2023 Board Installed
New board members (left to right): Nancy McCluskey-Moore, Denise Christian, Maureen Spence, John Faulkner, Laura Benson, Joyce Faulkner, Annette Aubuchon, Mark Steinsdoefer, Janet Fabio, Helen Biggs
John Faulkner
For more than 30 years the Friends of SaddleBrooke libraries have worked tirelessly to raise funds to support our three libraries with books and equipment.
Leaving the board are Laura Pauli, Barry Swartzberg, and Sharon Triester who have more than 15 years of combined service to Friends of the Library.
With the shutdowns of many activities, etc., because of COVID, it has become a challenge that the board has met by changing fundraising tactics and embracing new methods of raising funds.
Now that the world is opening up again, this new board has a goal to make the Friends of the Libraries more of a focal point of the community.
Our focus now is not only supporting the libraries monetarily, but also to reach out to the community with activities such as the popular lecture series and book signings, as well as events to thank our donors for their continued support.
We have lots of ideas and look forward to working toward bringing more and more members to the Friends with this new outreach approach.
To that end, we are looking for a new board member who would like to assist us in putting this new program in place. If you or anyone you know would like to help us with this, please contact Joyce Faulkner at [email protected].
In the meantime, enjoy the libraries of SaddleBrooke, as they are a fabulous asset to our community.
April FSL Lecture to Feature Author Isabella Maldanado
Isabella Maldanado turned in her badge and gun to become a best-selling crime fiction author.
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
On April 13 at 4 p.m. in the DesertView Theater, the Friends of SaddleBrooke Libraries (FSL) lecture will feature Isabella Maldanado, a former FBI agent and author of a series of crime and mystery novels.
Before turning to writing about crime, bestselling author Isabella Maldonado wore a gun and badge. A graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico and the first Latina to attain the rank of captain in the Fairfax County Police Department just outside D.C., she retired as the Commander of Special Investigations and Forensics. During her more than 20 years on the force, she served as hostage negotiator, department spokesperson, and precinct commander. After retiring as a police captain and moving to Arizona, Maldanado joined the “Sisters in Crime” Phoenix Metro Chapter “Desert Sleuths” in 2010. Her goal was to embark on a second career as a crime fiction writer. She has always been a huge fan of the genre and knew that years of police work could help her write with credibility about the world of criminal investigations.
Maldanado’s work includes the FBI Special Agent Nina Guerrera series (soon to become a Netflix feature film starring Jennifer Lopez), the award-winning Detective Veranda Cruz series, and the FBI Agent Daniela Vega series. Her books have been translated into 21 languages.
This lecture is free for FSL members and $5 for nonmembers.