Link to FAQ for Leadership Institute applicants.

The Leadership Institute is a flagship program of NCLA, a year-long adventure with a mission to create opportunities for learning and skill building in leadership and mentoring. The program kicks off in September 2026 with a four-day residential experience in Black Mountain, North Carolina, and wraps up at the NCLA Biennial Conference in October 2027. In between these events, participants work on an individual project of their choosing that will benefit their home library and are guided with formal mentors affiliated with the Institute. A mid-year in-person meeting in April 2027 provides a halfway mark to help participants keep up the momentum in the program and their projects.

This year’s Institute will be held September 28 - October 1, 2026 at the YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly in Black Mountain, NC.

If you have questions, please email leadership@nclaonline.org. 

The NCLA Leadership Institute Planning Committee is excited to announce our 2026 cohort. The incoming class has already shown themselves to be a thoughtful and dedicated group of professionals. 

• Liz Ayscue, Wake County Public Libraries

• Tracy Bagnato, Wake County Public Libraries

• Emily Cheney, Franklin County Public Library

• Breanne Crumpton, Appalachian State University

• Kelley Cunningham, Cabarrus County Public Library

• Elizabeth Ellis, Wake Forest University

• Kelli Goodwin, Iredell County Public Library

• Phoebe Greene, University of North Carolina School of the Arts

• Melissa Haderlie, Brunswick County Library System

• Joan Hill, Winston Salem State University

• Hannah Holmes, Campbell University

• Candace Jacobs, University of North Carolina at Greensboro

• Mardia Jacobs, Hocutt-Ellington Memorial Library 

• Rachel Koury, Harnett County Public Library System

• Lauren Ksa, High Point University 

• Harris Mason, Randolph County Public Libraries

• Tiffany Messer-Bass, Lenoir-Rhyne University

• Sarah Morris, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• Kit O'Hern, Western Carolina University

• Shelley Orr, Catawba County Library System

• Caroline Peterson, Durham County Library

• Sam Sfirri, Wake Forest University

• Jennifer Smith, Alamance Community College

• Allie Snyder, Polk County Public Libraries

• Anna Monroe-Stover, Onslow County Public Library

• Joselyn Williams, Harnett County Public Libraries

We would also like to recognize this year’s mentors. They are graduates of the 2024 class, and will be guiding our participants throughout both the institute and the following year before going on to become the 2028 Leadership Institute Planning Committee.

• Jordan Conner, Wake County Public Libraries

• Joseph Davis, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library

• Michael Harris, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

• Sophie Hollis, NC LIVE

• Amy Weber, Iredell County Public Library

• Ciera Williams, Durham County Library

Congratulations to all of you! We look forward to welcoming you at the retreat this fall. 

The 2026 Leadership Institute Planning Committee

• Rachel Olsen, Co-Chair

• Melissa Kammerer, Co-Chair

• Jen Hanft

• Amanda Cain

• Tiffany Henry

• Michelle Lawrence

• Laurie Lyda

• Amy Mason

• Beth Thompson

If you have questions, please email leadership [at] nclaonline.org.