David W. Brezina Memorial Sessions

David W. Brezina served as ALA President from 1996 to 1997. His career in legal administration spanned more than 20 years. In 1996, Dave was involved in a bicycling accident resulting in paralysis and quadriplegia. Even while living with this disability, he served his term as President with distinction and vigor. At the time of his death in 1999, Dave was serving as a Trustee of the Foundation. A memorial fund was created in his honor to further the educational and charitable work of the Foundation.

Each year at Annual Conference, the Foundation sponsors the David W. Brezina Memorial Session by bringing a speaker who personifies the spirit of community, professional ethics, personal fortitude and high personal standards of human civility that David represented in both his professional life and his personal struggles.

At the 2024 Annual Conference & Expo in Aurura, CO, our speaker will be Liz Murray. The child of drug-addicted parents who routinely ate from dumpsters and sought refuge at all-night subway stations to survive, Liz Murray was homeless at age 15 — and fending for her life. Determined not to be defined by her circumstances, she earned her high school diploma in just two years and won a scholarship to Harvard University. Murray is the subject of Lifetime Television’s Emmy-nominated original film, Homeless to Harvard. Today, as Co-Founder and Executive Director of The Arthur Project, she advocates for underserved youth and works to end generational poverty through relationship-based learning.

This year's session is sponsored in part by Centerbase - thank you for your support!

Thank you to our 2023 speaker Robyn Benincasa for her session, "Adapt, Overcome and Win as One!"

Previous speakers and topics include the following:

Brezina Session Keynote Speaker
Speaker: Inky Johnson, 2022

The 21st Century Leader
Speaker: Rick Rigsby, PhD, 2021

Getting Out of Your Silo: How to Respectfully Discuss Race, Gender and Politics in a Fragmented World
Speaker: Michelle Silverthorn, 2019

Leading Inclusion with Inclusive Leading
Speaker: Judy Hissong, CLM, 2018

Giving Voice to Values: The “How” of Values-Driven Leadership
Speaker: Mary Gentile, PhD, 2017

Civility Pays
Speaker: Christine Porath, PhD, 2016

Broken Eyes, Unbroken Spirit
Speaker: David Meador, 2015