Arne Nixon Center Advocates (ANCA)
Board Members

Denise Sciandra graduated from California State University, Fresno, in 1975 with a degree in Early Childhood Education. She had the privilege of studying with Professor Arne Nixon, whose passion for children's literature was contagious. Once Dr. Nixon made clear that his books would be donated to establish a research center, she planned to be a part of that and she has been. She was the first volunteer for the Arne Nixon Center in 1999 and is the founding president of the Arne Nixon Center Advocates, the "Friends" group for the Center. She has been a member of the Beatrix Potter Society since 1999. She is currently a law office administrator.

Jessica Kaiser is a reading specialist based at Alexander Hamilton School in Fresno.

Jackie Sarkisian is a teacher in the Fresno Unified School District in Fresno, California.

Angelica Shirley Carpenter is the founding curator of the Arne Nixon Center. She is the author or co-author of four biographies for young people, Frances Hodgson Burnett, L. Frank Baum, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Lewis Carroll, and the editor of In the Garden: Essays in Honor of Frances Hodgson Burnett. She is President of the International Wizard of Oz Club and a board member of the Lewis Carroll Society of North America. Her website is www.angelicacarpenter.com.

Audry Hanson is a retired school librarian, receiving her MLS from San Jose State. In her positions as teacher librarian, she promoted reading and taught information skills at local area middle and high schools. She is a past member of the California Young Reader Medal Committee, a program that promotes the reading and enjoyment of children's and young adult literature. Audry is currently an adjunct librarian at Fresno City College where she continues to work with students of all ages with their reading and information needs.

Cynthia MacDonald is currently the community college librarian for the North Centers campuses in Fresno, Madera, Clovis, and Oakhurst. Prior to this position she managed Youth Services for the Fresno County Public Library system. She teaches children's and young adult literature courses, presents workshops on youth literature in a variety of venues, and serves as a consultant to California's Department of Education on their Recommended Literature Lists for PreK - 12th grades.

Dr. Laurel Ashlock used to help Professor Arne Nixon to put on author events when she was a teenager. She holds a master’s degree in Special Education and an Ed.D. in Educational Administration. She has worked as a teacher, staff development specialist, vice principal, program writer, principal, and administrator for curriculum and instruction, and has taught adults at Fresno State and in Durham, England. In 2006 she became Assistant Superintendant for the Central Unified School District in Fresno and in 2007 she became Chief Academic Officer for the district.

Ruth Kallenberg is a librarian, retired in 2003 from the staff at the Henry Madden Library where she served most recently as head of the Acquisitions Department. Her husband and son are also librarians, as was her mother. She was an English major in college and loves literature. She has done volunteer work with the Arne Nixon Center since her retirement and enjoys serving on the ANCA Board.

Kristene Scholefield is a fifth grade teacher at Tarpey Elementary School in Clovis, California. She has a bilingual/cross cultural credential and a Masters Degree in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). She loves reading all types of literature to her students in every subject she teaches.

Jo Ellen Misakian was awarded her Bachelor of Science degree from New York Institute of Technology and received her Library Media Teacher Services Credential and Master of Library Science degree from San Jose State University. The past president of the California School Library Association and past director of Region 7 of the American Association of School Librarians, Jo Ellen currently serves as the director of the library media credential/master’s program at Fresno Pacific University.

Judith Chibante Neal is professor and immediate past chair of the Department of Literacy and Early Education at Fresno State. She directed the Central California Reading Recovery Project for 16 years which provided early literacy services to over 30,000 struggling children in five western states. Judith has published articles in the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, Reading and Writing Quarterly, ERS Spectrum, and Literacy Teaching and Learning. A major aspect of her service to the field is serving as founding editor of the Journal of Reading Recovery; she continues service on three editorial boards. Currently she is helping to found the Reading Laboratory at Fresno State as an outreach service to the community.

Ellis Vance has a master’s degree in Education. He worked for 40 years as teacher and school administrator, and supervised library services to children in 38 school districts in Fresno County for a number of years before retiring. From 2004-2007 he was project director for the California Learning Resource Network. He has received numerous awards in the fields of education and reading. Currently he devotes most of his time to the United States Board on Books for Youth (USBBY) and the International Board on Books for Youth (IBBY), serving as IBBY Vice President from 2006-2008 and currently (2008-2010) as IBBY Treasurer.