ABOUT FOWL
Friends of the Winthrop Public Library (FOWL) has supported the Winthrop Library for well over 50 years! In 2022, the five-year effort to create, fund, and build a new library was successful when its doors were opened on June 11th, exactly two years after groundbreaking. Now, FOWL’s mission—in addition to completing the library’s landscaping, educational gardens and future solar panels—is to support and promote the Winthrop Public Library as a vital community resource. Meet the all-volunteer Board that is leading the effort.
MATT HINCKLEY, SECRETARY. Matt is a science teacher, hiker, and cross country skier. Matt is the IB Middle Years Program Coordinator at Liberty Bell Junior-Senior High School, where he also teaches science. Before moving to the Methow, Matt founded a middle school makerspace in Berkeley. Matt is a National Board Certified Teacher, and he holds a Masters in Teaching from the University of Washington and a BA in Geology from Carleton College. Matt's favorite library resources are ones that answer immediate needs. He recently brushed up on molecular biology with a study guide and showed his students a documentary film on hoopla, both checked out from the NCW Libraries. Matt and his wife Beth built a shed using tools checked out from the Berkeley Public Library. In high school, the Seattle Public Library’s research librarian hotline was helpful for homework, and he procrastinated with friends in the college library. He now uses the U.S. Department of Education's research librarian services to answer questions at work.
CRAIG SEASHOLES, BOARD CHAIR. Craig has enjoyed a 40+ year career in education that began in the outdoors. He returned to the Methow Valley after almost 20 years as a teacher-librarian in Seattle schools. A decade with the National Outdoor Leadership School included summer mountaineering in Wyoming, Washington, and Alaska; and backcountry ski touring trips, including a season in the Pasayten Wilderness. Indoors, Craig's 35-year career as elementary school teacher and librarian has engaged and guided students and staff with adventures in library and information technology. He's served leadership roles in the Washington Library Association and American Association of School Librarians and keeps his eye on the libraries of tomorrow. From a snug yurt along the Chewuch, Craig and his wife enjoy ski touring and hiking as much now as when they met 40 years ago working the trails, glaciers and peaks of the North Cascades. A favorite book: If on a Winter's Night a Traveller, by Italo Calvino.
MONICA GALEUCIA, DIRECTOR. Monica joined the board in 2023. While volunteering at the Winthrop library for the last year, she has seen first hand the positive impact the library has made on so many people in the community. Originally from the Bay Area, Monica was fortunate to have the opportunity to live abroad for 13 years in Germany, Brazil, and Switzerland, where her children were born. Her career was in direct marketing for banking and insurance companies. Monica and her husband retired to the Methow Valley five years ago and enjoy spending time outdoors skiing, hiking, biking, and traveling.
MARGO PETERSON-ASPHOLM, DIRECTOR. Margo Peterson-Aspholm is a Methow Valley resident, wife, mother, architect, artist, jazz singer, home cook, gardener, outdoorswoman, and reader. As an architect, she had the honor of teaming with Johnston Architects to achieve the Winthrop Library. A library is an irresistible opportunity for an architect, as library design can positively shape a community’s image of itself. To the FOWL board, Margo contributes a knowledge of the library’s physical plant as well as enthusiasm for the institution’s mission and love of the valley community. Margo has volunteered countless hours at Methow Valley School District, working with students on various architectural explorations. A former collegiate basketball player, she has helped coach girls’ basketball at AAU and high school levels and has also volunteered extensively for the Methow Valley Nordic Ski Team. Margo loves spending time in the mountains with her husband, David, and their two grown children, Peter and Liv. Margo owns a handful of books that she reads over and over, until they are in tatters. Two of these are Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen, and Ceremony, by Leslie Marmon Silko.
COURTNEY ABER, DIRECTOR. Courtney joined the board of FOWL in 2022 because she believes that libraries are a key part of a great community. Her professional background is in nonprofits and education. She thinks the Winthrop Library is already demonstrating the many ways libraries can innovate to meet the needs of the community and she is excited to help continue that work. A favorite book: The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman.
