Our Team
Mariela Cifuentes
Programs Coordinator
Our Staff
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Programs Coordinator
Stay updated on our ongoing community programs and events, latest library news and more by signing up for our monthly newsletter
Tim Staley has served as Executive Director of the Library Foundation since 2008.
Prior to the Library Foundation, Tim was Editor and Director of Development at the University of Texas Press for seven years. Tim has also served as Executive Director and Publisher of Art Lies, a contemporary art quarterly based in Houston. As a volunteer, Tim currently serves as leader of the Austin Chapter of PEN America. In his free time Tim enjoys playing tennis, reading and spending time with his family, including visits to the Twin Oaks Branch Library.
As Programs Coordinator, Mariela Cifuentes oversees The Library Foundation’s public events and programs including Austin Youth Poet Laureate, Badgerdog Creative Writing Camps, Mayor’s Book Club, Banned Books Week, atCentral, and APL After Dark.
Prior to moving to the Austin area in 2024, Mariela was the Adult Events Coordinator for the Cape May County Library system in southern New Jersey where she scheduled hundreds of events and classes per year across eight library branches.
Mariela holds a Master of Library and Information Science from Rutgers University and a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Temple University.
She enjoys playing instruments of all kinds, listening to live music, and exploring libraries in the greater Austin area, including her local public library in Leander.
Michelle Meza is the Development Coordinator at the Library Foundation. She has over 7 years of experience in non-profit roles, including positions at Creative Action, Austin Film Festival, and the Blanton Museum of Art. She proudly holds Bachelor’s Degrees in Psychology and History from the University of Texas at Austin. Michelle is also on the Board of YNPN Austin as their Programming Vice Chair. Outside of her professional commitments, Michelle delights in roller skating, indulging in movies, embracing new hobbies, exploring trails with her beloved pup, Lily, and visiting her local library, the Milwood Branch.
Tom Oney is Chief People Officer and Executive Vice President of External Affairs for the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA). He oversees LCRA’s Human Resources team and all of LCRA’s public-facing and advocacy functions, including Communications, Community Resources, Environmental Affairs, Public Affairs, and Regulatory Affairs. Tom also advocates before the Texas Legislature on behalf of LCRA and led LCRA’s public policy team during the 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021 Texas legislative sessions.
Tom was born and raised in Waco, Texas, and received his Bachelor of Arts in political science from Baylor University in 1996. He received his Juris Doctor cum laude from Tulane University School of Law in 1999. Tom currently represents LCRA on the board of directors of the Association of Electric Companies of Texas and serves as president of the board of directors of both the Austin Library Foundation and Green Doors, an award-winning non-profit benefiting homeless people in Central Texas.
Frank Livaudais is also Vice President of Enterprise Engineering for Cloudflare, an internet security company in downtown Austin. An avid runner and reader, he has run more than 250 marathons (including races in all 50 U.S. states, six countries, and four continents). Frank tries to read 100+ books a year. He lives in Austin with his wife Shelley, son Christopher and one fairly naughty vizsla.
Keith McAlonan is a Vice President, Commercial Banker at Bank OZK in Austin. He earned a BA in Finance from Texas Tech University. A native Austinite, Keith is passionate about the community and serving others, spending his time serving on the Community Advancement Board for the COA/North Austin YMCA. An early experience at the Hampton Branch helped foster a lifelong love of reading and Keith is excited to serve on The Library Foundation board. In his free time, Keith enjoys cooking, hosting friends, and spending time with his wife and their two young children
Isabel Sapriel is the founder of Good Work Strategies, a leadership development firm that helps teams thrive by training the mental skills that fuel performance, focus, and well-being in a rapidly changing world.
With more than 15 years of experience across government, nonprofit, and corporate sectors, Isabel has dedicated her career to helping people do meaningful, high-impact work. She began as a Presidential Appointee in the Obama Administration, later earned her MBA from UT Austin’s McCombs School of Business, and went on to lead people analytics and employee engagement for Whole Foods Market and product strategy at a high-growth tech company.
A lifelong believer in the power of learning and access, Isabel is proud to support the Austin Public Library in building a more connected and equitable city. She enjoys spending time outside, gardening (with mixed results), and adventuring around Austin with her husband, Goldendoodle, and two young kids.
Katrina Brooks is the owner of Black Pearl Books, an independent Austin bookstore promoting diversity, inclusion, and representation through literature.
Michelle Hurtado has never lived more than a mile from a library and refuses to ever do so. A lifelong library volunteer, she is joining The Library Foundation’s board after recently retiring from Google.org, where she was Chief of Staff for Scientific Advancement, which funds “AI for good” research. She and her husband, John, and their three kids — Eva, Elena, and Ian — are avid travelers who often visit local libraries around the globe and know Austin Public Library is world-class. In her downtime, Michelle enjoys reading non-fiction in a hammock.
