Congratulations Dr. Jennifer Buehler

We are proud to announce that Dr. Jennifer Buehler has been selected for the 2025 Ted Hipple Service Award. The Ted Hipple Service Award is given each year to an individual who has contributed to the ALAN organization. It is named in honor of Ted Hipple, the first and long-time ALAN Executive Secretary, who passed away on November 25, 2004. Famous for his flamboyant sweaters, neckties, and suspenders, Ted was a brilliant teacher, scholar, and servant to the profession. Ted shaped ALAN through decades of unwavering service and support.

Jennifer Buehler’s career has been defined by her love of young adult literature, but only in ALAN did her love find a home. As a high school teacher, she built a YA lit classroom library in 1993 after reading Seeking Diversity and In the Middle. She attended her first ALAN Workshop in 1998. Her ALAN service began when Joan Kaywell recruited her to become a state membership representative. She served on the first Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award committee, the ALAN Board of Directors, many ALAN governance committees, and finally, as ALAN President.

Jennifer is a champion of young adult literature. She has written author profiles, publisher reading guides, position statements, and a book for teachers. She hosted a YA lit podcast for NCTE and interviewed many distinguished authors like Laurie Halse Anderson, John Green, A.S. King, Judy Blume, and Walter Dean Myers. She teaches a popular YA lit class at Saint Louis University every fall, leads workshops for teachers, and facilitates author panels at the NCTE Convention. Her current research on book bans is anchored in a study of the Judy Blume Papers at Yale University.

Congratulations, Jennifer! We are grateful for all that you do.