The topic of our November 14th Diversity Dialogue was Community Centered Care. As community needs change, individuals and institutions often struggle to adjust. This dialogue highlighted the work of the Allen County Public Library and how they have adjusted to our community’s ever-changing needs. Everyone joined into the conversation as we sat around tables and thought through how we already engage and what new possibilities we could create together. Guest Speakers included Beth Boatright, Curt Witcher, and Keiara Carr. Learn more about our speakers below and view the PowerPoint Presentation here. Find photos of the event on our Facebook page.
Meet our Guest Speakers:
Beth Boatright
Director of Community Partnerships and Programs, Allen County Public Library
Beth is passionate about connecting people to each other and to resources that can help them thrive.
Curt Witcher
Director of Special Collections, Allen County Public Library
Curt manages the widely acclaimed Genealogy Center as well as the Rolland Center for Lincoln Research. He is a former president of both the Federation of Genealogical Societies and the National Genealogical Society, and the founding president of the Indiana Genealogical Society. Curt currently serves on the Indiana State Historical Records Advisory Board, the Indiana Historical Society’s publications committee, and the executive committee of the Friends of the Lincoln Collection of Indiana’s Board of Directors. He also serves on the Northeast Indiana Jewish Genealogy Society board of directors as well as an advisor for the African American Genealogical Society of Fort Wayne.
Curt is distinguished as a fellow of both the Indiana Genealogical Society and the Utah Genealogical Association. Over the decades he led collaborative national efforts to preserve and make more accessible historical data. For those efforts he has received the Federation of Genealogical Societies' Rabbi Malcolm H. Stern Humanitarian Award and the National Genealogical Society’s P. William Filby Award for outstanding, life-time contributions to genealogical librarianship. Curt’s passion for finding families’ stories and his belief in the power of those stories to change lives has been recognized by numerous organizations. He is the recipient of the Indiana Historical Society’s 2019 Eli Lilly Lifetime Achievement Award for extraordinary contributions to the field of history, the 2024 “I Love My Librarian Award” from the American Library Association for outstanding public service, and a 2024 Distinguished Hoosier Award from the Governor of the State of Indiana.
Keiara Carr
Director of Mission Advancement, Amani Family Services
Keiara is a marketing and community engagement professional committed to fostering inclusive communities. For three years, she has led impactful marketing, fundraising, and communication initiatives for Amani Family Services. She has also successfully developed awareness campaigns and spearheaded community-building projects like the Welcoming Fort Wayne Plan. An award-winning journalist and recognized fundraiser, she holds a B.A. in Journalism from Indiana University and has been honored by the Northeast Indiana Association of Fundraising Professionals as an Outstanding Fundraiser.
Find recaps of past Diversity Dialogue events on our website.