Transforming Teen Services

This grant is supported by funding provided by the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Library Services and Technology Act, through the Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.

 Sara White is the Youth Service Consultant at the Washington State Library. She believes deeply that libraries empower youth to have a voice, pursue their unique passions, and connect with their community and world. After graduating from the University of Washington's Information School in 2010 with her Master's in Library and Information Science, she spent over a decade serving kids, teens, and families as Youth Services Librarian at the Olympia Timberland Library. Sara has particular passions for storytime, teen-led programming, and professional development. Through extensive work with the UW's VIEWS2 research study and YALSA'S Transforming Teen Services project, she worked to make her own early learning and teen programming more equitable and intentional, and provide training for her peers to do the same. When not at work, Sara spends much of her time eating delicious food, watching scary movies, and wrangling her almost-three-year-old.

Nicole Rawlinson has seven years of informal education and public outreach experience in library and museum spaces. She has spent her career developing and supporting public outreach programs that drive equity through community voice, inspiring young people, and building up resilient future leaders. She leads with passion for creating relationships and connecting communities.

Through her several years of serving the public in museums and libraries, coupled with her life as a military spouse, she has advocated for deeper empathy toward the experiences of military families and expanded services to military connected youth and communities. This led her to her current position at Blue Star Families, working to increase equitable outcomes for the diverse makeup of the US Military and their families through informal education experiences. 

Nicole earned a Masters of Library and Information Science from Kent State University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cleveland State University.