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About Us

Library Staff & Board

Meet Our Staff

  • Amy McDonald, Library Director
    Amy McDonald, Library Director

    Our fearless leader! Amy worked so hard as our Director of Development & Partnerships, spreading the word about all the amazing things we do up here on the hill, that when Amanda moved on in 2019 we just had to have Amy as our new library director! Amy is happily married and has three very energetic sons: Connor, Colby, and Caiden (we "C" where she was going with that!). Now, despite her being from New England and cheering on both the Patriots and the Red Sox, we do allow her out in public; you might see her at community events or some big library fundraiser, where her extraordinary people skills shine.

  • Heather Auman, Head of Library Services
    Heather Auman, Head of Library Services

    Heather is Head of Library Services, i.e. “jack-of-all-trades” at the library, where she teaches some tech classes, manages the collection, coordinates adult programming, creates the newsletter and website, and yells at the computers when they don’t behave. Heather’s also a registered notary public and a self-published author (under H. L. Blake). Her dearest obsessions include sci-fi/fantasy (especially Ender's Game and Lord of the Rings), the ocean, newborn kittens, adventure games, and of course libraries of all shapes and sizes. Heather’s usually hidden in the back office so you may never see her, but her handiwork is all around. If you need some tech help, just ask - she enjoys the chance to get away from her desk!

  • Laura Kulin, Manager of Development & Operations
    Laura Kulin, Manager of Development & Operations

    Our caffeine-loving Library Mama, Laura is another staff member who dons many a hat. Among other things, she sends thank-you notes for donations and is responsible for all the pretty stickers and protective covers on our books. Laura has a Bachelor’s in Business Admin and also works full-time consulting with companies who export into high risk countries, to help them establish Letters of Credit and present documents on their behalf to U.S. banks. Sounds complicated! Laura loves her eggs straight up hard boiled and might charm you by doing a little soft-shoe when answering a question; it depends on the day. She is involved in Italian Greyhound Rescue and has a German Shepherd named Gunner who will kiss you death if you’re not careful.

  • KC Rovensky, Fundraising & Development Coordinator
    KC Rovensky, Fundraising & Development Coordinator

    KC is our Fundraising & Development Coordinator, and she also works as a substitute teacher in the West A district. KC has three kids, a dog and a cat, and a husband. She and her family all travel quite a bit, and her kids have earned over 30 Jr. Ranger Badges from National Parks! In her downtime, KC finds crafts like crocheting and cross-stitching to be very calming, and of course she loves to read!

  • Becky Proie, Youth Services Manager
    Becky Proie, Youth Services Manager

    Becky Proie is our Youth Services Manager. She is a self-admitted theatre geek and has a penchant for costumes. Did you see her dressed as Ms. Frizzle from The Magic School Bus for Halloween? It was AMAZING! When she's not doing storytimes and running the show in Youth Services, Becky is a Pens fan and a sucker for a good brewery. Her "guilty pleasure" TV show is The Masked Singer, and though she doesn't have a lot of time to sit down with a good book, she does multi-task by listening to audiobooks on Libby while working. Gotta get the reading in somehow!

  • Lexi Mulvihill, Youth Services Programming Specialist
    Lexi Mulvihill, Youth Services Programming Specialist

    Lexi has worked with children for over 10 years! She has her Master's degree in Early Childhood Education and has taught and worked with children 6 weeks - 4th grade. When not working, she loves to read, especially Romance. She enjoys playing with her cats, Captain and Bucky. She also loves hanging outside, swimming, hiking, and playing games with her friends. Lexi is super excited that her passion for reading and children came together and can't wait to meet all our WACL families!

  • Marie Brajdic, Bookkeeper
    Marie Brajdic, Bookkeeper

    Marie is our bookkeeper and has her Bachelor's in accounting from Robert Morris College. Her full-time job is as an accounting consultant for a diverse clientele, including non-profits (like us!). Marie resides in North Fayette with her husband, daughter, and their dog, Sadie. When she's not crunching numbers, you can find her at her daughter's soccer or track events, shoe shopping, or watching HGTV.

  • Donna Shemon, Circulation Information Manager
    Donna Shemon, Circulation Information Manager

    Donna may just be our most orderly circulation clerk. She grew up in Freeport and raised triplets (who are now in college) which we’re pretty sure is the reason she’s so very organized. Donna works behind the scenes with a lot of our library reports and lists, drawing heavily on her B.S. degree in Management Information Systems. A seriously hardworking and amazing multi-tasker, she also hunts for missing and lost books around the library (it's like a treasure hunt!). She is totally into watermelon, Rocky I and II, and claims she cannot remember ever receiving a gift she wasn’t truly grateful for (now that’s a nice person!).

  • Elizabeth Shannon, Circulation Supervisor
    Elizabeth Shannon, Circulation Supervisor

    Elizabeth is sure to be a familiar face in our community, as she comes to us after retiring from 22 years of teaching at West A. In her free time, she achieved a Master Gardener Certificate from Penn State Extension of Allegheny County. Elizabeth says she also loves baseball - yes, even the Pirates!

