Courtney Backen
Membership manager
(612) 543-8104 | cbacken@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 master's degree in Nonprofit Management from Hamline University.
In her free time, Courtney enjoys bouldering, cooking, and watching old clips from Saturday Night Live. Her favorite book is Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich.
Adam Breininger
Senior Director
(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 growing up. Now his interests have shifted, and Doris Kearns Goodwin is one of his favorite authors. 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 nearly 20 years, previously with Minnesota Children’s Museum and the Fort Wayne (IN) Philharmonic. Now, he spends his days helping guide organizational strategy and connecting with the Library’s many Friends. 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.
Phil Edwards
donor relations officer
(612) 543-8114 | pedwards@hclib.org
Phil fell in love with Minnesota when he moved here for law school, and he strongly believes that our libraries are the greatest illustration of what makes Hennepin County such a special place. For him, libraries represent opportunity, inclusion, growth, and a place where curiosity can be both fed and satiated.
After graduating, Phil worked as a public defender in Anchorage, Alaska for several years before the allure of Minnesota became too much to withstand any longer. He parlayed his legal background into account management and business to business software sales roles at Thomson Reuters, Oracle, and Digital River. Phil is predisposed to focus on people, so a transition into major gift fundraising was a natural evolution. Immediately before joining Friends of HCL, Phil was a Major Gift Officer for his alma mater, the University of Minnesota Law School.
Rob Goudy
Events manager
(612) 543-8107 | rgoudy@hclib.org
As Events Manager, 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 & Operations Specialist
(612) 543-8108 | klishida@hclib.org
As Development and Operations Specialist, 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!
Kristi Pearson
Executive Director
(612) 543-8105 | kpearson@hclib.org
Growing up in a small town, our executive director experienced firsthand the power of libraries to fuel imagination and ignite a love of learning. Nearly every week, Kristi and her sister explored the stacks of the Jasper Public Library for their next adventures with characters such as Peter and Fudge Hatcher, Nancy Drew and the Murrys.
Kristi became executive director in 2014 after serving four years on FHCL’s board of directors. She brings a passion for libraries and two decades of sales and marketing 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, business development and strategy at Siemens, Eastman Kodak and British Petroleum.
The mother of three teens and an enthusiastic volunteer, Kristi currently serves on the United for Libraries board and Ziggy’s Art Bus board of directors. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business.
