Meet the NBC Board
Lara Apgar, MS, MSIS
Lara taught middle school English in Seattle, WA for 12 year before making Nashville her home in 2012. While raising her family, she continued her work in schools, eventually gaining two master’s degrees – one in Curriculum and Instruction and one in Library and Information Sciences. She also earned a special distinction in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
Favorite NBC Activity: Lara’s favorite NBC moment occurs when a child chooses that just-right book from our book carts and positively glows with excitement, promise, and joy.
Reader Identity Statement: “I’m a reader who believes passionately that stories can guide, entertain, and connect all of us.”
Dru Bredesen, MSN, RN, PNP-BC
Dru is Pediatric Nurse Practitioner with a passion for infant and early childhood development, maternal and public health, and promoting wellness. She currently works at Nurses for Newborns, providing family home visits so every baby can be healthy, safe, and achieve their full potential.
As these infants become school aged, there is a natural transition to the work NBC does to support and grow their reader identities. Supporting security, agency, social emotional health, and opportunities to connect through reading are the ways to nurture curious, resilient, amazing kids, a goal we all share!
Favorite NBC Activity: Dru enjoys volunteering at the NBC Book Carts where she sees the bright enthusiasm kids have when they get to select their books. There, she catches glimpses of the way reading impacts who they are now and who they can be.
Reader Identity Statement: “I’m a reader who as a child stayed up with a flashlight to read and as an adult carries a book with me at all times. I'm a reader who reads for enjoyment, relaxation, knowledge, and connection. I'm a reader who at my current rate of reading, will take more than 5 years to complete my list of books to read ... and I add to it all the time!”
Montgomery Barreto, CPA
Montgomery is a Knoxville, Tennessee, native and an alumna of Middle Tennessee State University. She has nearly two years of experience in public accounting and has worked on numerous audits of non-profit entities. Since the day she first decided to pursue a career in accounting, Montgomery knew she wanted to use her area of expertise to support her broader community. She is honored to have the opportunity to serve alongside Nashville Book Connection (NBC) in promoting a culture of readership in this city.
Favorite NBC Activity: Montgomery loves providing financial insights as NBC grows and expands to serve more K-5 students in Nashville.
Reader Identity Statement:“I’m a reader who is always excited to open a new book and routinely wishes she had the time and determination to sit down and finish it in a single sitting.”
Clare Levy Clarke, Ed.D.
Clare is the Founder and Executive Director of Nashville Book Connection (NBC). She was lucky enough to fall in love with teaching and learning and pretty much “all things” school early in life. She started her career as a high school history teacher and advisor in new, progressive schools (in NYC and Los Angeles) where authentic, student-centered teaching and learning were core practices. From there, she dove into the world of education reform, working as a curriculum designer, school reviewer, teacher advocate, and adjunct professor.
In her pursuits toward building multiple avenues for student success, Clare launched NBC in 2019. She firmly believes that starting with elementary literacy–in conjunction with nurturing children’s agency in their own learning–is essential to guiding them toward an adulthood full of aspiration and meaning.
Favorite NBC Activity: Every single day at the Book Carts is the absolute best! There is truly nothing like working one-on-one with a child and trying to figure out the book that might be right for them. This could be the book that completely reframes reading for them, that inspires them in a way that nothing else could, that turns on a light for them, that makes them dream and hope and take off. Getting to be part of that perfect moment is pretty special.
Reader Identity Statement: “I’m a reader who loves being cozy on the screen porch swing while it’s raining outside, with a cup of coffee in my hand, and a promise that no one will interrupt me for at least 18 minutes. This happens once a year…on Mother’s Day. (The rain is negotiable.)”