Serving as Executive Director since 2015, Emily is inspired by the vision of sustaining a steady stream of the right books to the right kids at the right time. She has over 30 years of experience in nonprofit and education sectors, including leadership roles with Austin Creative Alliance, Texans for the Arts, ScriptWorks, VSA Arts of Texas, ZACH Theatre, The University of Texas at Austin, the International Centre for Women Playwrights, One Voice Central Texas and others. She co-founded and is serving as President of the National Book Access Association. An experience fundraiser securing over $24 million cumulatively through public and private donors, she also has spent time as a teacher, writer, and producer in the Edtech field, working on animated high school curriculum, online learning, and open educational resources (OER). Her commitment to making knowledge accessible is guided by a strong interest in social justice and a deep passion for language and stories. She’s also an award winning children’s playwright! As a lifelong learner with a BFA, MFA, and PhD, she loves poetry and enjoys gardening and space-watching with her family. Her favorite children’s book is The Golden Books of Poems for the Very Young by Louis Untermeyer, pictures by Joan Walsh Anglund, and also the Basher Science Series.
Emily Ball Cicchini, PhD, Executive Director, ext. 106