Who's Who

As an organization with a small budget and a large mission, we are proud to have a committed and talented staff and board. Their strength is derived from a belief that what we do every day makes a difference to an individual's ability to achieve their best potential through the life-long learning derived from the free access to education and cultural enrichment available only at the public library.

Amy Dougherty

Executive Director
215-686-5361
email Amy

Since 2001 Amy Dougherty, Executive Director, has had the unique opportunity to lead the Friends of the Free Library of Philadelphia (FFL) through significant growth and achievements, making FFL one of the country's pre-eminent advocates for public libraries through volunteer stewardship. An overview of the past decade of accomplishments follows:

  • 2001: Twenty-one active Friends Groups, primarily located in mid- to upper-income library neighborhoods; thirty-three libraries without.
  • 2003: Neighborhood Volunteers for Better Libraries Inception of a grant-funded community outreach staffer for group start-ups in at-risk neighborhoods.
  • 2004: FFL Board long-range planning results in 2005-10 Strategic Plan
  • 2005: Thwarted the administration's plans for twenty Express Libraries (half-day service in poor neighborhoods) through rallies, city-wide outcry, and legal action, resulting in an increase to the Free Library budget and formation of six new Friends Groups.
  • 2005-7: Volunteers Are Vital, a two-year series of training workshops for Friends Groups.
  • 2009: Publication of Library Friends: a Best Practices Manual
  • 2008-09: Save the 11 Coalition Halting permanent closure of eleven branches through city-wide public outcry and a winning law suit, changing the perception of the role of libraries in modern life.
  • 2009-10: Expansion of book operations with opening of second used bookstore, The Next Page, at 722 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia.
  • 2010-11: Strategic Planning process included public and Friends Group participation with Libraries of the Future public forums, a Blue Sky session, group surveys, board committee work, and ratification of the 2012-16 Strategic Plan in June 2011.
  • 2011: Fifty active Friends Groups with three more to activate to reach strategic goal of 100 percent.

Amy is looking forward to getting to work on FY12's Strategic Goals:

  1. Capacity Building for Friends Groups through effective community outreach in the Kensington and North Philadelphia libraries of McPherson Square, Lillian Marrero, Kensington, Widener, Wyoming, Cecil B. Moore, and group strengthening workshops.
  2. Capacity Building for FFL organization through financial, including increased book operations profits and human capital development.
  3. Leaders for Readers United campaign: Advocacy for the restoration of the Free Library's city operating budget to $41 million for six-day-per-week service at all library branches so working families can patronize their local branch; unscheduled closures due to insufficient staffing are at a minimum; and library shelves are stocked with materials that borrowers want and need.

Tessa Renshaw

Community Outreach Coordinator
267-303-3018
email Tessa

Tessa holds a degree in Urban Studies from Rutgers University at Camden, and brings her experience in leading and organizing unique community projects in Camden to the Friends of the Free Library. Along with residents, she designed and established an urban pocket park in a heavily industrialized neighborhood; organized and instructed residents on ways to preserve the historical architecture of their (2,200) homes; and developed a neighborhood plan to form a team of scholars to unite, prioritize and organize community efforts and a "Fathers Make a Difference" campaign.

Tessa is very excited to join our efforts to achieve our next set of neighborhood and organizational goals. She'll be assisting transitioning and newly established groups, and will work to form new groups at McPherson Square, Lillian Marrero, Cecil B. Moore and Widener libraries.

Book Corner & The Next Page Staff

Jonathan Sipes, Director of Development
Richard Wilhelm, Senior Bookseller
Anna Bean
Stephanie Brown
Mia Dalia
Eliot Klein
Peter Panagakos

215-567-0527

Jonathan Sipes comes to us with 12 years of bookstore management experience, and is a lifelong lover of books. Jonathan is excited and enthused to seek out new avenues to bring in more book donations, as well as reaching out to book lovers that may not yet be familiar with what we offer. When not lost between the pages of a book, or among the stacks in one of the bookstores, Jonathan can be found listening to old 78rpm records on his gramophone, bicycling and running in Fairmount Park and along Kelly drive, and generally enjoying life in the Art Museum Area neighborhood.

The Book Corner and Next Page staff works together to appraise, price and sort a constant influx of used books donated by the public. They aim to support the Friends of the Free Library and to provide an accessible venue for the area's literary community through the sale of inexpensive, quality used books, poetry and prose readings, and other events.

Board of Directors

Irv Ackelsberg, President
Rasheedah Phillips, Vice-president
Marj Dugan, Secretary

Current Board Members

Irv Ackelsberg
Attorney; Langer, Grogan, and Diver, P.C.
Edward Bonett, Jr.
Attorney, Nation Labor Relations Board
Angela Kweon Curry
Compliance Counsel, Burlington Coat Factory
Joe DeFelice
Philadelphia Director, Pennsylvania Republican Party
Dawn Maglicco Deitch
Director, Office of Government Affairs, University of Pennsylvania
Barbara McDowell Dowdall
Marjorie P. Dugan, Ph.D.
M.P. Dugan Associates, LLC
Monique Durso
Teacher, William Penn Charter School
Ruth L. Gales
Editor (retired), Metropolitan Museum of Art
Daniel K. Garofalo, AID
Office of University Architects, University of Pennsylvania
Roseanne Gill
Honorable Barbara A. Joseph
Court of Common Pleas
Mary Kilroy
Public & Private Art Consultant
Jerry Kline
Jane Lamb
Director of Risk Management, Philadelphia Gas Works
Judith Logan-White
Rasheedah Phillips
Attorney, Community Legal Services of Philadelphia
Honorable Lillian Harris Ransom
Court of Common Pleas
Michael Schaedle
Partner; Blank Rome, LLP
Al Schmidt
Senior Advisor, Republican Party of PA

Recent Board Members

Joshua Baer, Esq.
Attorney; Margolis, Edelstein, LLP
James M. Becker
Saul Ewing, LLP
Richard L. Brown
General Counsel, Delaware River Port Authority
Abhishek Chandan
Principal and Founder, Ideametrics LLC
Yvonne Cook
Principal, Chadwell Solutions
Martha Cornog
American College of Physicians
Honorable Pamela Pryor Dembe
President, Court of Common Pleas
Joseph DiGiuseppe
Attorney, City of Philadelphia
John DiNome
Partner; Reed Smith, LLP
Ethan Fleegler
Wharton School, Board Intern
Nessa Forman
Retired - Vice President of Communications, WHYY
Terry Gillen
Executive Director, Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority
Amy Greer
Attorney, ReedSmith
Fred Holzerman
Consultant, Reliance Insurance
Deborah Hoxter
Honorable Joyce Kean
Retired - Court of Common Pleas
Ennes Littrell
Retired - Director, ActionAIDS
Kate McNamara
Special Assistant to Governor Rendell
Sarah D. Price
Leslie C. Safran
Senior Attorney; Sunoco, Inc.
Gretchen Santamour
Partner; Stradley, Ronan, LLP
Sally Steffen
Partner; Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP
Letty D. Thall
Maternity Care Coalition
Joel C. Trotter
Senior Counsel, GlaxoSmithKline
Kathy Walters
Retired - Vice President of Technology, Exelon Energy Delivery
Honorable John Younge
Court of Common Pleas