Bio
Susan Dalmas has made a career of helping people learn to speak and read English, with more than 25 years of experience in adult learning, English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), civics learning, curriculum development, professional development and teaching. From her roots as a teacher in the Philippines and the United States, Susan has risen to her position as Director of Adult Literacy Programs at Queens Library, the largest library-based literacy program in the nation.Ms. Dalmas oversees a wide array of free programming with more than 6,000 learners a year. Programs include adult literacy, family literacy, ESOL, health literacy, computer literacy and support for disconnected youth. The breadth of these programs is a testament not only to Ms. Dalmas’s skill in expanding and managing existing services but also to her ability to create new ones.According to Diana Chapin, Executive Director of the Queens Library Foundation, since joining the library in 1989, “Susan has worked tirelessly to develop new and innovative programs for adult learners that are recognized and imitated by libraries throughout the U.S.” Even more remarkabMs. Dalmas has become a sought-after expert in her field. The real measure of her success, however, is the effect her program has on its participants. One former student, who couldn’t speak English when she came to America, puts it best when she says simply, “It changed my life.”le is that Ms. Dalmas has expanded the Library’s offerings in the face of significant budgetary constraints. “This woman is the energizer bunny,” says former Queens Library Chief Operating Officer Maureen O’Connor.
