts and the African American Quest for Full Citizenship and Self-Determination," Dr. Alexander sheds light on the African American struggle for equal rights and self-governance. His work practically applies leadership principles, mobilizing individuals and organizations to address political, social, and civic challenges through adaptive strategies, change-oriented approaches, and collaboration.

Dr. Alexander began his career as an International Relations teacher at Tidewater Community College and has since become the Chancellor of several career community colleges: Aviation Institute of Maintenance, Centura College, and Tidewater Tech. Additionally, he serves as the president of the family-owned Metropolitan Funeral Service.

With a distinguished political career, Dr. Alexander has been serving as Norfolk's Mayor since May 2016 and was re-elected in May 2020. Prior to his mayoral role, he served in the Virginia Senate from 2012 to 2016 and in the House of Delegates from 2002 to 2012.

Dr. Alexander holds a bachelor's degree in political science from Old Dominion University, a master's degree in diplomacy from Norwich University, and a Ph.D. in Leadership and Change from Antioch University.