The Secretary, Friend at Large, and Foundation at Large positions will serve three-year terms from 2025-2028.
The 2025 ALA election results are in, and it was announced on April 7 that Maria McCauley has been elected 2026-2027 ALA President. In addition to the results of the ALA Main Ballot (ALA Treasurer, ALA Councilor at Large, and Bylaw Amendments), United for Libraries has elected three positions to its board.
The positions, Secretary, Friend at Large, and Foundation at Large, have been filled by Maura Deedy, Sharon Amastae, and Kathy Selking, respectively. Each candidate will serve three-year terms from 2025-2028, beginning after the 2025 ALA Annual Conference. Read below to learn more about them.
Secretary
Maura Deedy
Principal and Founder, Local Librarian Consulting, LLC
Maura Deedy has over 17 years of experience in municipal and state government, and is experienced working with a variety of library organizations, from small rural to large urban, library networks, and library associations. She is the founding principal of Local Librarian Consulting, a consultancy focused on supporting multi-type library and library-related organizations on evaluation, assessment, strategic planning, governance guidance, advocacy planning, director recruitment and evaluation. Previously, she was the Library Advisory Specialist at Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, and held management roles at Robbins Library (MA) and Weymouth Public Libraries (MA). Her vast experience in public libraries includes training library boards on governance and legal issues, including recruitment, intellectual freedom, and compliance with state laws and regulations. Maura is a trusted resource for guidance and advice to library directors, trustees, friends, foundations, as well as select boards and town managers.
Friend at Large
Sharon Amastae
Trustee, New Mexico Library Foundation
Sharon Amastae is Past-Chair of the Library Friends, Trustees, and Advocates Round Table of the Texas Library Association. She has been a Trustee with the New Mexico Library Foundation since 2020. In 2021, she received the Texas Library Association Lifetime Achievement Award. Sharon served as President of the Texas Library Association in 2014-2015. She has also served as an Executive Board Member and ALA Councilor with the Texas Library Association. She was a librarian with Ysleta ISD, El Paso, Texas, from 1985-2012, and was selected as Teacher of the Year four times during her tenure there.
Foundation at Large
Kathy Selking
Director of Development, Affinity, and Events, Toledo Lucas County (Ohio) Public Library
Kathy Selking is the Director of Development, Affinity, and Events for the Toledo Lucas County (Ohio) Public Library, where she serves as a member of the Library’s seven- person leadership team. In her role, she oversees both the Library’s foundation, a 501c3, and the Friends organization, a 501c4, as well as major events. She previously served as Development Manager for the Toledo Zoo and Area Director for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. She is a Foundation at Large Board Member for United for Libraries and serves on the United for Libraries Programming Committee. In the Toledo community, she is currently on the board of TARTA, the local transit authority, as well as This Is OH (Co-president, 2017 – present), a group that works to address EDI issues in her community.
