Our Staff
Loretta Parham, Interim Executive Director
Email: Lparham@hbculibraries.org
Office: 678.210.5801 ext. 101
Loretta Parham, co-founder and inaugural Chair of the HBCU Library Alliance, currently serves as its interim Executive Director. For nineteen years, she was the CEO and Director of the Atlanta University Center Woodruff Library, an independent academic library for the shared benefit of four HBCUs (historically black colleges and universities): Morehouse College, Spelman College, the Interdenominational Theological Center, and Clark Atlanta University before retiring in August 2024. Prior positions include University Library Director at Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia, and Deputy Director of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She was District Chief of 20 urban branch libraries for the Chicago Public Library (CPL), and held other administrative and public service positions at CPL and the City Colleges of Chicago.
In 2016 Ms. Parham was recognized as Academic Research Librarian of the year by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL).
Ms. Parham held a variety of senior leadership positions in professional organizations, including Harvard University Visiting Committee, HBCU Digital Library TRUST Project, Educopia Board, Chair/ALA Accreditation Committee, ACRL Director-At-Large, OCLC Board of Directors, Georgia Humanities Council, the University of Michigan Advisory Board for the School of Information and Library Services, Wayne State University School of Library &Information Science Advisory Board, the Heritage Preservation/Saving Special Collections Advisory Committee, faculty member for the EDUCAUSE Management Institute, and more.
Ms. Parham earned a master's degree in Library Science from the University of Michigan and a bachelor's degree in Communications from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale.
LaTasha Denard, Executive Assistant
Email: Ldenard@hbculibraries.org
Phone: 678.210.5801 ext. 102
Ms. Denard has more than 20 years of secretarial experience. Her duties at the HBCU Library Alliance include providing comprehensive support in a range of strategic areas for the Alliance. She serves as the primary point of contact for the Executive Director, a liaison to the Board of Directors and communications manager for internal and external information delivery to members of the Alliance.
Prior to assuming this role, Ms. Denard served as the Senior Administrative Secretary at the Asa H. Gordon Library at Savannah State University. She has also worked with the University of Georgia’s Strong African American Families Project as a program facilitator and as a partnership assistant with the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau. Before that, she was the Executive Assistant to the President/CEO of the Center for Education, Networking, Training and Empowerment Resources, Inc. (C.E.N.T.ER., Inc.), a non-profit organization.
Her education includes a Bachelor of Business Administration (Savannah State University, Summa Cum Laude); Associate of Applied Science in Teacher Education (formerly Waycross College, now South Georgia State College), and she is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma (a premier business honor society).
Shaneé Yvette Willis, Program Manager
Email: Swillis@hbculibraries.org
Phone: 678.210.5801 ext. 103
Mrs. Willis has over a decade of experience in the library and archival field. As Program Manager, she is responsible for developing program objectives and evaluation systems that align with the HBCU Library Alliance's mission and vision. She facilitates collaboration among member institutions, organizing professional development opportunities, and advocating for increased accessibility to information resources that support student success and research.
Prior to assuming this role, Mrs. Willis served as the Director of Community Engagement for the Digital Public Library of America supporting a national network of over 5,000 contributing cultural heritage organizations to advance the preservation, dissemination, and use of shared digital heritage. She also served as the University Archivist and Assistant Professor at the University of West Georgia, where she led the collection of campus records and a community archives project with local churches. Her exceptional contributions were recognized when she was named Faculty Member of the Year in 2018.
Mrs. Willis has been an active leader within the archival community and continues to contribute significantly to the professional growth of libraries and archives professionals.