MLA believes that we have just completed a huge puzzle, and today is the day we get to share it with you!

The image of MLA’s puzzle has everything to do with internal changes to our organization that include new staffing, a large grant, a retirement (mine), board changes, and a new strategic direction for MLA. We are also faced with external challenges - federal funding, which, if not addressed, may affect every library in the state. Just like a puzzle, the MLA Board and staff have broken down the image into manageable areas. We have learned to review our progress as we form a coherent image and piece together bits of information that allow for a comprehensive understanding of our next movements. A colossal undertaking that takes careful thought and deliberation by a lot of people. 

First and foremost, my retirement.             

As with all good things, they must come to an eventual end…and it is time for me to think about life after MLA and the world of retirement. 

I continue to be awed by the knowledge gained, challenges overcome, and the colleagues and friendships that have come so naturally in “libraryland”.  MLA was a natural fit for me and was exactly what I needed (and, I think, what MLA needed) in 2019 when I was selected to lead this incredible organization. Now it is time for me to close this chapter too. Forty-four years of leading nonprofit arts and cultural organizations have gone by in the blink of an eye, and now it is time to slow the remaining years down to a manageable clip. My last day as MLA’s Executive Director will be Friday, July 4, 2025 - “Independence Day” as my husband reminds me. Help me celebrate with sparklers and fireworks!

Another significant piece of the puzzle was setting MLA on a proactive course to respond to an astounding (and astonishing) $600,000 award from the Mellon Foundation to strengthen the MI Right to Read initiative and promote one of our own, Amber Sheerin, to lead the charge. (Click here to learn more.)  

The management and oversight of this grant will also require committed leadership, knowledge of the work we have done to date, and someone to keep the “ship on a steady course” until its completion. Rather than undertaking an immediate national search for my permanent replacement, the MLA board voted to approve the hiring of Dillon Geshel to serve as Interim Executive Director, who will take MLA through to the end of the Mellon grant next June (click here to read the press release announcing our interim selection).

For the past three years, Dillon has been an invaluable asset to our organization, serving as MLA’s President and the chair of the Intellectual Freedom Task Force, which oversaw the implementation of MI Right to Read.  He has taken an active, hands-on role and stood beside me every step of the way as we implemented a remarkable and award-winning national model. With his knowledge of the internal management of MLA, he was a natural fit for the interim position that will begin in mid-May. 

With Dillon’s resignation as President of the MLA board, we also needed another strong voice to lead the board. Jenny Marr, the President-elect and chair of MLA’s Advocacy and Legislative Committee, has stepped up just a little sooner than anticipated to take the lead and to keep our board strong. We are in good hands. This June, the board will take on an active role to put an open and transparent process in place to begin a national search for the permanent director. More to come soon.

Along with new leadership on the board and staff, MLA is also ready to finalize the adoption of a new strategic direction. While the hard work has been completed to collect responses, analyze the findings, and to revise the vision and tweak the mission, MLA will be ready to take on the challenges and the opportunities as the future unfolds. 

I have never been prouder to lead such a remarkable organization. It has been challenging to say the least, but every day, I am thankful for work that is impactful, people that are passionately committed, and communities that are strengthened because of the work that we do. For me, the puzzle has been completed. We really are good at connecting the dots, communicating the immediacy of situations as they cross our desks, addressing complicated issues, and finding where each piece, no matter how disconnected it feels from another, fits into the big picture. 

This is what we do best…this is what I will miss.

Debbie