Officers

Current Officers 2023

President | Cybele Garcia Kohel

Chapter Affiliation | Los Angeles Chapter

Image provided by Cybele Garcia Kohel

Cybele Garcia Kohel (she/her), is an elementary school librarian living and working on unceded Tongva land. She is a mom, dog lover and school librarian. A long-time Los Angeles resident, she is Boricua. Cybele has a BS in Anthropology and an MS in Peace Studies. Ms. Kohel is currently studying for an MLIS degree at San Jose State University. https://cgkohel.medium.com.


Please contact reforma.sjsu.ischool@gmail.com if you are interested in joining our team!

(Must be a currently enrolled SJSU iSchool student.)

The Vice President is responsible for:

  • Assuming the President’s duties when the President is absent
  • Reviewing and updating the REFORMA Bylaws as needed
  • Supporting other officers in their duties as needed

Secretary | Jazmin Estrada

Chapter Affiliation | Los Angeles Chapter

Jazmin Estrada (she/she) is located in Whittier, CA and works as a Records Specialist in a large prestigious law firm in downtown Los Angeles, CA. Jazmin completed her undergraduate studies at San Diego State University, receiving her Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice. Upon completing her undergrad, she immediately began at San Jose State’s MLIS program. Her current drives are to help improve library services and exposure to Spanish-speaking and Latinx communities, as well as to her former community college. East Los Angeles College’s Pathway to Law School Program, also known as ELAC’s PTLS program, has been a driving force behind her motivation to help her community as well as her peers as a former ELAC alumna.


Membership Coordinator | Mirna Gutierrez

Chapter Affiliation | Orange County

Mirna is a first generation college student with a B.A in Social Sciences, double minor in Spanish Literature and Education from the University of California-Irvine. She works as a school library technician at a junior high and received her Library Technology Certificate from Santa Ana College. She is a lover of reading, board games, bookstores, museums, and libraries. Mirna was born in Guatemala, and raised in Anaheim, Ca. She knows firsthand the importance of libraries and strives to be a contributing member of the community in expanding library services to the Spanish speaking community. She is a recipient of a 2021 Laura Bush Grant where she wrote about the importance of her students being able to see themselves reflected in the stories in their library.


Marketing & Social Media Liaison | Lilia Wright

Chapter Affiliation | Bibliotecas Para la Gente

Photo of Lilia Wright
Image credit: Tim B. Silva

Lilia is a first-generation college student with a BS in Animal Science. She loves cats, and dogs too. She is currently an Acquisitions and Electronic Resources Licensing Coordinator at UC Davis while attending SJSU for an MLIS degree. She is committed to life-long learning and promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion. 


Blog Editor | (Open Position)

Please contact reforma.sjsu.ischool@gmail.com if you are interested in joining our team!

(Must be a currently enrolled SJSU iSchool student.)

The Blog Editor is responsible for:

  • Developing and managing the blog, including seeking new blog posts & reviewing submissions
  • Corresponding and answering questions for blog submissions and posting new blog posts to the website
  • Working in conjunction with the Webmaster and the Marketing & Social Media Liaison to ensure consistent messaging and engage in promoting the blog

Webmaster | Allison Law

Chapter Affiliation | Northeast Chapter

Image provided by Allison Law

Allison Law joined the SJSU MLIS program in Fall 2023 with an interest in public librarianship and multicultural children’s services. She holds a BS in Operations Research from Cornell University and an AAS in Fashion Design from the Fashion Institute of Technology. She has web project management experience across industries, including apparel and footwear with Reebok. Allison is an immigrant from Hong Kong and grew up in New York City. She currently lives in Quincy, MA with her wife and their preschooler.


Alumni Liaison | Gretchen G McLaughlin

Chapter Affiliation | Los Angeles Chapter

Gretchen Gies McLaughlin is a Teacher Librarian at John Adams Middle School (MLIS, San José State University), a Part-time Adjunct Reference Librarian at Santa Monica College, and a former secondary English Language arts teacher of twenty-six years. Gretchen leads two community-centered programs in the JAMS Library:  Readers, Come Home! and Project: [re]Connect.  At SMC, Gretchen is responsible for class orientations, collection development for the Health and Wellness Area of Interest, and assigned LibGuides.  As an academic library intern with San Diego State University, Gretchen published “Anti-racism & Educators as Allies,” a virtual children’s library exhibit.  In addition to social justice, Gretchen’s research interests include open education, literacy, and community engagement.  She is a proud First Generation college student!


Alumni Liaison | (Open Position)

Please contact reforma.sjsu.ischool@gmail.com if you are interested in joining our team!

(Must be a currently enrolled SJSU iSchool student.)

The Alumni Liaison is responsible for:

  • Establishing and maintaining relationships between the Group and SJSU iSchool REFORMA alumni
  • Assisting with programming that will benefit students and alumni
  • Recruiting alumni into the Group

Faculty Advisor | Dr. Michele A. L. Villagran

Chapter Affiliation | Los Angeles Chapter

Image of Dr. Villagran
Image provided by Dr. Michele A. L. Villagran

Dr. Michele A. L. Villagran (she/her/ella) is an accomplished educator, innovative speaker, entrepreneur, cultural intelligence, and diversity & inclusion expert with over 30 years of experience in the public and private sectors. As an assistant professor at San José State University (SJSU) School of Information, Villagran’s research focuses on diversity and social justice in library and information science and cultural intelligence phenomena within libraries.

Dr. Villagran earned her Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership with her dissertation on cultural intelligence in 2015 at Pepperdine University. She also completed her Master of Dispute Resolution and Certificate of Dispute Resolution with Pepperdine. At the University of North Texas, Dr. Villagran completed her M.L.S. degree in Legal Informatics and her M.B.A. in Strategic Management.

Dr. Villagran is involved with numerous associations including holding elected, nominated, and appointed roles, respectively, with REFORMA National, REFORMA Los Angeles, the Association for Library and Information Science Education, and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. She is the recipient of several awards including the 2023 American Library Association (ALA) Social Responsibilities Round Table (SRRT) Herb Biblo Outstanding Leadership Award for Social Justice and Equality, the 2021 REFORMA Librarian of the Year, and the 2021 Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE) Norman Horrocks Leadership Award.

Additionally, Dr. Villagran serves as CEO of CulturalCo, LLC consulting in cultural competency, diversity & inclusion, conflict resolution, and emotional intelligence. She is an advanced certified cultural intelligence and unconscious bias facilitator through the Cultural Intelligence Center, a Conflicts Dynamic Profile consultant, and a Qualified Administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory.


Previous Officers

Rosa Hughes de la Rosa, Vice President (2021-2023)

Perla Marquez, Secretary and Treasurer (2021-2023)

Lizette Lizardi, Webmaster (2021-2023)

Héctor R. García-García, President (2022-2023)

Sonia Bautista, Alumni Liaison (2021-2022)

Ana Arevalo, Marketing & Social Media Liaison (2021-2022)

Guadalupe Martinez, Marketing & Social Media Liaison (2021-2022)

Sarah Wilson, Blog Editor (2021-2022)

Stephanie Duran, Membership Coordinator (2021-2022)

Founding Members

Rosa Rodriguez, President (2020-2022)

Essy Barroso-Ramirez, Vice President (2020-2021)

Sophia LaMonica, Secretary/Treasurer (2020-2022)

Alejandra Q Reyes, Marketing & Social Media Liaison (2020-2021)

Petry Saenz, Alumni Liaison (2020-2021)

Alessandra Gonzalez, Webmaster (2020-2021)

Renee A. Torres, Webmaster (2020-2021)