I am nominating Denise Lopez for a volunteer award because of her commitment to strengthening the library’s services for teens and for her dedication to the Summer Reading program.
Denise began volunteering for the library as a Summer Reading Volunteer in 2011. In subsequent years, Denise gained the opportunity to serve as the Summer Reading Leader. As the Leader, Denise adeptly worked with library staff to train new volunteers, coordinated volunteer schedules, and planned the end of the summer party. Additionally, Denise used her Spanish language skills to assist patrons in Spanish, which helped the library deepen the connection with the Latino community.
Denise is also a leader of the library’s teen advisory group, Teen Council. Denise has served as the President of Teen Council for the past three years and as a member for five years. As the President, Denise leads meetings, is a mentor to her peers, and coordinates teen led programming. As a result of Denise’s leadership, Teen Council expanded from just three members several years ago to a bustling group of 16 members this year.
Denise is truly a leader among her peers and a unique asset to our community. She is graduating high school this year and moving on to college. Multnomah County Library has been very lucky to have Denise as a volunteer and we will miss her when she goes.
- nominated by Annie Lewis/Multnomah County Library
