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Meet the Library Training Team

Meet your librarian partners who provide ongoing support on your SAGE digital resources to maximize usage, facilitate hands-on discovery, and build essential knowledge and skills tailored to your institution’s specific needs. Be assured of our commitment to support the introduction and application of your SAGE resources from implementation to beyond. Email us to connect, submit questions, coordinate training instruction, or request additional resource support at engagement@sagepub.com, or click here to learn more about our offerings.

Ana Guimaraes

Ana Guimaraes, MSLIS
Library Engagement Manager

Ana is a librarian with over 15 years of public services and collection development experience in academic libraries, including public archives and university special collections. She has a Master of Science in Library and Information Science (MSLIS) from Syracuse University and a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre/English from the State University of New York at Geneseo. She is passionate about staff training and development, library collections, and project management.

Emily Smith

Emily Smith, MSLS
Library Engagement Manager

Emily Smith is a dedicated librarian with over a decade of experience in libraries in the US as well as abroad. Her commitment to considering international and diverse perspectives is rooted in her experience working as a librarian in both the Netherlands and Kuwait. As a Library Relations Manager with SAGE, she delivers innovative instruction on SAGE resources to support librarians, faculty, and researchers. Emily is a relationship builder, passionate about creating connections between people and content. Emily earned her BA in History from Michigan State University, an MA in Historical Administration from Eastern Illinois University, and her MSLS from Clarion University. In her free time, Emily enjoys running, reading, and taking her dog on walks around Chicago.

Kaneisha Gaston Arhin

Kaneisha Gaston Arhin
Library Engagement Manager

Kaneisha Gaston is a teaching librarian at heart. Prior to joining SAGE in 2022, she designed compelling lessons and library trainings integrating critical information literacy and anti-racist teaching pedagogy as an instruction and outreach librarian. As a Library Engagement Manager at SAGE, she creates both captivating and culturally sustaining trainings that align SAGE resources with institutional missions and users’ inquiries. Kaneisha earned her BA in English and Africana Studies from Davidson College, and MA in English from UNC Charlotte, and her MLIS from North Carolina Central University. Carolina born and bred, Kaneisha uses her free time to read Africana literature and folklore, browse “booktok”, and connect with family on the front porch.

Jessica Gradeci

Jessica Gradeci
Senior Library Engagement Specialist

Jessica joined SAGE in 2011 and works with our librarian partners to better understand how to utilize and integrate SAGE databases in their institutions. Her academic experience in the humanities and literature offers a valuable perspective in using SAGE databases from a multidisciplinary approach. She also enjoys working with faculty and students and showing them how SAGE resources can be a valuable tool in their work and research. Jessica holds a BA in Writing and Rhetoric from Pepperdine University and an MA in Humanities from Mount Saint Mary’s University. A native and resident of California, she enjoys life with her husband and two kids, cooking, hiking, and scoping out new parks for the kiddos to explore.

Rhonda Contreras

Rhonda Contreras, MLIS
Associate Director, Engagement

Rhonda is a librarian with experience leading both public and academic libraries. Her passion for developing engaging instruction emerged while earning a BA in Secondary Education from the University of Illinois at Chicago and an MLIS from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. As the former Director of Library and Learning Services at American InterContinental University, Rhonda managed co-curricular programs and developed an innovative curriculum with a focus on First-Year Experience courses. A founding member of the Library Relations and Faculty Outreach team since joining SAGE in 2015, she leverages her wealth of knowledge in adult and experiential learning to enable a team that delivers dynamic instruction. She lives in Illinois with her husband and two daughters, with whom she loves going on adventures – both real and imaginary.