USBBY
  • About
    • USBBY
    • Patrons, Sponsors, and Partnerships
    • Twinning Partners
    • IBBY
  • Get Involved
    • Join / Renew Your Membership
    • Donate
    • Join Our Email List
    • Volunteer with a Committee
    • Become a State Ambassador
  • News & Events
    • News
    • 2025 IBBY Regional Conference
    • Co-Sponsored Sessions
  • Projects & Publications
    • Twinning Updates
    • Bridges Newsletter
    • Bridges to Understanding Book Series
    • International Children's Book Day
    • Jella Lepman Autobiography
  • Awards & Lists
    • Oustanding International Books List (OIB) >
      • 2026 OIB List
      • 2025 OIB List
      • 2024 OIB List
      • 2023 OIB List
      • 2022 OIB List
      • 2021 OIB List
      • 2020 OIB List
      • 2019 OIB List
    • Bridge to Understanding Award
    • IBBY Hans Christian Andersen Award
    • Alida Cutts Lifetime Membership Award
    • Outstanding Books for Young People with Disabilities List
The purpose of the USBBY State Ambassadors Program is to promote the use of literature to build international understanding and to spread the word about USBBY as a professional organization.
We hope to involve more of our current members in activities related to our mission within their states as well as gain new members. These activities might include distributing information on state listservs, creating displays, presenting sessions at local conferences, organizing book discussion groups, or promoting International Children's Book Day.
​
Currently, the following states have ambassadors:
Picture


  • Alabama:  Jamie Naidoo and Wendy Steadman Stephens 
  • California: Joan Schoettler 
  • Colorado:  Julie Torres
  • Connecticut:  Yvonne de St. Croix
  • Georgia:  Danilo Baylen and Petros Panaou 
  • Idaho:  Margaret Vaughn
  • Illinois:  Susan Corapi, Jen Cullerton Johnson, and Linda Wessels
  • Iowa:  Taraneh Matloob Haghanikar 
  • Kentucky:  Diana Porter 
  • Maryland: Shanetia Clark and Patricia Dean 
  • Massachusetts:  Bindy Fleischman 
  • New Hampshire:  Tammi Truax
  • New Mexico:  Yoo Kyung Sung 
  • New Jersey: Jackie Garcia-Morales and Valerie L. Williams-Sanchez
  • New York: Susan Polos and Catherine Sorenson
  • North Carolina:  Elizabeth Swaggerty
  • Ohio: Robin Gibson 
  • Oklahoma:  Sue Christian Parsons 
  • South Carolina:  Yang Wang 
  • Texas:  Ragina Shearer, Denise Davila and Marion Rocco 
  • Utah:  Lauren Liang 
  • Virginia: Doris Gebel 
  • West Virginia:  Isaac Willis Larison 
  • Wisconsin:  Marilyn Ward 
Coordinators: Evie Freeman ([email protected]) and Kathy Short ([email protected])

​If you would like to learn more about becoming a state ambassador,
​contact Evie Freeman at [email protected] or Kathy Short at [email protected].
The United States Board on Books for Young People

The U.S. National Section of International Board on Books for Young People
​
Building Bridges Through Children's and Young Adult Books
Contact Us

USBBY Secretariat
​Center for Teaching through Children´s Books
National Louis University
1000 Capitol Drive
Wheeling, IL 60090
​USA


Junko Yokota, Executive Director

[email protected]

Connect With Us

​© COPYRIGHT 2026.
​ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • About
    • USBBY
    • Patrons, Sponsors, and Partnerships
    • Twinning Partners
    • IBBY
  • Get Involved
    • Join / Renew Your Membership
    • Donate
    • Join Our Email List
    • Volunteer with a Committee
    • Become a State Ambassador
  • News & Events
    • News
    • 2025 IBBY Regional Conference
    • Co-Sponsored Sessions
  • Projects & Publications
    • Twinning Updates
    • Bridges Newsletter
    • Bridges to Understanding Book Series
    • International Children's Book Day
    • Jella Lepman Autobiography
  • Awards & Lists
    • Oustanding International Books List (OIB) >
      • 2026 OIB List
      • 2025 OIB List
      • 2024 OIB List
      • 2023 OIB List
      • 2022 OIB List
      • 2021 OIB List
      • 2020 OIB List
      • 2019 OIB List
    • Bridge to Understanding Award
    • IBBY Hans Christian Andersen Award
    • Alida Cutts Lifetime Membership Award
    • Outstanding Books for Young People with Disabilities List