Ellen Adajian, a Waltherson neighbor, was appointed to the FHBL Board in August 2025. She has been a Friends member since 2015. Growing up in Hamilton, she got her first library card from the Hamilton branch when it was in the beautiful Beaux-Arts style building on Hamilton Avenue. Ellen has always been involved with libraries, archives, and museums, and is deeply committed to their continued growth as open and vibrant centers for knowledge and community life.
Mairin Barney has lived in Beverly Hills since 2019 after moving to Baltimore from Chicago, IL. Mairin is a mom to two humans, three cats, a dog, and a leopard gecko. A lifelong reader, Mairin enjoys sci-fi, YA dystopia, and fantasy. For work, she reads scholarship in rhetoric and writing studies.
Keisha Campbell has been a resident of the Hamilton-Lauraville neighborhood for 5 years and has lived in Northeast Baltimore for the past 15 years. She works in higher education and has served as a board member at Patterson Park Public Charter School and B More Global. Keisha has been a supporter of the Pratt Library through the Pratt Contemporaries for the past 4 years and is looking to support the Hamilton branch more as a community member.
As someone who has always loved the library and volunteering, Vanessa Kelly spends a lot of time at the Enoch Pratt! She’s lived in Cedmont since 2022 and takes great pride in giving back to the community. As a Tool Librarian at Station North Tool Library, Vanessa shares the value of the more we share, the more we have. Vanessa is also a big Stephen King fan!
Aviva Klugh has been on the board of the Friends of the Hamilton Library Branch since 2023. As a lifelong reader and patron of local libraries, she values the importance of access that libraries provide communities. Over the last two years as a Board member, Aviva has enjoyed getting to know more members of the community and finding new ways to engage with the Friends community like through setting up and managing the new Friends Instagram account.
A resident of Beverly Hills, Malissa Ruffner has been a Hamilton Branch patron for over 35 years. She began volunteering with the Friends in 2015 and has served as Treasurer and President of the organization. She particularly values the opportunity it offers to meet and work with Northeast neighbors and believes that libraries are essential to healthy communities. She currently works as a genealogist, with a focus on African American research in Maryland, and in her spare time, enjoys reading (of course!), and playing pickleball.
Derek Simmonsen is a Lauraville resident and current member of the Friends board. You might have seen him selling used books to benefit the Friends at the Lauraville Fair, Tuesday market, or the summer sale at the library. Derek is originally from Pennsylvania and has lived in Baltimore for 15 years. He is an avid reader and has been taking his kids to the Hamilton Branch since they were babies. In his free time, he likes to browse new finds at Snug Books, check out used vinyl at Wax Atlas, and volunteer at Garrett Heights Elementary Middle School, where his kids go to school. Derek is a lawyer in state government and teaches as part of the moot court program at the University of Maryland Carey School of Law.
Stephie Stewart lives in Waltherson and joined the Friends of the Hamilton Branch Library in 2023. In addition to being an active reader (sci-fi and fantasy? yes please!), she also performs with multiple musical groups in the area, including Charm City Sings and the Baltimore Gamer Symphony Orchestra. Starting with the local library bookmobile growing up in California, Stephie is a long-time user of public libraries and a supporter of all types of libraries. She currently works as a librarian with the Maryland General Assembly.
Brian Tetreault got his first Pratt Library card at the Light Street branch in 2003 while living in South Baltimore before moving to Lauraville in 2013. He grew up in Montgomery County, and in elementary school was directed to the Wheaton Public Library as he had read most everything in the school library. He's held cards from libraries in at least seven states as his work for the US Coast Guard and Army Corps of Engineers took him around the country. He recently retired and looks forward to supporting the Hamilton Branch in its role as a critical hub of information and services for the surrounding communities.
The Hamilton Branch was one of Cynthia Williams’ first stops when she moved to the Beverly Hills neighborhood in 2009. A copy editor who started in book publishing, Cynthia has always considered reading her happy place and loves the fact that she can walk to her neighborhood library and neighborhood bookstore. She is a senior editor at Dragonfly Editorial, founder of Outside-the-Book.com, and cofounder of Black Editors Connect. Eric Williams has been a resident of Cedmont since 2020. He has lived in Maryland all his life and is a lifelong supporter of public libraries in Maryland. As far back as he can remember his mom would take him to the library every Saturday to find a new adventure to enjoy. Eric works in Product Management for an education company in Baltimore and in his spare time he enjoys taking walks with his dog, trying new restaurants and traveling.