KATE RICHMOND, DIRECTOR. Kate Richmond moved to Winthrop full-time in 2020 and joined the FOWL Board in 2022. She works remotely as a product development engineer. A lifelong avid reader, she remembers getting her first library card and the distinctive smell of her childhood library in Maine. She loves that the new library will be a community gathering place, a resource so needed after the pandemic years. Her 4-year old son loves visiting the library and picking out new books. He excitedly watched the construction with his Little Star School classmates. She brings the perspective of local families to FOWL’s work and will work to build connections with those families. A favorite book: Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson.
BARTH MERRILL, DIRECTOR. Barth, a Washington native, grew up in libraries, while helping his school librarian mother. In his 34 years as a Naval officer and physician Barth never lost his love of reading and learning. Having moved over 16 times while in the Navy, he and his spouse Carmen are overjoyed to call the Methow Valley their forever home. Since retirement Barth has enjoyed volunteering at the library, helping local vets through the American Legion, and serving as an assistant track and cross-country coach at Liberty Bell Middle School. Barth is excited to bring his leadership experience and unique perspective to the FOWL board. A recent favorite book is The Code Breaker by Walter Isaacson.
DUANA KOLOUSKOVA, DIRECTOR. Duana is a born-and-raised Washingtonian. After frequenting the Methow Valley for decades, she has the great fortune to live here part time. Duana is an avid library patron and worked as a librarian assistant prior to her career as an attorney. She has been practicing land use and environmental law for twenty-five years. Duana is adventurous by nature, loving to travel and spend as much time outdoors as she can. She has a dog, a horse, and loves biking and skiing. She has the great fortune of a loving spouse who shares her passions for adventure, travel and languages. One of her favorite books is The Sentence by Louise Erdrich..
JEN HOUSTON, DIRECTOR. With 20+ years experience in marketing and communications, Jen is a word-struck storyteller with a passion for thinking differently to engage audiences and move them to action. She and her family have been returning to the Methow for more than 18 years and she has lived in Mazama since 2020. Prior to retiring in the Fall of 2022, she served as the Chief Marketing Officer for D-Wave, the quantum computing company. Driven by never-ending curiosity, and as a military child, she has always experienced libraries as a safe place for diverse thinking and inclusive community. The Winthrop Library fuels her belief in the power of the intersection of storytelling and society, unlocking new cultures, new ideas, new perspectives, and highlighting the universality of our shared human experience. A favorite book: Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.
Past Board Members and Leadership Team 2017-2023
Shannon Huffman Polson, Board Chair, 2017 - 2022
Jill Sheley, Executive Director, 2019 - 2022
Shane Swanson, Director, 2019 - 2022
Bruce Honsinger, Board Vice Chair, 2018 - 2022
Boo Turner, Director, 2019 - 2023
Wendy Sims, Director, 2019-2023
Char Alkire, Director, 2019-2023
Harris Clarke, Treasurer, 2020 - 2022
Dan Kaltenbach • *Mike Real • Rachel Macmorran • Pat Leigh • Nancy Juergens • Sarah Berns
Advisory Council
Jill Sheley, FOWL Executive Director
Shane Swanson, FOWL Board
Boo Turner, FOWL Board
Harris Clarke, FOWL Board
Bruce Honsinger, FOWL Board
Carl* and Roxie Miller, Shafer Museum, Honorary Co-Chairs, Capital Campaign
Tom Venable, Superintendent, Methow Valley School District
Richard Hart, Author, Historian
Mark Ryan, Attorney and President, Winthrop Chamber of Commerce
John Battle
*Ken Westman
Suzanne Perin, Executive Director, Shafer Museum
Dani Reynaud, Executive Director, Little Star School
Kathe Fowler
Jane Gilbertson
Carolyn Sullivan
Ashley Lodato, Methow Arts
Sarah Berns, Owner, Spring Creek Ranch
*Mike Real
*Deceased. Their spirits will forever be a part of this new library.
Non-Profit Status
Please contact us at fowl98862@gmail.com for access to our non-profit disclosures, including governing documents, conflict of interest policy, and financial statements.
Our federal Tax ID # (EIN) is 82-1525939. FOWL is a 501(c)(3) organization and is registered with the State of Washington Secretary of State’s Office under the Charitable Solicitations Act. You may call 1-800-332-4483 or visit www.sos.wa.gov/charities for more information.