A Few New Faces at Book Harvest

As Book Harvest grows, our incredible staff does, too! We are so excited to have welcomed multiple full-time staff members at Book Harvest since the beginning of the year, and we wanted to take a moment to highlight several of the unique stories, experiences, and passions brought together through Book Harvest’s pursuit of literacy and justice for all.

Spanning School-Age Initiatives to Advancement work, these featured staff members have already hit the ground running by engaging new and existing corporate relationships, executing a record-breaking Books on Break season, and adding to Book Harvest’s joyful, kind, and mission-driven work environment.

Enjoy their reflections below, and be sure to wish them a warm welcome to their first few months at Book Harvest!

Abby Van Vliet

School-Age Initiatives Coordinator

Originally from the west coast, I have been happy to call Durham home for the last six years. With a background in administration and education and a Master of Library and Information Science from UNC Greensboro, my lifelong love of reading and passion for literacy and education has led me to my role as the School-Age Initiatives Coordinator at Book Harvest. Since starting in January, I was thrilled to be able to support the successful implementation of the Books on Break spring season while also welcoming the new arrival of my daughter in March. Now back from maternity leave, I am excited for the upcoming Books on Break summer programs and am eagerly planning for Books for K this fall!

Patrick Torres

Senior Associate Director of Corporate Partnerships

For the past 20 years, I have had the privilege of leading nonprofits focused on theatre arts and arts education. Now I am turning a new page. I recently joined Book Harvest as the Senior Associate Director of Corporate Partnerships, a brand-new role for the organization. That means every single day, I get to think creatively about how to build relationships with corporate partners who share our belief that every child deserves books, every parent deserves support, and every community deserves literacy. I am so passionate about the Book Harvest team. The passion and dedication I see from our staff every day is genuinely inspiring. They show up for children and families in a real and meaningful way, and I am proud to be working alongside them.

Every person is a story. I am excited to be starting my chapter with Book Harvest.

Megan LeFaivre

School-Age Initiatives Associate Director of Partnerships

As the School-Age Initiatives Associate Director of Partnerships, I am thrilled to step into a role that perfectly blends my career experiences and passions. My journey began in the classroom as a teacher and reading specialist, where I dedicated myself to fostering lifelong readers. After pausing my teaching career to nurture two young readers of my own, I developed an interest in early childhood systems change work. While working at Ready for School, Ready for Life, we partnered with Book Harvest to pilot the Books on Break program for Pre-K classrooms in Guilford County. That joyful, impactful experience deeply aligned with my values and inspired my dream to join the organization. Now, I am honored to help expand book access and bring joy to communities nationwide, advancing our mission of "Literacy and Justice for All."

Thank you to each of these staff members for contributing their reflections. Read more about Book Harvest's incredible leadership at https://www.bookharvest.org/leadership!

Interested in joining the team? Visit our Careers page to fill out an interest form to be notified about future job opportunities, and follow us on LinkedIn for career-specific updates.