Kate Davis (Chair)
Kate is an early-career historian and information professional working in the GLAMR sector. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (History), Kate enrolled in a Master of Information Studies (Librarianship) and found a job in library land! She now works as the Local History Librarian at Connected Libraries. Kate spends her days curating an archive collection and developing community history projects. She is passionate about balancing archival management with community engagement, promoting the value of local history through programs which empower diverse communities to contribute to the collection and preservation of the present and past within the City of Casey.
Kate is also studying for her honours, researching the representations of historical women in 21st-century popular media. She believes strongly in the value of lifelong learning, and is a passionate advocate for public engagement with all forms of history. In her free time, Kate enjoys spending her time with family, gardening, binging tv shows and trying out new hobbies with her partner.
Flax Soetjandra
Flax Soetjandra is a Client Services Librarian at NSW Parliamentary Library. She graduated with a Bachelor of Librarian and Corporate Information Management (Curtin ) in 2019. Flax has worked in public and special libraries. She is completing a Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies ( University of Queensland ), and a Certificate 4 in Training and Assessment ( International College of Teacher Training).
She is also participating as a mentor in the ALIA mentorship program 2023-2024
Flax enjoys yoga, ocean pool swimming, gallery hopping, and spending quality time walking with her senior dog Harry Hercules.
Towsif Ahmed
Towsif Ahmed is an Academic Librarian at Flinders University. Originally hailing from Bangladesh, he spent several years wandering across Malaysia and London for work and study before immigrating to Australia in 2016. Towsif holds a bachelor’s degree in business from Monash and a master’s degree in development studies from SOAS, University of London.
Towsif’s professional journey began in banking and international development, but in 2020, he found his calling in librarianship. At Flinders, he has contributed to various teams, including research and front-of-house library services. Currently, he supports academic staff in their learning and teaching activities as part of the education engagement team.
Outside of work, Towsif enjoys playing soccer, diving into high fantasy novels, and embarking on semi-wild adventures with friends and family.
Laura Verrelli
Laura works as a Library Officer at a public library in Melbourne and has previously worked in school libraries. She thrives on working with children and can often be found shelving Junior Fiction, enthusiastically running StoryTime or recommending novels for reluctant readers.
After graduating with an Honours Degree in Philosophy and Literature, Laura spent a fulfilling 16 years in senior marketing roles in membership and government organisations. Supporting Community teams, Laura focussed a lot of energy on literacy projects. After a covid related redundancy in 2020, Laura decided to scratch an itch she has had for years and apply for a library role. Shortly after starting as a library officer, she enrolled in the University of South Australia’s Graduate Diploma in Information Management from which she graduated recently.
Most of her free time is spent kid-wrangling and trying to read alongside a baby who mainly likes ripping books up.
Last updated 4 April 2024.