  • Susan Osborn, Circulation Supervisor
    Susan Osborn, Circulation Supervisor

    Susan has worked as a college career counselor, corporate trainer, and preschool teacher - not to mention her favorite full-time job, mom to her two amazing kids, kitties, and a new puppy! Susan loves kayaking with her husband, taking long walks, and reading books with happy endings (us too!).

  • Carli Oswald, Library Assistant
    Carli Oswald, Library Assistant

    Carli is another of our overqualified library assistants, having her Master's in Education with a specialty of working with children. She was raised on a farm but transplanted to the city recently. She loves animals and shares her home with two dogs, a cat, and a bunny...oh, and a husband and three children too! Carli loves to read and eat, so if you want to get on her good side, give her a good restaurant, recipe, or book recommendation.

  • Elaine Vattimo, Library Assistant
    Elaine Vattimo, Library Assistant

    You may never meet a kinder person than our Elaine! Elaine loves her library so much that she just had to work here, and she is happy to help you out at the front desk or in the youth services department. Besides loving her library and Harry Potter (of course!), Elaine loves and lives for her family. She has a sweet daughter named Lauren, an adopted kitty named Pepper, and a BFF who happens to be her husband. She's lucky to live close to extended family and just as lucky to live in the West Allegheny community. Elaine likes to stay as busy as a honeybee, so you may see her out and about in the community, at school, or hunting for a great bargain. She also keeps buzzing by working as an adult education instructor and is currently teaching classes for English language learners.

  • Julian Matucheski, Library Assistant
    Julian Matucheski, Library Assistant

    Julian began as a volunteer at the library for about five years, and then decided to make it official and join us on staff. He is currently taking a gap year before pursuing a Bachelor's in Political Science. In his spare time, Julian enjoys writing/journaling and spending time with his dogs Raven and Harper (cool names!). Plus, he's always there to help out his busy family with their busy lives!

  • Laura Zottola, Library Assistant
    Laura Zottola, Library Assistant

    Laura is another of our staff with an interesting "day job." She has her Master's Degree in English and teaches as an adjunct faculty member at Robert Morris University - impressive! Laura was born in Hawaii and grew up as a "military brat," where she had the opportunity to travel around the U.S. and live in Colorado, South Dakota, and some other cool places. When not working, Laura is busy at home with her husband, two girls, and a new puppy named King.

  • Mackenzie Partyka, Library Assistant
    Mackenzie Partyka, Library Assistant

    Mackenzie is the newest friendly face on our front desk team! Besides her part-time gig at the library, she is also working towards achieving a Bachelor's degree in Healthcare Administration from Southern New Hampshire University (she is of course taking classes remotely...that would be quite a commute!). Her favorite pastimes are spending time with family and friends, listening to music, taking road trips, and swimming (but obviously only in the summer!).

  • Nancy Holston, Library Assistant
    Nancy Holston, Library Assistant

    Nancy is technically retired from the library, but still fills in with a smile when we need her! She has lived an interesting life (one wonders how she ended up in in Western PA?!) and has a beautiful cherry red Pontiac Solstice convertible she calls the Doll Shoe. Nancy is a US Army Veteran and retired from a 33-year career with the FAA Air Traffic Technical Operations as Electronics Technician and Manager at the Pittsburgh Airport. Nancy loves Charlie’s Angels and enjoys munching on Necco Wafers while watching movies, when she's not going on an amazing safari or cruise to some exotic destination (we're so jealous, but we love hearing her stories when she comes back!).

  • Stephen Auman, Library Assistant & Maintenance
    Stephen Auman, Library Assistant & Maintenance

    Stephen is one of our circulation clerks, but he does much more than that, especially after hours when he turns into "Maintenance Man"! You might occasionally see him doing some heavy lifting or with his head in the ceiling, but don't be concerned - he's just doing his job. Stephen is married - to our own Heather Auman (they met working at the library...awwww). He’s also a self-published author and our resident artist, happy to draw a pony or superhero right on the spot for any child who asks. Before coming to WACL, he worked for the government (it’s classified).

Library Board of Trustees

Members of the board are listed below with their representative borough, township, or organization.

Michele Conti, President (NF)
Jude "Skip" Shemon, Vice President (F)
MaryAnn Wiesner, Treasurer (F)
Aleksandra Kocelko, Secretary (F)
Erin Carlisle (NF)
Juliana Devere (NF)
Kay Doddato (NF)
Robert Mizwa (O)
Zac Wassel (O)

2024 Board Meeting Schedule
  • January 15
  • February 19
  • March 18
  • April 15
  • May 20
  • June 17
  • August 19
  • September 16
  • October 21
  • ​​​​​​​November 18

Board Meeting Minutes and Documents

Book and notebook
  • Items Borrowed

    172,202

  • Registered Members

    14,425

  • Dollars Raised

    91,526

  • Program Participants

    13,796

© 2024 Western Allegheny Community Library

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