Our work speaks for itselfTake a look at a selection of our recent projects, work history, awards and publications:
Court Stevens & LB Fox-Ezell @ Warren County Public Library:
Managed 80–100 staff and a $6M+ budget across 13 locations (which we grew from 4), including a wellness center, historic theater, and public market spaces. Built a collaborative, innovative culture while delivering exceptional services and saving the community nearly $14M in 2025.
Strategic Planning, Budgeting & Organizational Leadership: Co-led systemwide programming, outreach, and engagement across 13 locations and multiple departments. Helped design and implement a system restructure that created 10+ new leadership roles and expanded organizational capacity.
Personnel Development, Team Stabilization, & Cross-Team Collaboration: Founded the Executive, Branch, and Program Division teams - creating upward mobility and clear expectations across departments. Transformed job descriptions, provided leadership development, and pushed the boundaries of what a library system could be.
Innovative Service Development: Implementation of the Resilience Team in partnership with the Red Cross which included services such as: free transportation, resource distribution, and the creation of a resource website, reaching thousands in need.
Structure & Organization Building: Led the creation of nontraditional library spaces, including the SOKY Center (wellness-focused programming) and the Capitol Theater (historic performance venue). Oversaw operational structure, staffing, and service design, building teams and brands from the ground up and attracting 40,000+ in-person attendees in 2025.
Branding & Visibility Strategy: Directed the Marketing team and guided the development and growth of multiple brands and platforms, achieving a cumulative reach of more than 1 million.
Community Engagement & Partnership Development: Established and sustained partnerships with universities, nonprofits, small businesses, schools, and local and state agencies, resulting in multiple new collaborative initiatives.
Public Speaking, Storytelling, & Advocacy: Represented WCPL at conferences, civic forums, boards, and community councils, building trust, visibility, and stakeholder buy-in.
Leadership, Coaching & Mentoring: Contributed to long-range planning, impact evaluation, and leadership development. Mentored staff through complex, large-scale initiatives and led leadership trainings across the system.
Media coverage of this work:
Dra. Cre Dye @ Western Kentucky University & in the Community:
Organizer, Morning Breath, in March 2020, at the onset of the pandemic, Dr, Dye facilitated 185 daily motivational wellness sessions on Facebook to help people deal with life in a pandemic – all sessions can be seen on her Cre Dye Yoga & Healing page or Youtube: Cre Dye
Organizer, We are Art, funded by the Kentucky Foundation for Women: Art Meets Activism, through the art of mindful movement, 4 session series, women and girls explored the art of emotional, mental, spiritual and collective support, inspiration and healing.
Facilitator, Project LIT, in partnership with Warren County Public Library, twice a year organizes and facilitates community book give-aways and discussions of informative sessions about the state of representation in literature.
Organizer- Facilitator, ILY – Identity, Literacy & Yoga; Yoga, Dr. Dye and mentee Darrian Evans created and facilitated a summer 2019 enrichment program to support the mental, emotional, social, health literacy of girls grades 7 th -10th.
Co-organizer, Writing Workshops, during the summer of 2017, Dr. Dye, along with Joda Freda Duncan facilitated a 5 week writing workshop for middle and high school students.
Organizer, Fighting the New Jim Crow, Community Research working group, Co- Facilitated with mentee Joshua Miller, through a 6 session series, a local and regional look at the deliberate attack on African American and Latino males by member/policies of the U.S Justice System
Media Coverage of this work:
Past Leadership Trainings & Keynotes:
Bowling Green Chamber Women’s Conference Keynote, 2025: Court Stevens
Kentucky Center for Leadership Conference Keynote, Bowling Green, KY: Court Stevens
Baird Financial Women’s Day Workshop, Bowling Green, KY: Court Stevens
American Library Association Conference Stage Keynote, Philadelphia, PA: Court Stevens
Marshall County Chamber of Commerce Women’s Day Keynote, Benton, KY: Court Stevens
Paul Sawyier Public Library Staff Day Training, Frankfort, KY: Court Stevens & LB Fox-Ezell
Love More, Stress Less Workshop, Dr. Cre Dye
Black Minds Matter Workshop, Dr. Cre Dye
Living with Emotions but not Being Your Emotions Workshop, Dr. Cre Dye
Marshall County Public Library Staff Day Training, Benton, KY: Court Stevens
Boyle County Public Library Staff Day Training, Danville, KY: Court Stevens
Emerging Library Leader’s Conference Workshop, Richmond, KY: Court Stevens
Library Journal Director’s Conference Panel, Houston, TX: Court Stevens
Henry County Public Library Staff Day, Henry County, KY: Court Stevens
Kentucky Women’s Book Festival Keynote, Louisville, KY: Court Stevens
Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives Staff Day Training, Frankfort, KY: Court Stevens
Charles Moore Insurance Staff Training, Bowling Green, KY: Court Stevens
Leadership Institute @ WCPL for New and Emerging Leaders: Court Stevens & LB Fox-Ezell
Pathway Cohort @ WCPL for up and coming leaders in our system: Court Stevens
Innovative Educators Esteemed Speaker: Dra. Cre Dye
Health for a Change: Dra. Cre Dye
Relevant Publications, Awards, and Partnerships:
National Library Journal Award: Court Stevens Mover & Shaker
VIP BG Profile: Courtney Stevens
Kentucky Colonel: Laura Beth Fox-Ezell
Kentucky Public Library Association 2025 Innovator Award: Court Stevens & Laura Beth Fox-Ezell
Forthcoming Book Publication: The Pivot Personality: Building Joyful, Adaptive, and Mission-Driven Libraries, by Courtney Stevens & Laura Beth Fox-Ezell
“A Social Constructivist approach to preparing school counselors to work in urban schools”, by Dr. Cre Dye
“Teaching mindfulness for the self-care and well-being of counselors in training”, by Dr. Cre Dye
“Group counseling: African American adolescent females’ resiliency, self-efficacy and racial identity,” by Dr. Cre Dye
Mindful Strategies for Helping College Students Manage Stress, by Dr. Cre Dye
Starred Review: Tell Me Something Good, by Court Stevens
Target Book Club Selection Pick: Tell Me Something Good, by Court Stevens
USA Today Bestseller’s List: Last Girl Breathing, by Court Stevens
The Beacon Project: Dra. Cre Dye