Birds of a Feather
Register for the Tri-County Summit
> > > Registration < < < now open!
Monday, October 12, 2026
at the Alice Virginia and David W. Fletcher Branch of the Washington County Free Library
100 S. Potomac Street, Hagerstown MD 21740
8:30 am - 3:30 pm
Select a session title to view more details
Session 1 Offerings (10:30 am - 11:30 am)
Tif Sutherland is a librarian and library advocate currently serving as the Reference Supervisor for Calvert Library in Southern Maryland and the Chair of the Maryland Library Association's Library Advocacy Interest Group. At Calvert Library, Tif leads a team of 11 librarians, focusing on instruction, access, and equity for a community of over 100,000.
Tif’s expertise in library advocacy, including collaborating with lawmakers and stakeholders, extends to organizing trainings to empower library workers to advocate for library support. Tif has also made significant contributions to Maryland's library community through their leadership roles in the Maryland Library Association, including as MLA President during the passing of the Freedom to Read Act and establishing the Maryland Library Helpline. This confidential reporting system provides an accessible and immediate resource for library workers from all types of libraries anywhere in Maryland facing censorship challenges.
Tif holds a Master of Library and Information Science from San José State University, where they also mentored incoming graduate students on leadership, productivity, and library advocacy.Presented by Ashley Swinford and Renee L. Mason from the Allegany County Library System.
Ashley Swinford is the Director of Advancement & Engagement for the Allegany County Library System and has worked at ACLS since 2014. She served as Online Services Specialist from 2018–2020 and as Director of Marketing & Outreach from 2020–2026, helping lead the library system’s digital presence, community engagement, branding, and strategic communications efforts. Ashley earned a BS in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing and a minor in Management from Frostburg State University in 2013, as well as an MLIS from the University of Maryland in 2020. She is also a graduate of Leadership Allegany Class of 2024, where she was honored as class valedictorian. A Cumberland native, she lives in Cumberland with her boyfriend, Jacob, and their pets, Finn and Moose. Ashley enjoys thrillers, horror, historical fiction, and nonfiction, and loves channeling her inner rock star with Fleetwood Mac karaoke on Saturday nights.Renee L. Mason is the Coordinator of Communications & Media for the Allegany County Library System and has worked at ACLS since 2004. She served as Communications Assistant from 2004–2016 and as Arts & Graphics Coordinator from 2016–2026, helping lead communications, branding, and community outreach to strengthen connections across the region and promote lifelong learning. Renee earned a BS in Art Education and Graphic Design from Frostburg State University in 1991 and an MS in Strategic Communications from the University of Maryland Global Campus in 2024. She is also a graduate of Leadership Allegany Class of 2016.
She serves as Communications Chair for the Allegany County Commission for Women and is a founding leader of Choose Civility: Allegany County, a grassroots initiative dedicated to fostering respectful dialogue and kindness. In 2025, she was honored with Allegany County's Positive People Award in recognition of her leadership, compassion, and lasting community impact.
A LaVale resident, Renee lives with her husband, Bill, and is the proud mother of Will, Joshua, and Benjamin. Outside of work, she can usually be found at her easel painting in oil or watercolor, tending her vegetable garden, or untangling a new branch of the family tree.
Stef Long-Murphy is a dynamic library leader and STEM advocate, serving as Manager of Children’s at the Enoch Pratt Free Library/ State Library Resource Center and President of the Maryland STEM Festival Board. She’s known for designing bold, inclusive, hands-on programs that transform libraries into vibrant hubs of learning, creativity, and community connection. A big fan of bookish matchmaking, Stef loves helping kids (and their grownups) find just right reads that spark giggles, curiosity, and lifelong reading adventures. Stef holds a Master’s in Library and Information Science from PennWest University.
Jeff Rowe has served over two decades as a public school administrator and teacher. A current PhD student, Jeff combines current research, application, and experience with a passion for enhancing the lives of course participants through Doc Thompson’s life-changing principles. Jeff has lived experience as a police officer, EMS first-responder, foster and adoptive parent, small business owner, and faith-based leader. Jeff has instructed courses in the United States and Canada. Jeff is married with four adult-children and 3 grandchildren. Jeff enjoys SCUBA diving, personal fitness, and drums.
Session 2 Offerings (1:10 pm - 2:10 pm)
Rich Beverungen is the Business Intelligence Manager for Western Maryland Regional Library, where he works with member libraries to improve reporting, data governance, and access to operational data.
