Dr. Celia Barberena
Director – Dr. Celia Barberena is a retired community college administrator, past President of Chabot College and past Vice President of Student Services for Hartnell College. Dr Barberena’s PhD in Educational Administration and Supervision, Spanish Literature graduate degree and bachelor’s degree in Economics uniquely positioned her to work to improve the lives, health and educational advancement of youth and adults in Monterey County.
She is a longtime nonprofit board member and community volunteer, supporting arts, music, health care, and currently on the Boards of the Unitarian Universalist Church, the Pacific Grove Rotary Club, Blind and Visually Impaired Center, and grants reviewer for the Community Foundation for Monterey County. Dr. Barberena believes that public libraries are a partner to public education, a main contributor to helping raise healthy families and developing healthy communities.
Kim Bui
President – Kim has lived in Pacific Grove 40 years, the last 20 with her husband Steven Silveria, who was previously Pacific Grove’s Director of Library and Information Services. They have four grown children who all attended PG schools.
Kim recently retired as Monterey’s Community Services Director, where she managed areas as diverse as the Monterey Conference Center, Harbor, Museums, Parking and Recreation. Prior to that she was the Monterey Public Library Director.
Kim is a published poet, with a B.A. In Literature/Creative Writing from UCSC and a Master’s of Library and Information Science from SJSU. She believes in the Library IDEA – that libraries inspire, delight and educate all.
Don Freeman
Director – Don Freeman has taken college library courses; has a BA and JD. Don previously served as City Attorney of Carmel and Seaside, is a long-standing member of the Rotary, and has extensive experience on boards of non-profit community organizations as well as public agencies, among them CASA, the Rotary, Monterey College of Law and Legal Aid of Monterey County. His love and appreciation for education and literacy drew him to join the Friends’ Board. Don maintains that the ability to read leads to an expansion of understanding that strengthens individuals, our societies and our world. Don “strongly believes in the importance of maintaining a free library system.”
Stephanie Herrick
Events – Stephanie is a retired Speech Language Pathologist/Audiologist who has lived in Pacific Grove for over thirty years. Stephanie grew up in Salinas, and worked throughout Monterey County.
Stephanie has an M.A. in Speech Language Pathology and a B.A. in Psychology (Counseling.) Stephanie enjoys traveling the world with her husband, Steve, and spending time with their first grandchild. Often at story time or the beach!
“I have had a lifelong love for libraries and feel the PG Library is a vital part of our community” explains Stephanie. A past Library Advisory Board member, Stephanie describes her passion for libraries as “inter generational.” Starting with fond memories of visiting the library as a child, to involving her two children in PG Library activities as they grew, and now introducing her grandchild to the wonders of books and reading.
Aliah Ibarra
Director – Aliah is a recent CSUMB graduate with a BA in Business Administration, currently working as Volunteer Coordinator for the Animal Friends Rescue Project. Her career includes workforce development with young adults, hospitality and events management and peer mentoring.
Libraries have always held a special place in Aliah’s heart, ever since she was a child attending storytimes and summer reading programs with her mom. Aliah has enjoyed the Pacific Grove Public Library since she was a teen. Describing herself as a “curious person” Aliah says “the library is the first place I go to when wanting to dive into a new hobby or curiosity.”
Aliah joined the PG Library Board because she enjoys “being a part of organizations that are about community and engagement…Donating my time is the least I can do in giving back to what has given me so much joy and freedom in my life.”
Heidi McNally-Dial
Director – Heidi McNally-Dial is the retired Redevelopment and Economic Development Manager for the city of Turlock, with a BA in Business Administration and MPA. She has served on several boards, including the Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Business Association, Rotary and Economic Development Corporation. An avid reader all her life, Heidi believes that libraries are essential to strong communities and should be diverse and available to all. Heidi is a “hands on” Friends volunteer and looks forward to making presentations on behalf of the Friends and assisting with membership recruitment.
Noreen Nance
Vice-President – Noreen worked in Silicon Valley as a financial analyst and corporate trainer before retiring to Pacific Grove in 2000. The Library is one of her passions, and she wants to see it continue to be a real gem in PG’s crown. She joined the Foundation Board in January 2014 and continues to support the growth of the Foundation.
Abby Pfeiffer
Director – Abby Pfeiffer and her husband have been Pacific Grove homeowners since 1991. They have two grown sons who graduated from Pacific Grove High School. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism, but has spent much of her career working in IT, primarily at the Department of Defense Manpower Data Center at Ft. Ord, where she is currently a specialist in the area of identity data management.
Abby also worked for the National Steinbeck Center as a grant writer and at Hartnell College as an instructor in English Composition. She was a grant writer for the Pacific Grove Art Center, helping to raise funds to support exhibitions, and also wrote grants to support elementary and high school projects when her youngest son was a student.
Abby has been a library patron all her life and believes strongly in the importance of libraries as vital institutions that serve all people, providing the resources to learn, connect, develop and grow as individuals and as a community.
Melissa Pickford
Director – Melissa Pickford is an artist, teacher, arts administrator, and gallery curator, with a love of the ocean, mermaids, and Pacific Grove life. The legacy of her late father, Rollin Pickford, who was an accomplished watercolor painter, shines through all her artistic endeavors.
Melissa’s desire to work with children and arts through the Pacific Grove Library reflects the wisdom she gained from her father that “he found beauty everywhere, and reminded us to look for it every day, even in the most unexpected places.”
Her family had a great love for books, and she hopes to share this passion with the community by being on the Friends and Foundation Board. She sees the library as a sacred sanctuary for learning and creative expression, and hopes to bring her best to her work as a board member.
Nancy Spade
Director – Nancy is a long time Pacific Grove resident, award-winning Robert Down Elementary School teacher and decades-long Pacific Grove Public Library supporter. Nancy taught children at various grade levels at Robert Down before her retirement and was particularly celebrated for her work with children with special needs.
The freedom to read, to imagine, and to learn is very important to Nancy, especially during these challenging times. She describes public libraries as special, exciting places for children and families to learn about the world, and each other, and themselves. Nancy is excited to be a part of the Friends and Foundation Board and looks forward to supporting the PG Library and upholding the freedom to read as a Board Director.
Judy Wills
Treasurer – Judy and her husband have lived in Pacific Grove for 37 years, moving here from upstate New York. She has one son, a wonderful daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren.
When Judy first moved here she worked for an ophthalmologist as a certified ophthalmic assistant. After 13 years, she decided on a career change. She received a teaching credential and was hired as a second grade teacher at Robert Down School, where she remained for almost 20 years. Her students’ first and last field trips every year were to the PG Library.
Judy was involved in both campaigns for a parcel tax to support the Library.
