January Staff Spotlight: Michele Chan Santos
In our new TLA Staff Spotlight series, you will meet a member of our team each month. It’s part of our effort to make sure you know who the TLA staff is, so you’re more familiar with us when you need to contact us. We love to hear from members!
Name: Michele Chan Santos
Position: Marketing Specialist
Year started: 2019
What are your job responsibilities at TLA? I promote our association and our various events through social media and email campaigns. I’m the assistant editor (and frequently write for) the Texas Library Journal, our quarterly digital magazine. And I oversee all of our social media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. I’m also the staff liaison for the Texas Bluebonnet Award.
Tell us three things about yourself I’m a former newspaper journalist. My husband and I have two sons in college. Now that we are empty-nesters I spend a lot of time walking our elderly beagle, Brownie (she is the most stubborn member of the family!)
What’s a book, movie, album or podcast you enjoyed recently that you’d recommend and why? I’ve started reading a lot of YA and middle-grade fiction since beginning work at TLA. I recently read The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson after seeing so many librarians rave about it online. It was so much fun to read and try to solve! I also recently read The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen – such a beautiful book, on many levels — and the graphic novel version of Jason Reynolds’ Long Way Down, even more powerful with illustrations.
What’s your favorite place in Texas? Port Aransas. Over the years we have taken a lot of family vacations here and it’s always relaxing.
What is your favorite part about your job? I read a lot of fiction and now that I work at TLA, I’ve discovered graphic novels, novels in verse and started listening to more audiobooks. Librarians have the best book recommendations! I also love learning about all the ways librarians serve their schools and communities. Especially in this divided time, your work is more important than ever.