Presented by Jill Deiss and Rowland Kirks from Cait Tail Run.
Jill Deiss is the proprietor of Cat Tail Run Hand Bookbinding in Winchester, Virginia. She received her training in bookbinding and book restoration first in Northampton, Massachusetts, then at Cornell University’s Department of Library Conservation, and in the Smithsonian Institution’s Conservation Laboratories. Mrs. Deiss holds a B.S. in Chemistry and received a Master of Library Science degree from Syracuse University where she specialized in the study of archives and rare books. Work of note includes conservation treatment of John Wilkes Booth’s diary for Ford’s Theater Museum, conservation of the bank account records of Abraham Lincoln for Riggs Bank, and the restoration of George and Martha Washington’s copy of Mark Catesby’s Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands for Georgetown University. She is a bookbinding instructor for The School for Bookbinding Arts in Winchester, Virginia.
Rowland Kirks studied studio art as an undergraduate and serves at Cat Tail Run as a papermaker, inventor, and bouncer. He studied papermaking with Jacques Brejoux of Moulin du Verger in Puymoyen, France.
Presented by Victoria Downs, Laura Gross, and Stephanie Weddle from the Washington County Free Library.
Vicki Downs has been with the Williamsport Branch of the Washington County Library System since Fall of 2019 as a Children's Associate and has been through branch closures more than once. Fear not though, because even without a building, Storytime goes on!
Laura Gross has been a Children's Library Associate since dinosaurs walked the planet (or 2010, lol). She does weekly programs for toddlers and preschoolers at the Smithburg Branch, often before finishing her morning coffee. According to Laura, her most memorable programs were Loving in Loss: A grief story time for loss families; weekly COVID video story times; and an Elephant & Piggie sketch that reduced the audience to laughter and tears. Laura enjoys eating peanut butter and doing yoga, although not at the same time.
Stephanie Weddle is the Branch Services Coordinator at the Washington County Free Library.
Presented by Bonnie Ramsburg, Swaneet Mand, Pamela Mann, and Kaitlin Thornberry from the Washington County Free Library.
Bonnie Ramsburg has worked in the Young Adult department at the Fletcher Branch for the past three years. She holds a bachelor's degree in Art History with a minor in Studio Art from Hood College. During her time as a student, she served as a Gallery Assistant in the Hodson Gallery at the Tatem Arts Center. Before her career at the library, she spent a decade teaching Yoga and Mindful meditation for various non-profit groups. She is also a certified Master Naturalist in Frederick County and worked at the Catoctin Creek Nature Center as a site host and program instructor. She is a devoted mother of two and loves foraging, birdwatching and exploring the Appalachian Trail with her husband, 2-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son. In her spare time, she enjoys drawing, writing, and listening to David Bowie.
Swaneet Mand has worked in libraries since 2019, with a brief and disappointing venture into corporate fintech in 2022. While completing her Bachelor's, she interned at the Plano Interurban Railway Museum and wrote articles for Rhodes College's Communications Department as a Staff Writer. After college, she worked in Reference, Children's, Tweens, and now Teen Services. She is working on her Master of Science in Information Science (MSIS) at University of Tennessee Knoxville, focused on the intersection of youth services and UX in libraries. Swaneet loves reading, writing, baking, watching tv, playing video games, and playing in the dirt in her garden. She has two cats, a mastermind tabby and a clueless calico.
Pamela Mann is the Branch Manager of the Hancock Branch at Washington County Free Library.
Kaitlin Thornberry is the Head of Collection Management at Washington County Free Library.
Presented by Jenny Bakos from the Washington County Free Library, Thomas Vose fromThe Ruth Enlow Library and Garrett County, and Doug Baker from the Allegany County Library System.
Jenny Bakos has been the Executive Director of the Washington County Free Library since late 2019 and has served in different roles in a variety of libraries in Virgina, from small cities to the Library of Virginia. She has a Master’s Degree in Library and Information Sciences in from the University of South Carolina, and is currently pursuing an MBA from Shepherd University. She works closely with the Greater Hagerstown Committee as well as the Chamber of Commerce’s Government Affairs group. She enjoys reading fantasy and sci-fi, as well as classic gothic literature. She lives in West Virginia with her husband, two cats and dog.
