Library Advisory Board

  Originally a Wisconsin native, the Air Force brought Amy to Wichita Falls in 1997 with her two daughters: Alicia and April. Here, she was able to follow her passion for teaching future USAF F-16 aircraft maintainers in the 362 TRS, 82 TRW. After retiring from the United States Air Force, she returned to 82 TRW Sheppard AFB to continue serving in civil service.

  It took many challenging years while working and raising her daughters before Amy completed her Bachelor’s degree in Occupational Education and her Master’s in Educational Leadership at Wayland Baptist University.

  Amy’s passions have always been gardening, and volunteering while serving her church and community. After becoming a Texas Master Gardener, she served on a number of city boards, including the Airport Advisory board, Airport Board of Adjustment and the WF Public Library Advisory Board.

  Zak Carlton was born and raised in Wichita Falls. He graduated from Wichita Falls High School in 2003. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Public Administration from Texas State University, a MA in Political Science from Midwestern State University, and a JD from New England Law | Boston.

  Zak is married to Chelsea Carlton. Together they have a son and two dogs. Both are active members of the House of Jacob Synagogue, where Zak is Vice President of the synagogue's board.

  Between his time as a student and teaching Zak has gained a deep appreciation for the important services libraries and their staff provide. He is very excited to serve on the board as the Wichita Falls Public Library continues to be a central part of the community.

  Marianne Dowdy graduated from Rider High School in 2002 and earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Mass Communication at Midwestern State University in 2006. She is an Escrow Officer at American National Title of Texas. Her favorite part of her job is helping people put down roots in Wichita Falls. She loves the community she calls home.

  Marianne is a member of the Senior-Junior Forum and enjoys volunteering with the organization. Her love of reading started at a young age. Some of her fondest childhood memories are of her dad taking her and her sisters to the public library. She attributes her love of reading to her dad, the Baby-Sitters Club series and Judy Blume. She belongs to two book clubs.

  When she’s not reading, Marianne loves spending time with her husband Ken in the great outdoors where they will be hiking or cycling, or indoors watching movies and spending time with their family. They have three beautiful daughters and one adorable grandson.

  Kristen Garrison and her husband Steve moved from Kansas to Wichita Falls in late July, 2002, when Steve accepted a position as political science professor at Midwestern State University. Six weeks later, their first daughter arrived on the scene, and while a new baby, new job, and new house--not to mention new community--kept them busy, Kristen decided to put her Master's degree in English to good use and teach as an adjunct at MSU.

  Another child and 7 years later, Kristen completed her Ph.D. in Rhetoric at Texas Woman's University and was hired in the English department full time. She currently serves as the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, a role that gives her opportunities and the responsibility to help coordinate learning experiences that enhance MSU students' education.

  In the past 20 years, Kristen has devoted her volunteer-energy to whatever activities her daughters were doing, from soccer and volleyball coach, to Girl Scout co-leader and Theater/Band-Mom. The call for Library Advisory Board landed at the perfect moment, and this lifelong reader was ready to serve. A healthy public library is foundational to a strong community, and Kristen serves on the WFPL Library Advisory Board to support our wonderful public librarians’ efforts to make positive contributions to Wichita Falls and our neighbors. She spent several years taking her daughters to the library for events and to keep them all (herself included) well-stocked with good books, and she wants to help keep that experience accessible to everyone.

  Suhua received a Ph.D. in Reading Education from University of Oklahoma and worked in an international school for ten years in Taiwan. Various working, teaching, and research experiences have been valuable to her throughout her higher education career and fostered her development as a global-minded researcher, educator, evaluator, and visionary thinker.

  She joined the faculty at Midwestern State University in 2009. Suhua has published 3 books, 7 book chapters, and 23 articles in peer-reviewed journals. Two of her research articles were nominated to receive the International Reading Association’s Dina Feitelson Research Award and another article on which she collaborated with Dr. Matthew Capps was nominated to receive the 2021 Author Applebee Award for Excellence in Research on Literacy. One of her books, 20 STEM Literacy Strategies for Grades 4-8, was nominated to receive the 2020 Edward B. Fry Book Award.

