Jean Darnell has just accepted the new School District of Philadelphia position as the Director of Library Science. For the past three years, she has been a middle school librarian in the Pflugerville Independent School District, Texas, a freelance instructional designer, and blogger at https://www.awakenlibrarian.com/. She previously was a school librarian at St. Pius High School, HoustonIndependent School District and Fort Bend Independent School District. She is also a frequent speaker at various library events, often presenting about AI in education.
Jean advocates for students via her blog, AwakenLibrarian.com. With over 325K views, she shares lessons, anecdotal stories, professional development & curriculum aimed at improving the role of librarians and the communities they serve. She has an in-depth knowledge of technology that began in 2001 and continues to date with Artificial Generative Intelligence (AGI). Additionally, she's a 2024 Pulitzer Center Teacher Fellow in the field of Artificial Intelligence. Jean is also the past-chair of the Texas Library Association (TLA) Intellectual Freedom Committee and has served on a variety of national and local committees. You may find her as a keynote speaker, panelist or subject matter expert on everything tied to education, librarianship and technology.
Jean's a graduate of Baylor University (undergrad) & the University of Houston-Clear Lake (grad school). She’s worked in conjunction with the Library Journal, Texas Computer Education Association (TCEA), the Texas Library Association (TLA), the American Library Association (ALA), the National Council of African-American Librarians (NCAAL), the Joint Council of Librarians of Color (JCLC), the National Association of Media Literacy for Educators (NAMLE) and most recently an appearance on the Dr. Phil show titled “AI and the Future of Education.” In her leisure time, she enjoys cooking, gardening, inspirational stories, traveling, anything related to Interview With a Vampire (book & show) and spending time with her sons.
