Friends of the Brainerd Public Library Board of Directors
Board President: Karen Johnson
Karen has called Brainerd home for over 40 years. She has two daughters and 5 granddaughters. Karen retired from Essentia Health where she was involved with Crow Wing Energized. An ideal day includes reading to her grand girls.
2nd 3 Year Term ends Feb. 2027
Board Treasurer: Mary Susan Anderson
Mary Susan was raised in Fort Wayne, IN, and graduated from Ball State University. She spent 30 years as a CPA in Rochester, MN. Mary Susan enjoys reading, biking, knitting, gardening, and kayaking on North Long Lake.
1st 3 Year Term ends Feb. 2025
Board Secretary: Amanda Niemann
Amanda works in healthcare and has been in the Brainerd area for 9 years. She attended Concordia College-Moorhead for Biology and Spanish and received a master’s from University of South Dakota. She enjoys mountain biking, camping, baking, skiing & hiking with her 2 dogs.
1st 3 Year Term ends Feb. 2026
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Kristin Thoennes
Kristin moved to the Brainerd Lakes in 2020 and is a full-time community college English instructor. Kristin been in a writers group for 26 years. She has written over 40 children’s nonfiction books for the school library market.
1st 3 Year Term ends Feb. 2028
Board Member: Judy Rardin
Judy serves as Book Sale Chair. A non-traditional college student, she graduated from the Minnesota University system with a B.S. while working full time and raising a family. Judy worked 42+ years for the State of MN Human Services. Family, travel, photography, home gardening, and landscaping are her favorite activities.
3rd 3 Year Term ends Feb. 2027
Board Member: Jenna Pettit
Jenna served as an AmeriCorps VISTA at the Brainerd Public Library after graduating from the College of St. Benedict with a BA in Global Business and minors in Political Science & Writing. Currently, she works as a Marketing Manager. In her free time, Jenna loves to spend time with friends and family.
1st 3 Year Term ends Feb. 2026
Board Member: Peg Mann
Peg grew up in Browerville and graduated from The College of St. Benedict. After a career as an Analyst in the Healthcare Insurance Industry, she moved to Brainerd in 2019. She soon found her “people” through the Brainerd Library and its Wednesday Book Club. When she’s not reading you’ll find her quilting, baking, traveling, attending teas, and spending time with her three grandchildren.
1st 3 Year Term ends Feb. 2027
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Board Member: Theresa Bourke
Theresa grew up in Wisconsin and has lived and worked as a journalist in the Brainerd Lakes area since 2016. She has degrees in journalism and Spanish from the University of St. Thomas. She's been a reporter at the Brainerd Dispatch since 2018 and covers all sorts of topics, including city government, education and books. She spends as much of her free time as possible reading, playing trivia and nerding out about Harry Potter.
1st 3 year term ends Feb. 2028​
The Friends Of The Brainerd Public Library Board of Directors consists of 9 members, including the officers. Vacancies on the board will be filled through appointment by the President Of The Board, subject to the approval by a majority of the Board Of Directors.