Meet The Board

As a nonprofit professional Joan has held leadership positions for several organizations across the country including the National Endowment for the Arts; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and the Autry Museum in Los Angeles. She is former Executive Director of Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena, CA, and the Bullock Texas State History Museum, Austin. She has long supported education and literacy initiatives.

Lillian Brisbois Letters developed a love of reading at an early age, visiting the local library with her mother and four sisters, starting when she was too small to see over the librarian's desk. Weekly visits to the library played an important part in her love of reading and understanding of the importance of books to a child's overall development. Ms. Letters and her husband moved to Santa Fe in 2007, after visiting annually starting in 1998. She has volunteered or worked in public schools for most of the past 40 years and is happy to share her experience as a member of the Friends Board.

Newby decided to move to Santa Fe in 1986 and being an impulsive person, it only took him 34 years to become a full-time resident.  He started looking for community engagement/volunteer opportunities and the Friends seemed to be a great fit. Becoming the chair of the Finance Committee ties together a fond childhood memory of getting a library card as a six year old (his first official ID!), a long time association with adult literacy programs in the Pacific Northwest, a lifetime of reading (mostly non-fiction) and a 40+ year career in financial services.

Patricia grew up appreciating different cultures, from living in Beirut, Bombay, Rome, and Washington DC, before working in law and public policy in Boston and Seattle. As Health Services Director for Santa Fe County from 2012 until 2024, she worked with many community service and governmental entities. She believes that libraries enhance community health and envisions the Santa Fe Public Library playing an even more prominent role in the community’s well-being in the coming years.

With a career as a foundation executive, Sue Coliton recently served as the Interim President and CEO of the Santa Fe Community Foundation. Her knowledge of the funding landscape in the cultural arena and experience with non-profits led her to the Friends. Previous interim CEO positions include ArtsFund and the Washington Research Foundation, in Seattle. She spent 15 years as head of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's philanthropic programs, where she oversaw regional, national and global grant-making programs through the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. 

After leaving her gubernatorial-appointed position in New Mexico State government, Zella turned her interest and attention to several non-profit organizations in Santa Fe that made her head and heart happy. The Friends of the Santa Fe Public Library was high on her list. She is proud to be affiliated with an organization that provides critical financial support to the Library and is glad that she can use her training, experience, and education in finance to further the Friends vital mission.

For Alex, visits to the Lyons Branch Library in Clinton, Iowa were a weekly treat, something he looked forward to with eager anticipation and for which he diligently planned. Drawn to Benny and his pink cup of the Boxcar Children series, he agonized, Eric Carle's Have You Seen My Cat in hand, the summer before his first-grade school year over his not yet knowing how to read. He now applies all he has and continues to learn through reading to public service, supporting non-profits throughout New Mexico to better their communities. Alex enjoys painting, dancing, and teaching his new puppy old tricks, often all at once.

Eve carried her love of libraries across the ocean from Kyiv, Ukraine. One of the first official documents she got was the New York Public Library Card! Many libraries later (regal Butler Library at Columbia University...less fun but oh so familiar Brooklyn Law School Library), Eve and her family are now proud members of the Santa Fe Public Library. Eve has over 20 years of experience in fixed income markets; she is portfolio manager for Thornburg Investment Management, an independent asset manager here in Santa Fe. Eve is happy to be able to share her time, energy, knowledge, love for books and for the people who read them on behalf of the Friends and the Santa Fe Public Library!

Cyndi’s love of libraries began when her dad took her to the Magnolia branch of the Seattle Public Library when she was seven. An avid reader and author of five books, Cyndi believes libraries stimulate our creativity and curiosity, helping us to understand each other better.  After receiving her MFA in Dance from UC Irvine, Cyndi went to New York City on a Fellowship from the Whitney Museum.  From 1998-2012, Cyndi was the owner of OM Yoga Center, a mecca for yogis worldwide, serving 3,000 students weekly. Cyndi is an ordained lay Buddhist chaplain and currently teaches meditation and yoga, online and around the world. 

Tamina is an IT professional who was previously a trustee for the Library Boards of Lafayette, Colorado and Madison, Virginia. She became a Friends Board Member in 2022 and lends her experience and expertise to both the Community Engagement and Development Committees. 

Dr. Michele Behar Reich has been a K-12 teacher, professor of education, and a youth services librarian. Her work has focused on improving educational attainment in under-resourced communities and schools. Her mother's first language was Ladino (Judeo-Spanish); her father's, Yiddish. Growing up she heard stories about the challenges they faced while learning to speak and read English, and then teaching those skills to their parents. Knowing personally the power of literacy, and understanding that power, she feels a responsibility to do whatever needs to be done to support literacy wherever and whenever she can.

Dwayne was raised in Albuquerque, NM and graduated UNM with a BA in marketing. He soon thereafter moved to San Diego, CA for ten years and worked for a publishing company in marketing. After San Diego Dwayne moved to Los Angeles for another ten years in the publishing marketing industry. Dwayne and his husband moved to Santa Fe in 2018 and one of the first things he did was get his public library card.  Dwayne is currently the Vice President of Philanthropy at Kitchen Angels. He has been a voracious reader since he was a kid and now enjoys reading fiction and Classic Literature books.

Dr. Mavel Velasco comes originally from La Paz, Bolivia, the highest capital in the world. The altitude is one reason, among many others, she feels very comfortable in Santa Fe. She received her Ph.D. from Rutgers University in New Jersey and taught Hispanic Studies for over 30 years at Virginia Wesleyan University. Reading is her passion and she would like younger generations to become as passionate about books as she is. Mavel also enjoys running, dancing and traveling.

Margaret joined the Santa Fe Public Library in July, 2022. Prior to this, she was Library Administrator for the Thomas Brannigan Memorial Library in Las Cruces and served as Co-Director for the El Paso Public Library, in the town where she grew up. As Director, Margaret provides strategic leadership for Library operations. Her vision is to build on progress made over the last several years to update systems and to expand outreach and services such as adult basic education, citizenship, ESL, STEAM programs, and early childhood literacy programs.

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