As parents of three boys, my wife and I used the Howland Library often after buying a home here in 1979. Although I commuted to NYC, where I ran the editorial department of a major investment bank, I made time to serve on the Library’s board of trustees during two pivotal periods--when the Library became an independent taxing authority and when critical renovations were made to its facade.

I am committed to helping the Library meet its ongoing challenges of facility maintenance, technology upgrades, and provision of services that address the needs of our community, especially children. While making sure every tax dollar is spent wisely, I will champion the Library as a welcoming place of knowledge, inclusivity and community for every resident--irrespective of age, ability, faith, or cultural background.

I am a lifelong library patron and have been living in Beacon since 2018. I believe public libraries have the power to transform communities and bring them together because they are a place where everyone belongs. They are an expression of our highest selves, where everyone can access enriching programs, services, and materials, or just come to be in community. I am parent to four children ranging from preschool to teen, so library services for all ages are a part of my life. I am especially fond of the places where the library creates space for people who would may not otherwise have reason to connect, find common ground at the library. I am a lawyer by training and have extensive experience working with nonprofit organizations and nonprofit boards providing training, consultation, and legal advice on a number of matters including diversity, equity, and inclusion, employment practices, risk management, and community engagement.

It would be an honor to bring these skills to support the Howland Public Library as a members of the Board of Trustees to help to ensure that the library continues to thrive and meet the needs of our community.

Rich McGowan has been an academic health sciences librarian at public and private universities for over two decades and a life-long user of public libraries. As a patron, employee and advocate, he understands and appreciates the challenges facing libraries, as well as the opportunities those challenges present.

A resident of Beacon for several years, Rich is committed to supporting the library and ensuring that resources and services remain available to all and that the library remain a safe and inclusive space. As a trustee he would work to support equity and accessibility for the whole community.

Emily Murnane is a born-and-raised Beaconite who is always searching for new ways to serve our community. She is the educator for Green Teen Beacon, an agricultural work-to-learn program for local teens started in 2004 by Cornell Cooperative Extension. Outside of teaching Beacon's young people how to plant tomatoes and run a farmer's market, Emily has served as a trustee of the Beacon Historical Society since 2018. There, her work focuses mostly on digital archivization. Her preferred topics of research include Beacon's psychiatric institutions, crime, folklore, and the founders of this library: Joseph and Eliza Howland. Since 2022, Emily has also been the curator of the Madam Brett Homestead, Dutchess County's oldest home, now operated as a museum by Melzingah Chapter, NSDAR.

Emily is also a playwright, poet, and historical reenactor who has written and performed in several productions centered around Beacon's history. She is best known for her portrayals of Madam Brett and Eliza Howland. She hopes her connections to Beacon's youth and her background in our city's rich history will lend her a unique perspective as a member of the Library's board.

Elizabeth Murphy is a writer and editor and director of Grid Books, a nonprofit independent press. She has dedicated her career to highlighting the work of older writers and artists and fostering projects generated through intergenerational exchange, such as those encompassing oral history and collaborations between students and their teachers.

Having worked in nonprofit publishing for more than a decade, Elizabeth is keenly aware of the challenges that libraries, educators, and publishers face in making information available and accessible to all. She will bring this understanding, as well as her dedication to the issues of the accessibility and preservation of texts of all kinds, to the role of trustee.