  Her research on college students’ reading motivation has received considerable attention from different disciplinary areas nationwide and even worldwide. This topic continues to be of interest, and she has been invited to present her research studies in Belgium, Chile, Greece, Taiwan, and the UK.

  In addition to serving as a member of the Library Advisory Board, Suhua works actively with a variety of school communities. She is proud of having established the MSU Reading Clinic in the Wichita Falls Independent School District since beginning to work at MSU. Over the past years, the MSU Reading Clinic has helped more than 360 young readers to overcome reading difficulties. She and her students’ contribution to struggling readers has been well recognized by the WFISD and the International Reading Association (IRA). She was nominated to receive the Jerry Johns Award of the International Reading Association (IRA) for four consecutive years from 2017 to 2020.

  Daniel Juárez is a teaching artist based out of Wichita Falls, Texas. He received his teaching artist training from the Lincoln Center. He is a very active member of the local art community and often collaborates with various organizations including 9th Street Studios, the Alliance for Arts and Culture, the Kemp Center for Arts and Culture, the Wichita Falls Museum at MSU, the Wichita Falls Independent School District, the Wichita Falls Art Association and many others.

  In addition to being a member of the Advisory Board at the Wichita Falls Public Library, Daniel also serves on the board of the Wichita Falls Art Association, the Advisory Board of the Wichita Falls Alliance for Arts and Culture and the planning committee for the annual Día de Muertos festival hosted by Potencia Projects.

  One of Daniel’s most passionate endeavors is his work with the Art in Transition program sponsored by the Arts Council Wichita Falls. The Art in Transition program offers art classes for inmates at the Wichita County Law Enforcement Center.

  In addition to the A.I.T. program Daniel also teaches classes at the Wichita Falls Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Center. This program ensures that the young teens continue to receive art classes during their time at the Juvenile Center.

  One of Daniel’s paintings, “Bike Meyers,” graces the walls of the library. He has also participated in the layout and design of two books featuring the library’s mascots, Booker and Paige.

  Katherine Love is a homeschool mom of three children. Some of her fondest childhood memories are checking out books for the summer reading challenges. She works tirelessly to instill a love of learning in her children and appreciates the fun and welcoming activities provided by the Wichita Falls Public Library.

  Soon to be a new grandmother, she can’t wait to participate in youth activities with the new baby. When a position opened on the Library Advisory Board, she saw an opportunity to support the library that had served so many generations of her family and community.

  Katherine is an avid library supporter and proponent of education. She recently completed her MBA in Business Analytics.

  Shunta McFadden's very first real job was at Nicholson Memorial Library in Longview, TX as a library page. Nicholson was replaced by Longview Public Library in 1987. As a page, she was responsible for putting returned books and other items in their proper places on the shelves, keeping books in order, retrieving materials and checking items back in.

  Since that job over 40 years ago, she has cherished and appreciated public libraries and their importance to the community. As a result, she wanted to do her part to advocate for our local library here in Wichita Falls.

  As a prior military spouse, Shunta McFadden, has enjoyed traveling in the U.S. and abroad. Shunta brings over 20 years of experience as a retired Wichita County Adult Probation Officer. She is presently employed with the Texas Department of Transportation. She has a Bachelor of Applied Arts and Science and a Master of Arts in Training and Development; both from Midwestern State University; Wichita Falls, TX.

  In addition to the Library Advisory Board, Shunta serves on the board for the Hospice of Wichita Falls, Habitat for Humanity - Wichita Falls, and WFISD Foundation.

  Betty is the president of the League of Women Voters in Wichita Falls. She served on the Child Welfare boards in Graham and Dallas and was a CASA volunteer.

  In addition, Betty is on the Selective Service System District Appeal Board for the State of Texas. She served as a member of the board of the Texas Center for Education Policy at the University of Texas at Austin. She is a former board member of the Texas Rehab Center in Wichita Falls. As a former educator, she enjoys being a member in the Who’s Who of American Teachers. She is a past president of Retired Teachers in Graham.

  Betty is married to Boyd Richie. They have 2 grown children and 4 perfect grandchildren.