Thomas Vose has been director of the Ruth Enlow Library since 2017, and was previously a librarian in California. He received his MLIS from UCLA (2006), as well as an MA in history (2003) from UC Riverside, and was a Eureka! Leadership Institute alumnus (2009). Thomas is active in the ALA’s Games and Gaming Round Table, as well as in the MLA Futures of Libraries Interest Group and the Grantsville Lions Club. He reads a lot of history and nonfiction generally and likes to learn interesting new things about the world around us. He lives in Accident, MD with his wife and four children.
Doug Baker is an employee of the Allegany County Library System and has worked at ACLS since 2025. He serves as a Service Specialist, working the desk and participating in the daily library tasks. Doug earned a MS in Administration and Supervision from Frostburg State University, as well as an BS from FSU in Social Science Education. He is from Midland, Md where he currently resides with his wife Julie. He has three adult children, Connor, Kate and Chris, as well as two dogs: Daisy and Moose. Doug enjoys reading about sports and fantasy football, as well as historic fiction and nonfiction.
Session 3 Offerings (2:20 pm - 3:20 pm)
Presented by Elizabeth Hulett and Darlene Reimond
Elizabeth Hulett is the Director of the Western Maryland Regional Library, former Head of Adult Services at WCFL, and former Head of Circulation at Raleigh County Library in West Virginia.
Darlene Reimond is the Head of Collection Development/Interlibrary Loan at the Western Maryland Regional Library.
Jennifer Martin is Head of Cataloging at the Salisbury University Libraries, where she has worked since 2016. She holds an MSLS from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She lives in Salisbury, MD and enjoys reading, gaming, fiber arts, and other crafting.
Presented by Dakota Vaughn and Tanya Smiley from the Washington County Free Library.
Dakota Vaughn is a Kids and Tweens Library Associate at Fletcher Library in downtown Hagerstown. She's been a native of Hagerstown all her life, and loves that her job allows her to give back to the community she adores. When she's not at work dissecting owl pellets with homeschoolers, or playing "Poetry for Neanderthals" with tweens, she enjoys reading, writing and puzzling at home where she lives with her grandfather and four cats.
Tanya Smiley is the Head of Youth Services at Washington County Free Library.
Presented by Yesenia Garcia-Navarro and Sarah Nadeau from Washington County Free Library.
Yesenia Garcia-Navarro from Washington County Free Library. Yesenia works at the Fletcher Branch in Information Services. She has been with WCFL since April 2023. She started part-time in the Teens Department, then moved up to full-time as an Information Services (Reference) Associate. She completed Project Enable and her first adult program was Storytime for Adults with All Abilities.
Sarah Nadeau is the Head of Information Services at the Washington County Free Library.
Presented by Suzanne Bonser from The Ruth Enlow Library of Garrett County, Shea Morse from the Allegany County Library System, Kathleen O'Connell from the Washington County Free Library, and Tracy Carroll from the Western Maryland Regional Library.
Suzanne Bonser has been working in Circulation at the Ruth Enlow Library for 24+ years – first as a page, then as an Oakland library assistant (including branch substitute duties on occasion), and finally as a Circulation Supervisor for the past 14 years. She is one of the few staff members who was here before Ruth Enlow automated their library system, so she has seen many changes! Working at the library has been a highlight of her life, and she is grateful to be able to serve Garrett County’s community through this amazing organization!
Shea Morse has been a member of Allegany County Library System (ACLS) staff since October 2022. She earned both her Bachelor of Science in Political Science and Law & Society and her Master of Education in Interdisciplinary Studies, with concentrations in Art and Management, from Frostburg State University.
Shea lives in Frostburg with her husband, Brandon, their two sons, Shiloh and Milo, and two dogs, Roxy, a Chesapeake Bay Retriever, and Charlie, a mini Goldendoodle who was born blind. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, yoga, painting, journaling, scrapbooking, junk journaling, and spending time with family. An avid reader, Shea’s favorite genres include narrative nonfiction, memoirs and biographies, poetry, contemporary and young adult romance, dystopian fiction, and most recently LitRPG.
Through her work at ACLS, Shea supports the library system’s mission to connect communities through literacy and lifelong learning. Shea is particularly passionate about connecting with community partners and working together to amplify shared missions and positive outcomes.
Kathleen O'Connell is the Director of Public Services at the Washington County Free Library.
Tracy Carroll is a Web Specialist of 19 years for the Western Maryland Regional Library. Over the years she has built numerous productivity tools across the 3 counties to help our libraries become more efficient. From websites, database tools, Timesheets, and Statistics; every day is another opportunity to build efficiency tools for the libraries. My favorite geek quotes are “you had me at SQL” and "data without insight is just a number"!
