Juli Anna Herndon
Juli Anna J. Herndon
Stephanie Ovoian
Stephanie Ovoian
Stephanie has worked at the Providence Athenæum since September of 2013, and currently serves as the Reference & Special Collections Librarian/Membership Manager. A Rhode Island native, she received a BA in Psychology from Providence College in 2009 and a MLIS from the University of Rhode Island in 2014. Stephanie makes her home in Providence with her husband and two cats. In her spare time, she enjoys exploring new places, spending time with family and friends, baking, live music, cuddling with her cats, trying new things, and (of course!) reading.
Kate Wodehouse
Kate Wodehouse
Kate Wodehouse is Director of Collections and Library Services at the Providence Athenaeum. She joined the staff in the position of Technical Services Librarian in 1997, after completing her MLIS at University of Rhode Island. While in graduate school Kate worked in the Technical Services Department at the Rhode Island School of Design Library for three years. Kate holds a BA in Art History from the University of Pennsylvania, a Certificate of Art from Sotheby’s in London, and she has completed several courses at Rare Book School, University of Virginia. Originally from London, Kate lived in San Francisco, Boston and Philadelphia prior to settling in Providence where she lives on the East Side with her husband and son. Kate’s community involvement has focused on the arts and play for diverse populations of young children in the city.
Lindsay Shaw
Lindsay Shaw
Lindsay first visited the Athenaeum as a guest when she was fifteen years old and fell in love. When she grew up, earned her BFA, found her first real job, and cashed her first adult paycheck, she walked up College Street and joined the Athenaeum immediately.
As a young mother she shared her love of children’s books and art with her children by spending hours with them in the then new Sayles Gorham Children’s Library. She joined the Athenaeum’s Children’s Committee which at the time raised funds for the Children’s Library by hosting parties and events. As time passed she accepted an opportunity to work part time as a Circulation Assistant and later as the Director of Children’s Programming.
In 1996 she left the Athenaeum to be a lower school librarian at the Wheeler School in Providence and began work on her MLIS. After a few years she returned to the Athenaeum to be the Children’s Librarian while completing her studies. As a children’s librarian, Lindsay finds great joy working with children of all ages with the desire to encourage in them a love of books and libraries in a lively, diverse and creative community.
Ken Garrepy
Ken Garrepy
Ken is a veteran employee of the Providence Athenæum, having first joined the staff in 2002 as a part-time bookkeeper while taking classes at the Community College of Rhode Island. He later transferred to Rhode Island College where he graduated summa cum laude with a degree in computer science. Since 2006, Ken has been working full time for the Athenæum with wide ranging responsibilities in finance, human resource, information technology, and development. In addition, he operates a small side business assisting several other local not-for-profits with their own bookkeeping and finance management needs.
Ken is a native Rhode Islander now residing in North Smithfield with his wife Sarah and their three children, Samuel, Ruth, and Michael. He enjoys classical music, audio books, cooking, gardening, hiking, and volleyball.
Matt Burriesci
Matt Burriesci
Matt is the Executive Director of the Providence Athenaeum. He is the author of Dead White Guys: A Father, his Daughter, and the Great Books of the Western World and Nonprofit, which won the AWP Award for the Novel. He began his career at the Tony Award Winning Chicago Shakespeare Theater, during the theater’s construction of its current home on Navy Pier, and he later served as Executive Director for both the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) and the PEN/Faulkner Foundation.
During his tenure at AWP, he helped build the largest literary conference in North America, and he served as a national advocate for literature and the humanities. From 2012-2015, he served as the Director of Advancement and Strategic Partnerships for the NACDS Foundation. In his work as a consultant, he has interviewed dozens of global leaders in healthcare, scientific research, and higher education. He lives in Rhode Island with his wife Erin, and their two children, Violet and Henry.
