OC Reforma’s Mission:
Improve library and information services for Southern California’s Latino and Spanish-speaking Communities.
We are the Orange County Chapter of REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking. The association awards several scholarships per year to graduate library school students who are committed to working with Latino and Spanish-speaking communities.
Other activities that benefit the membership include: the publication of the REFORMA newsletter and facilitation of the REFORMANET listserv, and programs and workshops with a focus on serving the Spanish-speaking and Latino communities. Nationally, REFORMA is committed to the improvement of the full spectrum of library and information services for the more than 40 million Spanish-speaking and Latino people in the U.S.
2024-2026 Officers
Barbara Miller | President 2024-2026
Research Collection Librarian – California State University Fullerton
bmiller@fullerton.edu
Barbara Miller is the Zúñiga Research Collection Librarian at the Pollak Library at Cal State Fullerton. She also serves as library liaison to the Latinx Community Resource Center, and the departments of Chicana & Chicano Studies, Anthropology, Latin American Studies, Linguistics, and Modern Languages. As a longtime academic library employee, students inspired her to become a librarian. Serving the needs of Chicane/Latine students in our library renews her commitment to library service every day.
Ashley Yñiguez| Vice President/ President-Elect, 2024-2026
Ashyniguez@gmail.com
Ashley Yniguez, our Vice President, is currently working as a Research Assistant on the CSU Chancellor’s Office Project at the Lawrence de Graaf Center for Oral and Public History at California State University, Fullerton. She was inspired to pursue librarianship by her mentor Barbara Miller while working as a student assistant at the Zúñiga Research Collection at CSUF. Ashley was also inspired to pursue librarianship by her involvement on the Graduate Institute for Mexican American Library Science Oral History Project at the ZRC. While working on the oral history project she was inspired by the librarian activists who came before her such as Alfredo Zúñiga, members of CRMAL, early REFORMA, and those involved with the Graduate Institute for Mexican American Library Science.
Natalie Marquez | Treasurer, 2024-2026
marquezn@uci.edu
Natalie Marquez is a Reference Library Assistant at UCI Libraries and has worked at Langson Library for over 5 years. A UCI alumna who graduated in 2009 with B.A. degrees in History and Classical Civilization, she is currently taking classes towards a Master of Library and Information Services degree, through San Jose State University. Her research interests include Egyptology, ancient mythology, and information literacy
Ana Balen | Secretary, 2024-2026
albalder26@gmail.com
Ana Balen is a Library Assistant at the Anaheim Public Library. Originally from Tijuana and San Diego, Ana has worked in Library Children’s Services throughout Orange County since 2017. As a lifelong early literacy advocate, Ana seeks to empower children to find their voices through literacy and to help develop literacy environments that are equitable and representative of their communities. Ana received her Bachelor’s in Psychology from UCSD, is currently pursuing her MLIS at San José State University, and was awarded the ALA Spectrum Scholarship in 2024. In her future professional and personal endeavors, Ana plans to continue giving back and advocating for the Latinx/Spanish-speaking community.
Marvin Flores | Communications Officer, 2024-2026
marvinflores01211@gmail.com
Marvin Flores is the Assistant Director, Programs at the Associated Students Inc. at Long Beach State University and a Library Assistant for the City of Long Beach Library. Originally from Anaheim, CA, Marvin has worked in various roles to support the community. After earning his Bachelor’s in History from Long Beach State University, he began his Master’s in Library and Informational Science after he took a course at San Jose State University and saw the work librarians could do globally. Marvin is a lifelong learner and strives to see how he can best support the communities he works with.