Brooks serves as President and CEO of the Urban Libraries Council, an outcomes-driven research and innovations network of more than 160 leading North American public libraries. Under his leadership, ULC champions the future of public libraries by engaging and uplifting members, focusing intently on equity and inclusion and leading on core policy issues that drive our communities forward. Throughout his career, Brooks has worked to advance urban policies that expand local democracy and provide funding for local programs related to economic opportunity, entrepreneurship, infrastructure and sustainability. Prior to joining ULC in July 2022, Brooks served as Senior Executive & Director, Center for City Solutions at the National League of Cities where he drove the organization’s research agenda and oversaw technical assistance efforts and leadership education. Brooks holds a Master of Public Administration from The George Washington University and a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Brian Bannon is The New York Public Library’s first-ever Merryl and James Tisch Director. Bannon is the chief librarian responsible for directing NYPL’s 88 neighborhood branches, as well as the Library’s educational strategy. Most recently, Bannon was commissioner and chief executive officer of the Chicago Public Library, serving as chief library officer for one of the largest urban public library systems in the world. Bannon came to NYPL in 2019 with 20 years of experience in developing and implementing educational programs and leading large-scale operations that maximize impact for all citizens and contribute to a culture of learning, reading, and community learning. Before his successful tenure in Chicago, Bannon was Chief Information Officer at the San Francisco Public Library, and worked at the Seattle Public Library and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Bannon received his bachelor of arts from Pacific Lutheran University and his master’s degree in library and information science from the University of Washington Information School.

Dr. Brandy McNeil, the New York Public Library’s Deputy Director of Branch Programs and Services, focuses on community needs through game-changing innovations to build successful adult education programs in the 89 branches under her stewardship across NYC. Building the highly successful TechConnect program, Dr. McNeil has established partnerships with Apple, Spotify, Google, & Microsoft, to name a few. Through her inspirational leadership, she has made it her mission to help underserved communities to ensure equitable access to technology, knowledge, and opportunity. Dr. McNeil is a 2017 Library Journal Mover & Shaker recipient and is also a contributing writer of the book titled Libraryland; It's All About The Story, published in 2020. Dr. McNeil holds a Doctorate in Business and an M.B.A. in Entrepreneurship. Previously, she worked for several Fortune 500 companies and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Public Library Association and was on the Black Caucus of the ALA Executive Board. In her spare time, she is an entrepreneur, consultant, and motivational speaker.

Chirag Shah is Professor of Information and Computer Science at University of Washington (UW) in Seattle. He is the Founding Director for InfoSeeking Lab and Founding Co-Director of Center for Responsibility in AI Systems & Experiences (RAISE). He works in the area of intelligent information access systems, focusing on task-oriented search, proactive recommendations, and conversational systems. He is also engaged in work with generative AI, specifically in information access and image classification problems. In addition to creating AI-driven information access systems that provide more personalized reactive and proactive recommendations, he is also focusing on making such systems transparent, fair, and free of biases. He is a Distinguished Member of Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) as well as Association for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T). He is the recipient of 2019 Microsoft BCS/IRSG Karen Spärck Jones Award. He has published nearly 200 peer-reviewed articles and authored seven books, including text books on data science and machine learning.