The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) has appointed Audrey Grace as director of Learning, leading the ARL Learning Network, effective March 1, 2023. Audrey previously served as the vice president of inclusive excellence and chief diversity officer and adjunct faculty in sociology at Regis College.
Audrey Grace is an experienced facilitator, connector, and project manager who has spent over 15 years serving strategically excluded populations. For the past 6 years, Audrey’s focus has been on building individual and organizational capacity around diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice (DEI) in higher education and nonprofit settings. She is an expert in leadership development and has extensive experience leading executive and senior professional development. Her interactive workshops are specifically tailored for each audience and address a range of topics designed to improve organizational culture, such as effective communication, inclusive leadership, affirmatively hiring for diversity, and navigating conflict. As a facilitator, Audrey knows that deep engagement with DEI is a lifelong and often uncomfortable practice. She works to make engagement easier, employing a variety of frameworks and approaches to call people into the learning experience.
As director of Learning at ARL, Audrey will be responsible for actively contributing to the design, delivery, and assessment of all of ARL’s Learning programs—including piloting the Intensive Learning Program in 2023; developing and implementing the ARL Institutes; providing tools and resources to advance the Association’s Learning and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) goals; and developing and managing a hybrid learning-delivery strategy. In formulating strategies and implementing actions in support of the Association’s priorities, Audrey will work closely with the chair and vice-chair of the ARL Learning Network Committee along with the Learning + DEI team senior director; the director, DEI; and the senior program manager, as well as other members of the Association community.
“Audrey brings a depth of experience and knowledge about leadership development that research library executives and their staff will benefit from as they navigate an evolving research and learning ecosystem and develop strong institutional and community partnerships. We’re thrilled she is joining us,” said Mary Lee Kennedy, ARL’s executive director.
Audrey holds a juris doctor from Northeastern University School of Law, a master of education in higher education administration from Northeastern University, and a bachelor of arts in political science and Spanish, with a minor in African and African American Studies, from the Fordham University at Lincoln Center Honors Program.
“I am impressed by ARL’s deep and unwavering commitment to lifelong learning, equity, and inclusion,” said Audrey. “I look forward to working with the ARL community on supporting the professional and leadership goals of research library executives and their staff.”
About the Association of Research Libraries
The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of research libraries in Canada and the US whose vision is to create a trusted, equitable, and inclusive research and learning ecosystem and prepare library leaders to advance this work in strategic partnership with member libraries and other organizations worldwide. ARL’s mission is to empower and advocate for research libraries and archives to shape, influence, and implement institutional, national, and international policy. ARL develops the next generation of leaders and enables strategic cooperation among partner institutions to benefit scholarship and society. ARL is on the web at ARL.org.
