Elyse Wasch, center, with Karen Mellor and Ed Garcia

Penn Hill Group congratulates Vice President Elyse Wasch for receiving two honors stemming from her work on library policy: a tribute resolution from the American Library Association Committee on Legislation and being named the 2022 Library Champion by the Rhode Island Library Association.

The tribute resolution recognized her prior work in the Office of Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) with library advocates from the American Library Association (ALA) and Chief Officers of State Library Agencies (COSLA). Among the successful efforts noted in the resolution that Wasch helped drive to success under the leadership of Senator Reed was her work in securing funding in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) for libraries and her contributions in crafting the 2018 reauthorization of the Museum and Library Services Act.

Wasch was also named the 2022 Library Champion by the Rhode Island Library Association (RILA). According to the Rhode Island Library Association, the award “is conferred on an intermittent basis to an individual who most successfully advances the cause of libraries on a local, regional, or statewide basis through work to support libraries and library awareness.” Wasch was nominated for the award by Karen Mellor, the Chief of Library Services in the State of Rhode Island’s Office of Library and Information Services, and Edward Garcia, the Library Director of the Cranston, Rhode Island Public Library. In nominating Wasch, both noted her recent departure from the Office of Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), where “she worked tirelessly behind the scenes as an advocate for libraries.” Echoing the praise of ALA, the two nominators highlighted Wasch’s relentless dedication to advocacy on behalf of libraries by detailing her work with Senator Reed to increase funding for the Library Services and Technology Act, reauthorize the Museum and Library Services Act, and secure funding for libraries in two COVID-19 relief packages, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The funding in those packages totaled more than $2.3 million to help Rhode Island’s libraries recover from the pandemic.

Garcia and Mellor also highlighted Wasch’s role in advancing library legislation outside of the appropriations context, noting that she, “helped ensure libraries were included in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and that school libraries were included in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).”

Please join us in congratulating Elyse on her receipt of these two honors!