New Rochelle Public Library Foundation Welcomes New Co-Presidents Rod Rolett and Stephanie Tomei to head Foundation
The New Rochelle Public Library Foundation held its Annual Dinner on June 18th at Posto 22 Restaurant. The evening brought together NRPLF Board members, Trustees of the New Rochelle Public Library and representatives of the Friends of the NRPL to thank the Foundation’s outgoing President, Chris Selin, and outgoing Library Trustee Whitney Barat. The evening was also an opportunity to welcome two new Library Trustees, Vera Salter and Nancy Weinberger, as well as the NRPLF’s new Co-Presidents Rod Rolett and Stephanie Tomei.
Roderic Rolett received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Pomona College and a Masters degree in City and Regional Planning from Harvard University and worked in the senior living financing industry for 27 years. Currently Rod sits on the Board of Trustees of the Osborn Foundation and the Brookhaven at Lexington; he is also active as a member of the Alumni Council of the Student Conservation Association; the Employment Committee of the Westchester Resettlement Coalition; and the Steering Committee of Healthy Yards New Rochelle. Rod and his wife Ann have lived in New Rochelle for 38 years, raising their children here. Rod and Ann enjoy hiking and bicycling: Together they spent three months cycling in Norway and the west Coast of Sweden in 2018, and they have also hiked and biked throughout Australia and New Zealand.
Stephanie Tomei, a native of Tempe, Arizona, received a BA from Boston College and a MA from Middlebury College. She has called New Rochelle home for the past 22 years, and obtaining a library card was one of her very first moves in her adopted hometown. She has been involved in the New Rochelle community as a founding member of Ward Acres Community Garden; a former President of the PTA Council; and an active board member of the New Rochelle Council of Community Services, and Hudson Park Children’s Greenhouse; she recently served as the Interim Executive Director of the New Rochelle Fund for Educational Excellence. Stephanie enjoys spending time with her college-aged children and her husband, Joe.
The New Rochelle Public Library Foundation (NRPLF) was established in 1994 to support the Library and all that it provides to the city’s diverse community of approximately 80,000 residents. A nonprofit organization comprised entirely of volunteer members, the Foundation raises resources and provides advocacy to keep this vital institution vibrant, up-to-date, and able to serve the needs of the citizens of New Rochelle. For more information visit the NRPL website at www.nrplfoundation.org.
In addition to the new Co-Presidents members of the NRPL Foundation include Vice President Lynn Green, Treasurer Joan Clarke, Secretary Cheryl Archbald, Dr. Amy Bass, Leslie Margot Demus, Judith Factor, Erin E. Harrell, Hon. Tim Idoni, Theresa Kump Leghorn, Lori Morrow, Leslie Newman, Christina Selin, Lucia Speight, Dr. James W. Swinehart, Sharon E. Weekes and Mica C. Wilson.
The New Rochelle Public Library (NRPL) is a community resource that seeks to improve the life of every citizen in our city. The Library offers a comprehensive print and digital collection that includes retrospective and current materials, up-to-date technology for public use, and a wide range of community services and programs tailored to a diverse audience. Chartered in 1894, NRPL is a school-district library with its own operating budget and a Board of Trustees composed of seven elected members. It has served the 81,500 residents of New Rochelle from its Main Library building in the downtown business district since 1979. A smaller branch, located in the park in front of the New Rochelle High School, was restored through a grassroots effort and currently operates as the Huguenot Children’s Library. Learn more at nrpl.org . Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @NRPublicLibrary.
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Photos:
NRPLF Board members and NRPL Trustees at the Annual Dinner. Back row, L to R: Chris Selin, Sharon Weekes, Lori Morrow, Jim Swinehart, Stephanie Tomei, Tim Idoni, Lynn Green, Theresa Kump Leghorn, Leslie Clarke, Amy Tietz, Lucia Speight, Amy Bass, Leslie Demus and Mica Wilson. Front row, L to R: Nancy Weinberger, Corey Galloway, Whitney Barat, Lucille Renwick, Tatiana Infante, Vera Salter. (Photo credit: Susan Nagib)
Stephanie Tomei presented flowers from the Board to Chris Selin. (Photo credit: NRPLF)
NRPLF Board Member Lori Morrow and NRPL Trustee Lucille Renwick (Photo credit: Susan Nagib)
About New Rochelle Public Library
The Friends of New Rochelle Public Library, incorporated in 1978, was organized to support the Library’s mission by providing cultural programs for all ages and other library needs outside the regular tax-based budget. The Friends raise money through monthly used book sales, an in-library bookstore and membership dues and contributions. The New Rochelle Public Library (NRPL) is a community resource that seeks to improve the life of every citizen in our city. It is dedicated to encouraging learning in all stages of life, to protecting intellectual freedom and to providing fair and equal access to information.