Board of Directors

Open Board + Community Meetings

The Board of Directors holds regular Open Board + Community meetings over Zoom. The board will strive to host at least one in-person meeting per year (or video-enabled web conference for those who can’t make it).

Our next Open Board + Community meeting will be held on Monday, April 22, at 2p ET. Please register here.

Members

Felton Thomas, Chair

Director, Cleveland Public Library

Felton Thomas is the director of the Cleveland Public Library. During his tenure, Cleveland Public Library was named a “Top Innovator” by the Urban Libraries Council for its use of technology and data to inform decision making. Thomas has been named a Library Journal “Mover and Shaker” and has served as president of the Public Library Association, a member of the Aspen Institute Task Force on Learning and the Internet and president of the Greater Cleveland Food Bank. Thomas earned a B.A. in psychology from The University of Nevada-Las Vegas and his MLIS from The University of Hawaii. His library career began at age 13, when he became the youngest employee in Las Vegas-Clark County Library District history.

Jill Bourne, Secretary

City Librarian, San José, California

Jill Bourne is the City Librarian for San José, California, and Director of the San José Public Libraries. With a focus on expanding access, partnerships, educational outcomes, and digital empowerment, she is committed to enhancing the relevance and leveraging the value of public libraries in the communities they serve. Bourne has been recognized as a “Mover and Shaker” by Library Journal, a “Women of Influence” by Silicon Valley Business Journal, Library Journal’s “Librarian of the Year,” a member of the “Upstart 50” by the San Francisco Business Times, and was honored by the Cinequest Film Festival with the “Maverick Visionary Award.” She leads the San José Education and Digital Equity initiatives through extensive partnerships with academic agencies, telecommunications providers, and community-based
organizations, to remove barriers for under-connected and under-resourced households throughout San
José. Bourne holds a Bachelor of Arts with Honors from New York University and a Masters of Library
and Information Sciences from the University of Washington.

Laura DeBonis, Treasurer

Independent Consultant

Laura DeBonis works as an independent consultant and advisor to tech startups and nonprofits. Recently she concluded her term on the Public Interest Declassification Board at the National Archives, to which she was appointed in 2015 by President Obama and where she served as Co-Chair of the Technology Working Group. Laura has previously worked at EF Education First and Google in a variety of positions including Director of Library Partnerships for Book Search, Google’s initiative to make all the world’s books discoverable and searchable online. Laura started her career in documentary film and multimedia and in strategy consulting for internet businesses. She is a graduate of Harvard College and has a MBA from Harvard Business School. Laura is thrilled to be returning to the board of DPLA!

Josh Frazier-Sparks

Director of Culture, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion at Walmart

Kentucky native Josh Frazier-Sparks is a proven thought leader and change agent. After earning a Bachelor of Arts from Berea College, he was selected for the Teach for America—New Mexico Corps where he taught middle school science in Gallup, NM. Later, Josh returned to Kentucky and became Executive Director of Teach for America—Appalachia. Through his efforts, the Kentucky legislature created a permanent pathway to nontraditional teacher certification via Teach For America. Josh also developed a teacher training program that delivers measurable student outcomes. He went on to earn an M.Ed. from the University of Kentucky and is in his last semester at the University of Illinois where he is pursuing an MBA. Now living in Northwest Arkansas, Josh led strategy and execution of two philanthropic portfolios at Walmart.org focused on economic opportunity and inclusive communities. Josh now leads strategy and execution of Walmart’s Racial Equity Shared Value Networks where he works with leaders across the business to innovate and optimize efforts to accelerate equity across four key systems including education, finance, criminal justice, and health.

Joseph Lucia

Dean of Libraries, Temple University

Joseph Lucia is Dean of Libraries at Temple University. Under his leadership, in 2019 the university completed construction and began operation of the world-class Charles Library, notable for its unique design by architects Snøhetta and local partners Stantec. Prior to serving as Dean at Temple, Lucia served as University Library at Villanova University for eleven years. During his tenure at Villanova, Falvey Library won the 2013 ACRL Excellence Award in the University category. Before assuming his post at Villanova in 2002, Lucia served as Director for Library Technology & Access within Information Resources (a merged library & computing support organization) at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. While at Lehigh, Lucia taught creative writing in the English Department from 1995 through 2002. In addition to his professional work, he is an active amateur musician with a current solo project called Sounds from Upstairs audible on Soundcloud at https://soundcloud.com/jlucia