Kathy Green is the Director of Outreach and Advocacy for AARP Texas. Kathy is a long-time Austin resident, and is a member of the Women’s Symphony League as well as many Austin ISD councils and working groups. Kathy spends her free time with her three teenagers, enjoying all that Austin and the Hill Country have to offer. One of her fondest childhood memories is going to story time with her mom at the Little Walnut Creek Branch.
Lynda Infante Huerta (she/her/ella) is a Faculty Librarian at Austin Community College where she works in instruction, reference and collection development. She has served the Texas Library Association (TLA) as a co-chair of the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee, District 3 Treasurer, and has participated in several Conference Planning Committees. She is the current chair of the City of Austin Library Commission, and has served on the commission for 4 years. She will be one of the instructors for TLA’s LAUNCH leadership training course this summer which is geared toward early career librarians, and is currently pursuing a second Master’s degree in Bilingual Education with a focus on Mexican American Studies.
Revlynn Lawson is a registered lobbyist and government relations professional with over 25 years of experience, holding notable positions such as Committee Director for the State of Texas House Committee on County Affairs and Western Region Development Director for the United Negro College Fund. She currently runs her own company, Revlynn Lawson Consulting Group, LLC. A proud 5th generation Texan, Revlynn actively contributes to The Links and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. Along with The Library Foundation, she serves as a Board Member for Breakthrough Central Texas and the Center for Civic and Public Policy Improvement. Revlynn resides in Austin with her black Labrador retriever, Zora.
Jennifer Long believes in the importance of connection to make the world a better place. Through her consulting practice, Jennifer intersects communications, fundraising, and leadership development to help her nonprofit clients engage their communities, advance their missions, and achieve greater impact. Jennifer is a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) with 25+ years of nonprofit experience spanning executive leadership, marketing communications, development, and volunteer Board service. She currently chairs the Steering Committee for the Austin Community Foundation’s Women’s Fund, and she serves on the Board of Directors of the National Charity League, Hills of Austin chapter, and on Women Communicators of Austin’s Scholarships Committee. She is a member of Leadership Austin’s Essential Class of 2017 and Leadership Texas’ Class of 2018. A two-time graduate of The University of Texas at Austin, Jennifer earned her master’s in public affairs degree from the LBJ School of Public Affairs and her undergraduate degree in advertising. She lives in Austin with her husband, their two daughters, and two pugs.
Bruce McCandless III is a poet and novelist who grew up in the shadow of Houston’s Johnson Space Center during the Apollo era, watching Batman and Buzz Aldrin with equal enthusiasm. He graduated from the Plan II Honors Program of the University of Texas and went on to earn an M.A. from the University of Reading in England and a Julis Doctor from the University of Texas School of Law. He is the author of the biography Wonders All Around: The Incredible True Story of Astronaut Bruce McCandless II and The First Untethered Flight in Space and the sci-fi thriller Sour Lake. His book Star Bound: A Beginner’s Guide to the American Space Program will be published by the University of Nebraska Press in January 2025. Bruce and his wife Pati live in Austin.
Garry Merritt is the CEO of Great Springs Project, a Central Texas non-profit working to connect a 100+ mile hike and bike trail network from Austin to San Antonio, and to conserve land over the Recharge Zone of the Edwards Aquifer. He is from Leakey, Texas and a graduate of Rice University and the University of Texas School of Law. Prior to the Great Springs Project, Garry served as Real County Judge, General Counsel and Legislative Director of the Texas Association of Counties, and Team Counsel for the Houston Rockets. He has two young adult children, is an active hiker and trail runner, and cannot resist a small-town bookstore.
Hema Mullur has been a member of The Library Foundation board since 2017. She is a lifelong lover of libraries and literature, and dedicates her time to events and programming that make the Austin Public Library a true gem of the city. Hema attended the University of Texas at Austin, earning degrees in Plan II Honors and Journalism. She is a long-time journalist in the Austin community, serving as the evening news anchor at CBS Austin News from 2014-2023. Hema is now earning her law degree at the University of Texas School of Law, and finding herself in the library again, now more than ever.
Jena Stude is Vice President of Development at Good + West Residential. Prior to joining Good + West in 2021, Jena was an Investment Manager at Blueprint Local, a real estate private equity firm, overseeing direct real estate investments in Texas. Before Blueprint Local, Jena was an Associate Director at the University of Texas Investment Management Company (UTIMCO) from 2013-2019. Jena previously held similar positions at Ascension Health, a large non-profit hospital system based in St. Louis, Missouri and the University of Arizona Investment Office. Jena holds a B.S. in Business Administration and an M.S. in Finance from the University of Arizona.
Amy Borgstedte Wood is the Principal Consultant at Borgstedte Consulting, PLLC, providing legislative consulting services. Previously she was the General Counsel for the Legislative Budget Board. Amy came to Austin to attend the University of Texas School of Law and never left. She is a lifelong lover of books, reading, and libraries and considers passing this love on to her daughters as one of her most important parenting achievements. In her spare time, she can be found chauffeuring her daughters to various activities while listening to audiobooks.