2027 Virginia Library Association Election Results

The results of the Virginia Library Association election are in! The winners are listed below. Thank you to all who ran and to all who voted.

The following candidates will begin their terms on October 20, 2026 following the close of the Virginia Library Association Annual Conference in Norfolk, Virginia.

VP/President Elect

VP/President Elect: Kendra Hawkins

Biography

Kendra Hawkins is the Coordinator of Library Services at Tidewater Community College’s Portsmouth Campus Library, where she leads budgeting, acquisitions, and student‑focused library services. She has worked in academic, public, and federal libraries, including roles with the Department of the Army and public libraries in Chesapeake and Suffolk. Kendra currently chairs the Virginia Tidewater Consortium Collections Committee and has served on the 2024 Virginia Library Leadership Academy task force. She is an active VLA member committed to collaboration, equity, intellectual freedom, and strengthening libraries across the Commonwealth. 

An avid reader and science fiction fan, Kendra finds solace in exploring new galaxies and going on interstellar adventures through her frequent Amazon book purchases and favorite TV series.

Secretary

Secretary: Kristin Evans

Biography 

Kristin Noell Evans is the Head of Adult Services at the Massanutten Regional Library in Harrisonburg. She started working at her local public library at the age of 14; over 25 years later, she has only had one non-library job, and it was still at an information desk! She has worked as a public library page, in two different academic library ILL departments, on an undergraduate information commons reference desk, doing virtual reference for an online university, as the manager of adult and technical services for a small public library, and for almost a dozen years in Adult Services at MRL. Kristin earned a B.S. in History, Technology, and Society from Georgia Tech and an MLS from Indiana University. She is a member of the 2024 Virginia Library Leadership Academy (VALLA) cohort and a mentor for the 2026 VALLA cohort. When she's not at the library or doing library-related things, you can find her reading, cross stitching, doing crosswords, geocaching, visiting Virginia wineries, practicing Spanish, or hanging out at home with her boys (two dogs, one cat, and one husband). 

Treasurer

Treasurer: Sandy Whitesides

Biography

Robert “Sandy” Whitesides is the Director of the Shenandoah County Library System. He started his career in libraries as a student assistant in the Media Resources Center of the Boatwright Library at the University of Richmond. After graduating he spent three years supervising student assistants in the same department before moving to North Carolina to pursue his Masters in Library and Information Science at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. 

Initially focusing on an Academic Library track, Sandy worked part time at Elon University’s Belk Library as a Weekend Librarian and then moved to the Shenandoah Valley, taking a full time cataloging position at Lord Fairfax (now Laurel Ridge) Community College.  He moved to public libraries when a professional opportunity opened up in Shenandoah County, spending four years as Adult Services Librarian, and the last 15 as Director of the Library System.

Sandy lives in Stephens City, Virginia with his wife, two kids, two cats, and a dog. He is a member and Past President of the Virginia Public Library Directors Association, member of ALA and VLA, and serves on the VLA Legislative Committee. Sandy is also a member and Past President of the Rotary Club of Woodstock, Virginia.