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Staff Profiles

Associate Professor Ann Bishop (Ph.D. Syracuse) is co-director of the Community Informatics Initiative. Her research interests include the use and impact of computer-based information systems; social equity in access to information; and human-centered approaches to designing and evaluating information systems. She also serves as the associate editor for the Journal of Community Informatics. Recent publications include Inquiry-Based Learning in LIS Education: Enacting Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SOTL) (2006), Community Informatics in LIS: Research, Learning and Action Partnerships (2005) and Digital Library Use: Social Practice in Design and Evaluation (2003).

Professor Bertram (Chip) Bruce (Ph.D. Texas at Austin) is a professor in Library and Information Science. His research interests include community informatics; environments to support inquiry-based learning; collaboration in knowledge making; and new literacy practices. Recent publications include Libraries: Changing Information Space and Practice (2006) and Literacy in the Information Age: Inquiries Into Meaning Making with New Technologies (2003).

Sharon Irish (Ph.D. Northwestern) is the project coordinator for the Community Informatics Initiative. She is an historian with particular interest in community cultural development and urban spatial practices. She serves as an advisory editor for the journal, Technology and Culture, and has authored three books and numerous articles.

Lisa Bouillion Diaz (PhD, Northwestern) is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the College of Education and Extension Specialist in Technology and Youth Development. Her research interests include social equity and cultural relevance within distributed knowledge networks, the design of formal and nonformal learning environments, and youth-adult partnerships. Recent publications include Tapping Youth as Tech Leaders: A Discussion of Expertise, Learning & Mutual Benefit within Collaborative IT Initiatives (2007), and Creating Opportunities for Ubiquitous Learning with Geospatial Technologies: Negotiating Roles at the Borders of Youth and Adult Practice (2008).

Paul Adams (MA, Western Illinois University) has been director of Prairienet since 1999 and is currently Director of Community Networking. He spent 15 years working in community development and urban planning in Davenport, Iowa, and Champaign, Ill. Service has always been at the forefront of his personal and professional life. Mr. Adams considers Prairienet a community development initiative that uses digital tools, and is currently involved in an effort to extend this concept to developing countries, including Sao Tome and Malawi, Africa.

Karen Fletcher (MBA, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) is the Community Information Systems Coordinator for Prairienet. Ms. Fletcher came to Prairienet in 1994 when she created The Garden Gate, one of the first horticulture portal sites on the Web, and soon after became a staff member. She works with community-based organizations to help them make effective, sustainable and mission-focused use of information technologies.