The Librarians - Panelists

Kim A. Snyder is an Academy Award nominee and Peabody Award-winning Director / Producer, whose latest feature, "The Librarians," premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and will release globally in late 2025. Her Oscar-nominated short, Death By Numbers," co-created with gun-violence survivor Sam Fuentes, has won multiple awards. Snyder’s acclaimed films include "Us Kids" (Sundance 2020), "Lessons from a School Shooting," (Netflix Original), and "Newtown" (Sundance 2016, Peabody Award, PBS). Her earlier work includes "Welcome to Shelbyville" (PBS) and "I Remember Me" (Zeitgeist Films). She also associate-produced the Oscar-winning short "Trevor," which spawned The Trevor Project. Snyder holds a Master’s Degree in International Affairs from Johns Hopkins SAIS and lives in New York City.

Suzette Baker is the former head librarian of the Kingsland Library Branch of the Llano County Library System who was terminated for not censoring books and speaking out against the hostile take over of the library. With 12+ years of volunteer and employment in a library, she has had the joy of watching books change lives and build strong communities and people. As an Army veteran, her belief in the protection of the Constitution is paramount to protecting the freedom we all deserve. She currently still resides in Llano county while pursuing legal action against the County.

Becky Calzada is a District Library Coordinator in Leander, Texas and is a co-founding member of Texas #FReadom Fighters, a grass-roots-led group of librarians launched back in October of 2021 in support of intellectual freedom and to highlight the positive work of school librarians. She is a member of the ALA Policy Corp and actively participates on the Proactive Advocacy on Book Banning cadre and is a past member of the ALA Intellectual Freedom Committee. She is the recipient of several intellectual freedom awards and was honored by People Magazine in their 2023 Women Changing the World portfolio. She is the 24/25 American Association of School Librarians President and is the co-author of "Prepared Libraries, Empowered Teams: A Workbook for Navigating Intellectual Freedom Challenges Together," which was published by ALA Editions in June 2024.

Maria Cuomo Cole's is a Peabody and Emmy Award-winning producer with credits that include the Oscar-Nominated "Death By Numbers" (2024, Montclair - Best Short Doc), "Us Kids" (Sundance 2020), "Lessons from A School Shooting…" (Netflix), "Newtown" (Sundance 2016) and Oscar-shortlisted "Living for 32" (2010), "EP: The Hunting Ground" (2015), and the Oscar-nominated "The Invisible War" (2014).

Laney Hawes is the Co-Founder of the Texas Freedom to Read Project, a passionate advocate for intellectual freedom, mother of four Texas public school students, and an adventurous storyteller. Her journey into fighting censorship began in 2021 when dozens of books were removed from her children's school libraries, and far-right PACs took control of her local school board. As a member of a book challenge committee, she worked to save "The Diary of Anne Frank: The Graphic Novel Adaptation," uncovering the intricacies of a coordinated campaign to ban books and undermine librarians. Now, she is dedicated to empowering parents and supporting librarians across Texas in defending the freedom to read.

Martha Hickson recently retired after 20 years as a high school librarian. Her work has been featured in School Library Journal, Booklist, and CNN Online. Her defense of intellectual freedom has been recognized with awards from the NJ Association of School Librarians, the NJ Library Association, the American Association of School Librarians, and the National Council of Teachers of English. In 2022, the National Coalition Against Censorship presented her with the Judith Krug Outstanding Librarian Award. And the American Library Association awarded her with the Lemony Snicket Prize for Noble Librarians Faced with Adversity in recognition of her "energy and bravery in the face of ... persistent and ongoing hostility," while advocating for students' First Amendment right to read.

Amanda Jones is a 24 year teacher-librarian and grassroots organizer in Louisiana on the frontlines fighting against censorship in libraries. She is the 2021 Librarian of the Year as presented by School Library Journal , a 2021 Library Journal Mover and Shaker, and the 2020 Louisiana School Librarian of the Year.  She is the Louisiana Chapter Councilor, and on the Intellectual Freedom Committee, for the American Library Association. She has won numerous intellectual freedom awards, is a founding member of Louisiana Citizens Against Censorship, and is the author of  “That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America."

Marie Masferrer is a library media specialist in Tampa, Florida. She just completed her 28th year in public schools, 16 years in the school library. She believes everyone deserves to see themselves in a book, and librarians are on the front lines to defend that right.

Julie Miller is a library manager in Jacksonville, Florida. As a high school librarian in Clay County, she championed students’ rights to access diverse literature, despite intense opposition from right-wing extremists. The harassment and discrimination she faced ultimately led to her removal from her position. In 2024, her testimonial about the experience was published in "Trouble in Censorville: The Far Right’s Assault on Public Education and the Teachers Who Are Fighting Back." Throughout her career, she has earned recognition through awards and grants, held leadership roles in state and national library organizations, and even appeared on "The Daily Show." A graduate of Florida State University, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons, traveling, watching movies, and playing trivia.

Janique L. Robillard is an independent documentary filmmaker and freelance producer. Currently, she is producing two films with Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Kim A. Snyder – "Death by Numbers," which was nominated for the 2025 Academy Awards: Best Documentary Short Film, and "The Librarians" (PBS/Independent Lens) which made its world premiere at 2025 Sundance Film Festival. She was an Associate Producer for Jeremiah Zagar’s "The Fix" docu-series (Roku, 2022), and has developed numerous documentary films and series for acclaimed directors including Lina Plioplyte and clients like Netflix. Her freelance work also includes live action and animated content, broadcast commercials for Nike, Google, and other major brands and music videos. Janique actively seeks opportunities to elevate marginalized communities in film, evidenced in her short film, "1000 Times" (a women’s MMA documentary) and on-going collaboration with Free Body Project, including their short "From There to Here." Janique earned her B.S. from S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and her M.F.A at Maryland Institute College of Art.

Audrey Wilson-Youngblood is an educator with over two decades of experience in K-12 and higher education. Throughout her career as a teacher, librarian, and leader,  she’s been an advocate for student writers and readers, promoting literacy and the free and open exchange of ideas in library spaces.  With experience in both school and academic libraries,  Audrey is pursuing her PhD in Information Science with the goal of becoming a library educator to prepare and mentor the next generation of librarians.