Biographical Sketch of Dale Cousins, NCLA Leadership Institute Mentor

Dale Cousins has been employed by Wake County Public Libraries since 1972 when she was a temporary “summer” employee in the children’s department of the main library in downtown Raleigh. Over the years, she has worked in many of the Wake County library branches as a Library Assistant, Information and Referral Specialist, Reference Librarian, and Assistant Branch Manager. She was the Manager of the Cary Library in the mid-1980’s, Adult Services Coordinator for the system in the early 1990’s and has been the Regional Library Supervisor at the Cameron Village Regional Library since 1993. She has been involved with several building/renovation projects in Wake County’s Public Libraries and serves on the Director’s Leadership Team. She was awarded Wake County Employee of the Year in 1999.

She is a native of Wake County where she grew up on a family tobacco farm. She was educated at NC State University (BA-English/Education) and NC Central University (MLS). She has completed the County and Municipal Management Class as well as the Developmental Supervision coursework at the School of Government, UNC-CH. She has completed the Facilitative Leadership Coursework with that same institution and the Applied Leadership Class with Wake County Government.

She has been active in NCLA, serving on the Executive Board in several capacities over the years. Currently she is Chair of the Operations Committee and sits on the NCLA Finance Committee. She is a member of both ALA and PLA. In the community, she serves as Secretary for the Literacy Council of Wake County, Secretary for the Cameron Village Merchants Association, and Secretary for Raleigh Hall of Fame Executive Board. She is also the Allocations Chair for the Wake County Smart Start Board and is a member of the Raleigh Garden Club.