I would like to formally announce the appointment of Diana Lopez as our new Deputy Director of Community Services for the Library! Diana has nearly 10 years in public library management and holds a Master of Library and Information Science degree from San Jose State University and a Bachelor of Arts in English from Cal Poly Pomona. We are expecting Diana to start on Monday, August 8, 2022.

Diana Lopez is originally from the Pasadena area of Southern California. For the past eight and a half years she managed the Marin City Library, a branch of the Marin County Free Library. Her position also included leading education equity initiatives, outreach, and managing the two school libraries in the Sausalito Marin City School District with support from an embedded team.  In addition to her public library experience, she ran a middle school library and worked in a high school library. Before moving to the Bay Area, she worked at Pasadena City College Library for eight years teaching information literacy and library services and coordinated outreach activities. She also served as a mentor for the College’s Puente Project. She is dedicated to promoting early literacy, closing equity and opportunity gaps for all, and serving families. She created and grew many community partnerships during her tenure at Marin City Library, including a collaboration with the Marin Housing Authority on the Book Rich Environment Initiative to help families build home libraries. The work that Diana and her team did in Marin City was highlighted by a Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) issue brief in 2018. Diana was named a Mover and Shaker, Advocate by Library Journal in 2019, and in 2022 she was honored with a Women’s History Month Community Service Award from the Marin City Community Services District. Diana is excited about joining the City of Richmond and looks forward to serving the community, getting to know the library team, and connecting with fellow City of Richmond employees.