Marliese Thomas, a native of Birmingham, joined Ex Libris in 2013 following nearly seven years with academic libraries. During her time in academia, she implemented two discovery solutions for a state ARL, directed outreach activities for a private liberal arts university, and generally sought to learn as much as she could about how library systems worked. She received her MLIS from the University of Alabama and a BA in Communications from Loyola University New Orleans. Her research interests include the online user experience, sociology and the how fashion influences perception, and the role of social networking in scholarly research. Ms. Thomas currently serves on the boards of advisors for the University of Alabama Library School Association and Altamont School Alumni Association, respectively.