Katherine Maher

Katherine Maher is the former CEO of the Wikimedia Foundation (Wikipedia). Prior to leading Wikimedia, she was director of advocacy for the digital rights organization Access Now, where she focused on critical issues of freedom of expression, access to information, and privacy. Prior to Access Now, Katherine worked at the World Bank, the National Democratic Institute, and UNICEF, founding and shaping technology and innovation agendas for international development, human rights, and democratic participation. She is a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a security fellow at the Truman National Security Project, and a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. She is a trustee of the American University of Beirut, a director of the Digital Public Library of America, and has served in advisory and board roles for the Sunlight Foundation, the US Agency for Global Media’s Open Technology Fund, and the ITU’s GIGA connectivity partnership, among others.

Marcia Walker-McWilliams

Executive Director, Tulane University History Project

Marcia Walker-McWilliams is the Executive Director of the Tulane University History Project, a long-term project engaging the impacts of slavery, segregation, and issues of racial equity at Tulane University. She is a former Executive Director of the Black Metropolis Research Consortium (BMRC). She received a Ph.D. in American History from the University of Chicago and an undergraduate degree in Social Policy and African American Studies from Northwestern University. She is the author of Reverend Addie Wyatt: Faith and the Fight for Labor, Gender, and Racial Equality (University of Illinois Press, 2016) and co-author of The New Civil Rights Movement Reader: Resistance, Resilience and Justice (University of Massachusetts Press, 2023) with Traci Parker. Marcia has curated historical exhibits at the Chicago Public Library and the University of Chicago Special Collections Research Center. Prior to the BMRC, Marcia taught courses in American history and African American Studies at Lone Star College, Prairie View A&M University, the University of Houston, and Rice University where she also served as an Associate Director in the Center for Civic Leadership. She sits on the board of several organizations including the Digital Public Library of America.

Kelvin Watson

Executive Director, Las Vegas-Clark County Library District

Watson oversees 25 branches spanning 8,000 square miles, a budget of $77 million, 700 employees, and a collection of 3.2 million items. Watson joined the Library District from the Broward County Libraries Division, where as director he managed 700+ full-time employees and a budget of more than $70 million. Regarded as one of the most highly respected thought leaders in the library industry, he is credited with expanding his customer base in past library management roles, through outreach efforts to underserved and diverse populations. A current example of this is a partnership with the Regional Transit Commission of Southern Nevada to provide a library app to bus riders using on-board WiFi. This program introduces the library to thousands of potential new customers who may have had no previous library interaction. Previously, he served as COO/senior vice president for Queens Borough Library. In his prior role as chief innovation & technology officer/vice president, information, technology, and development, he was instrumental in establishing several groundbreaking programs, and he developed and implemented digital divide strategies, which promoted equality and equity for all. He serves on the San Jose State University School of Information, Leadership, and Management Program Advisory Committee, co-chairs the American Library Association Digital Content Working Group, and serves on the American Library Association Business Advisory Group, REALM Project Steering Committee and on the Board of the Book Industry Study Group. He is a past president of Black Caucus of the American Library Association and past Public Library Association Board member. Mr. Watson earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration and a Minor in Military Science from Lincoln University in Missouri. He earned his Masters of Library Science Degree from North Carolina Central University and is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.

Elaine Westbrooks

Carl A. Kroch University Librarian, Cornell University

Since July 2022, Elaine L. Westbrooks has been the Carl A Kroch University Librarian at Cornell University. She is responsible for the leadership and general administration of the University Library which includes over 15 libraries and 350 librarians, archivists, and staff. Westbrooks is a member of the Association of Research Libraries Scholars and Scholarship Committee, the Executive Committee of Triangle Research Libraries Network, and the HathiTrust Board of Governors. Because of Westbrooks’ expertise and leadership in scholarly communications and the crisis of academic publishing, she has been interviewed by numerous media outlets, including Vox, Inside Higher Education, and the Chronicle of Higher Education. Westbrooks has also emerged as a leading thinker on issues related to equity, inclusion, and social justice in academic libraries.

Board Alumni

Brian Bannon • Chris Bourg • Sarah Burnes • Cathy Casserly • Paul Courant • Robert Darnton • Luis Herrera • Jamie Hollier • Jennifer 8. Lee • Mary Minow • John Palfrey • Niko Pfund • Amy Ryan • Denise Stephens • Siva Vaidhyanathan