Carol (Brooks) Findley
Chair and President, 2021-27
Carol is a CWU graduate, and she recently retired from CWU as the Director of the RSVP nonprofit program and the Volunteer Center of Kittitas County, where she served for 31 years. She joined the FOL Board to help elevate and promote the Brooks Library as a resource for the students and faculty of CWU and for the Kittitas County community.
Gary Cummisk
2022-25
Gary Cummisk is a retired professor of Geography and Anthropology. He earned an MS in Natural Resource Management from CWU, and then a PhD in Geography from the University of Oregon. He went on to teach at CWU and at Dickinson State University in North Dakota. His hobbies include writing and running.
Janine Graves
2022-25
Janine received an MA in English TESL/TEFL at CWU in 2000 and worked on campus until retiring in 2016. She taught ESL to international students, English composition and research writing, and was a Tutor and Coordinator in the Learning Commons located in the Brooks Library. She knows first-hand the library’s importance for student success.
Sterling Quinn
2023-26
Sterling is an associate professor in Geography at CWU. He teaches geographic information systems (GIS) and world geography, with an emphasis on Latin America. He spends much time in the library researching the social impact of maps, especially the activities happening in the blank spots that cartographers used to fill with dragons and sea creatures.
Joseph Powell
Vice-Chair, 2021-27
Joseph Powell is an an Ellensburg native and an emeritus professor who taught English at Central Washington University for 30 years. He has published ten books, including seven poetry collections, a book of short stories, and a co-written textbook on meter in poetry (Accent on Meter). He also enjoys flyfishing, gardening, ping-pong, and tennis.
Patricia Cutright
2023-26
Patricia served as Dean of CWU Libraries from 2010–17. Reading and libraries have always been her passion, knowing they empower at all ages and socio-economic levels. As well as articles and book chapters, she published Native Women Changing Their Worlds. Now retired, she is busier than ever with travel, volunteering, and gardening.
Dan Herman
2019-25 (Past Vice-Chair)
Daniel Herman has taught history at CWU since 1999. He specializes in Western U.S. history, American cultural history, and American Indian history. He has written three prize-winning historical monographs and, most recently, an historical novel, The Feudist: A Novel of the Pleasant Valley War (published with Texas Christian University Press, 2020).
Sydney Thompson
Dean of Libraries
Sydney got her first taste of librarianship as a library student assistant while working on her MA in Sociology at the New School for Social Research. Realizing that libraries were the place to be, after her MA she pursued an MLS at Queens College, CUNY. She joined CWU as Associate Dean in 2020. She became Interim Dean in 2022, and then Dean in 2023.
Ginny Ann Blackson
Secretary, 2022-25
Ginny Ann Blackson is the Executive Director of the Professional Face-to-Face Association (PFFA). She has worked in the nonprofit sector for many years. Originally from Kentucky, Ginny now lives in Ellensburg, Washington, with her daughter, her grand dog and three black cats. She enjoys reading, traveling and cooking.
Marlene Divina
2023-26
A CWU graduate, Marlene was on the design team for the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC, and co-authored the award-winning book Foods of the Americas: Native Recipes and Traditions. She has owned three restaurants, taught cooking, and spoken on American foods around the world. She enjoys reading, traveling, and walking her dog.
Melody Madlem
2023-26
Melody came to CWU in 1999 from Baylor University. As a first-generation college student, she is passionate about student-centered teaching. Her research interests in Public Health focus on the social determinants of health, on health equity, and on spirituality and health. Fly fishing and hiking feed her spirit outside of university life.
Jan Tilley
2024-2027 (Student Representative)
Jan is a current Professional and Creative Writing Major and a member of the Douglas Honors College, where they currently work as a Peer Mentor and Writing Assistant. This is their third year at CWU, and their third year working on writing a fantasy novel. They hope to serve the student community well as the board's student representative.
Dominic Klyve
Treasurer, 2022-25
Dominic has taught at CWU since 2010. He has wide-ranging scholarly interests including statistics and the history of science, and has published over 60 peer-reviewed articles in these and other fields. He is always puzzled that, no matter how many bookshelves he buys, his book collection quickly expands to fill the available space.
Zaire Eltayeb
2024-2027
Zaire Eltayeb was born and raised in Seattle, Washington. She is a CWU graduate who is currently pursuing her MLS at North Carolina Central University. She has a strong passion for the fight against literary censorship and tackling the current literacy crisis in America.
Matt Martinson
2024-27
Matt Martinson was born and raised in Washington state. He is a massive bookworm and library patron who has taught at CWU since 2009. Matt works and teaches full time in the Douglas Honors College, though you can also find him hiking in the Teanaways, perusing the Brooks Library’s shelves, or jogging on the streets and trails of Ellensburg.