Join the Palace Project team for an update on feature development, new content, and what to expect in 2024!
This event is open to the public and attendees need not be active library partners to register.
Instructors
Michael Atwood
Michael Atwood is the Senior Director of the Ebooks and Community Engagement division. Prior to being acquired by Lyrasis in 2021, he was the Chief Technology Officer and equity partner at BiblioLabs where he played a critical role in the creation of the BiblioBoard platform, which provides tools connecting libraries with their local communities. With roles both as a leader and individual contributor, Michael has developed software solutions to solve complex problems for over 20 years. He has worked closely with authors, publishers and libraries for the last decade providing technical and strategic solutions to help them stand out in our increasingly competitive digital world. Michael holds a Master’s degree in Computer Science and B.S. in Computer Information Systems from the College of Charleston. He is also a member of the College of Charleston Computer Science Industry Advisory Board.
James English
James English currently works as Director of Business Development for Ebooks and Community Engagement where he manages business development activities, partnership development, and new market entry. He also works across the company from time to time on community programs to help build scalable and sustainable services and drive innovation. Prior to Lyrasis James worked at The New York Public Library to lead creation of the Library Simplified Program and SimplyE platform. Before coming to work in the non-profit sector, James was Chief Product and Executive Officer of Telemetry Labs and prior to that the Chief Product and Operations Officer for Guardian Networks. As such, he lead development, engineering and application hosting operations for web and mobile product development as a service for providers specializing in machine-to-machine technology, application development, R&D and managed services for utilities, municipalities and fortune 500 companies. James holds a BSE in Systems Engineering from The United States Military Academy, West Point and an MBA from Goizuetta Business School, Emory University, Atlanta.
Valérie "KAV" Kavanagh
Valérie "KAV" Kavanagh, MBA, is our Ebooks & Community Engagement Outreach Manager for The Palace Project. KAV's primary role and responsibility is around creating awareness, promoting the Ebooks & Community Engagement divisions of Lyrasis, selling public libraries The Palace Project service, and creating a new and impactful conversation around how Lyrasis, leading The Palace Project, creates huge impacts for libraries desiring a patron digital experience that meets the patron where they are in their information and cultural discovery. KAV's professional experiences in enterprise sales and marketing are vast: in addition to her legal background and legal software sales experiences, she has been very successful selling and marketing Library software and solutions and is naturally mission-aligned in her aspirations, as she desires, through her direct efforts, to impact and affect others through creating access to knowledge and resources.
Micah May
Micah May is the Director of Ebook services with DPLA, driving the Palace Marketplace and related ebook work. He previously served as director of technology for Library For All, creating open children’s books and free reading apps for the developing world. Before joining DPLA, Micah was director of strategy and then senior director of business development and innovation at the New York Public Library, where he built capacity for innovation and led the creation of the NYPL Labs, Open Ebooks, the MyLibraryNYC partnership with NYC schools, and the open source SimplyE reading app, among others. Micah started his career as a consultant at McKinsey & Co. and has a B.A. from the University of Colorado, Boulder and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.
David Wilcox
David Wilcox is the Product Manager for The Palace Project. He has more than ten years’ experience managing open source projects, teams, and communities. David manages the Palace platform and apps throughout their lifecycle, gathering and prioritizing product and customer needs, and defining the future vision and product roadmap. He works closely with engineering, outreach, marketing, and the leadership team to ensure the long-term success of The Palace Project. Previously, David served as the Program Leader for Fedora at Lyrasis, where he worked together with the Technical Lead to oversee key project processes, and led international engagement through public speaking, developing and delivering workshops, facilitating user group meetings, and pursuing partnerships and grant funding. David holds a Master’s degree in Library and Information Studies from Dalhousie University and a Bachelor’s degree in philosophy from St. Thomas University.
