Adam Breininger
Director of Development
(612) 543-8106 | abreininger@hclib.org
Adam has been a devoted fan of libraries since he walked out of the Allen County Library (in Indiana) with his first giant stack of books about marine life, a particular passion of his growing up. Now his interests have shifted, and Doris Kearns Goodwin is one of his favorite authors. He says he reads way too much non-fiction and is always looking for good suggestions on what to read in the world of fiction.
Adam has been raising funds for amazing nonprofits for 15 years, previously with Minnesota Children’s Museum and the Fort Wayne (IN) Philharmonic. Now, he spends his days connecting with the Library’s many Friends and is often overwhelmed by their astonishing generosity. He, along with our Friends, is rooted and compelled by the belief that the Library can impact virtually any human from any background in real and powerful ways.
If you have questions about individual giving, membership, the Minerva Leadership Circle ($1,000+) or the Gratia Legacy Circle (planned giving), he’s your guy!
Emily Cain
Marketing & Communications Manager
(612) 543-8114 | ecain@hclib.org
As Marketing & Communications Manager, Emily believes strongly in the power of storytelling as a means of building empathy and understanding among all people. Sharing the deeply moving, often uplifting, and always inspirational stories of our incredible library is one of the great joys of her work with Friends.
Prior to her role as Marketing & Communications Manager, Emily was the Events Manager for Friends and had the pleasure of interviewing Emma Cline, author of the The Girls, as part of a Talk of the Stacks, and was invited to speak as a guest panelist at the Minnesota Publishers' Roundtable luncheon for a conversation on alternative book events.
Outside of work, Emily enjoys reading, writing, running, playing music, and spending time with family and friends. As a self-described "pop culture nerd" Emily loves talking about books, music, and film with whoever is within earshot. She says, “My favorite book is Bossypants by Tina Fey, because the depth of her comedic genius never ceases to amaze me.”
Rob Goudy
Events specialist
(612) 543-8107 | rgoudy@hclib.org
As Events Specialist, Rob plans memorable experiences for all of our event attendees. Whether organizing Pen Pals, Talk of the Stacks, or other donor events, Rob is working hard behind-the-scenes to make sure our programs and events run smoothly.
Rob earned his bachelor’s degree in Theater with an associated study in Literature which covered everything from Norse sagas to method acting. Prior to working at Friends, spent the majority of his life juggling a freelance career as a theater director, dramaturg and stage manager with a day job as a bookseller at Barnes & Noble. He’s worked at every size theater in the Twin Cities. From old warhorses like the Guthrie and Theatre de la Jeune Lune to scrappy upstarts like Gremlin Theater to community gems like Theatre in the Round and Artistry in Bloomington.
A few of Rob’s favorite books include A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle, The Stranger’s Child by Alan Hollinghurst and On Beauty by Zadie Smith.
Katie Lawson Ishida
Development & Administrative Associate
(612) 543-8108 | klishida@hclib.org
As Development and Administrative Associate, Katie is the friendly voice you hear on the phone when calling to learn more about Friends, your membership, or ask general questions. Katie thinks the best part about working for our Library is knowing that she directly supports our community’s access to infinite reserves of knowledge, adventure, and exploration.
Katie earned her bachelor's degree from Augsburg University in English Literature and Sociology. Prior to working at Friends, Katie worked as Operations Specialist for the Augsburg Admissions Office, and most recently as the Concierge Director at Woofington—a rather posh, but very fun, hotel for petite pooches.
When thinking back to her favorite library memory, Katie says, "I fondly remember my mom taking me to the library every summer for the Summer Reads programs and I would be so pumped to check off all of the books on the reading lists (and piles more for good measure)."
Outside of work Katie enjoys traveling, reading, writing fiction, and painting.
Linda Merritt
Finance director
(612) 543-8103 | lkmerritt@hclib.org
Linda provides so much support and infrastructure for our work… you could think of her as our bridge. As the financial “bridge” to the Hennepin County Library, she processes all gifts and grants we receive, and she reports the ways they are put into action at the Library. Linda is also a “bridge” to our organizational history, holding a decade worth of memories, relationships, and knowledge that span the merge of Minneapolis Public Libraries and Hennepin County Library in 2009.
Growing up in a rural location, Linda remembers receiving monthly books in the mail as part of a Book Club gift membership from her grandparents. She is now immensely grateful to use and work for an outstanding Library system. Outside of work, Linda enjoys movies, cooking, quilting, gardening, card games, and seeking out new books to read depending the seasons, moods, and flavors of the day!
Courtney Skinner
Membership manager
(612) 543-8104 | cskinner@hclib.org
As Membership Manager, Courtney is inspired by our incredible community of donors who help make our Library stronger. She is a personal advocate of the programs and resources our Library provides and frequently collaborates with HCL staff through programs like Coffee & Conversations.
Before joining Friends, Courtney worked to raise funds to build the largest library collection in South Sudan. In addition, she has fundraised for public media, consumer protection, and environmental organizations.
Courtney earned her BA in English from Concordia College and will complete her masters in Nonprofit Management from Hamline University in May 2018.
In her free time, Courtney enjoys baking, trying out new recipes, and spending time with her husband and family. Her favorite book is Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich.
Kristi Pearson
Executive Director
(612) 543-8105 | kpearson@hclib.org
An avid hiker and runner as well as a mother of three teens, our enthusiastic Executive Director only seems to slow down when she’s absorbed in a great book. Among her favorites is Elizabeth Strout’s Olive Kitteridge and Sue Monk Kidd’s Invention of Wings. Growing up in Jasper, Indiana, she visited the public library nearly every week, checking out Judy Blume titles and Nancy Drew mysteries, swapping them with her twin sister.
After serving four years on the FHCL Board of Directors, Kristi became the Executive Director in 2014. She brings a passion for libraries and two decades of fundraising, marketing and management experience to her role leading the organization. Previously at AchieveMpls, Kristi led the development team through a transformative, multimillion-dollar fundraising effort. Earlier in her career, she spent several years in global sales and business development roles at Siemens, Eastman Kodak and British Petroleum. Kristi is an active volunteer in the Twin Cities community and the Minneapolis Public Schools. She is former Board Treasurer for Community Emergency Service and holds a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business.
