Tracie D. Hall

Tracie D. Hall is the Executive Director of the American Library Association (ALA), the oldest and largest library association in the world, with approximately 50,000 members in academic, public, school, government, and special libraries. ALA has been a key partner of the Academy of American Poets on National Poetry Month for many decades. Before joining ALA, Hall directed the culture portfolio at the Joyce Foundation and served as Deputy Commissioner of the City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. Hall was appointed to serve on the City of Chicago’s Cultural Advisory Council at the beginning of 2020. Hall has also served in multiple roles in academia, including as assistant dean of Dominican University’s Graduate School of Library and Information Science in River Forest, IL. She has also worked at the Seattle Public Library, the New Haven Free Library, Queens Public Library and Hartford Free Public Library. Hall holds an MLIS degree from the University of Washington Information School, an MA in International and Area studies with an emphasis on Sub-Saharan Africa from Yale University, and a BA in Law and Society and a BA in Black Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She has also studied at the Universities of Nairobi and Dar es Salaam in East Africa. Hall is the recipient of the 2022 Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community from the National Book Foundation.