After more than a decade in library leadership and public service, Chrissy MacKinnon recognized critical gaps in support and training for public-facing workers, particularly in addressing workplace safety, harassment response, boundary-setting, and organizational culture. Drawing on her experience as a leader and public servant, Chrissy is committed to strengthening psychological safety in public institutions. Her work focuses on equipping staff and leadership with practical tools, policies, and training that help create workplaces where people feel safe, supported, and able to do their best work individually and as a team. Chrissy holds a Master of Arts in English and a Master of Library and Information Science, along with certifications from the British Association of Teachers of Dance and the American Council on Exercise.

Ben Treat has been the director of the Bangor (Maine) Public Library since 2018, with past work at academic and public libraries in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Maine. Ben’s professional interests include the safety and training of library staff, the intersection of unmet basic needs with library services, and the tension between the public library’s role as the last public space and the core library missions of arts, culture, literacy, and learning.