Our Friends Board is busy creating fundraising opportunities, providing funding for tons of other family orientated activities through the library at satellite locations throughout Downey, like at the Downey Space Center, Downey Theater and our local community Parks and Recreations facilities all over Downey for your enjoyment.
Our Board
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President | Virginia Yoshiyama
Virginia is a friendly, helpful and a caring person with an innate natural ability to lead. After retiring as a teacher, Virginia started volunteering in our library by working in the literacy program helping to prepare adults for their citizenship test. She also helped other adult students with their GED requirements and those who just wanted to improve their skills in English. Virginia was around so much that she was convinced that volunteering with The Friends Bookstore would be a great idea. Not long after she started with the Friends Bookstore, she was asked to serve as secretary and she happily served on our Board. Today, almost four years later, on top of serving as Board President, she continues her work with the adult literacy program along with recruiting, scheduling and training of our new Friends Store volunteers! We are very fortunate to have her. |
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Secretary | Veronica Hernandez-Arce
Veronica taught high school English, adult ESL classes in Lynwood and San Diego. She has also worked part-time as a paralegal and did some volunteer work with Legal Aid. Now she dedicates her volunteer hours to the Downey library, as a Board member. |
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Treasurer | Susan Bouris
Susan is the current Treasurer of the Friends Board. She retired in 2009 as a kindergarten teacher from Ward Elementary in Downey. Susan and her husband, Takis, raised four children here in Downey and have one grandchild. Susan’s interests are broad and many. As an avid reader, she belongs to two book clubs, takes classes for Seniors at her alma mater, Cal State Long Beach, and is a distance walker, having completed six full marathons and numerous half marathons! Volunteering has always been part of Susan’s life with Girl Scouts, Boys Scouts, PTA and now the Downey City Library. |
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Program Chair | Patrick Chelling
Patrick has a love of books and information! A talented researcher, he worked many years within leading information centers of business, law and news. His unique interest in how to organize, develop and manage information continues today. |
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Membership Chair | Daisy Arce-Camacho
Daisy has been visiting the Downey Library since she was 10 years old! Now she is a mother of two and has been an active member of the Friends of the Downey LIbrary for several years. She loves offering books to children in her community and hosts one of our little libraries that we have around town. |
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Fundraising Director| Lenora Perri
Lenora is our incoming Fundraising Director; she was raised in the town of Los Nietos an unincorporated area of Whitter. In her youth she helped with the Summer Library reading programs. She is the first of 9 children to attend college and graduate from college. She attended Cerritos College and received 2 AA degrees, one in general studies and the other in Paralegal studies. She is married with two children. Lenora is a Judicial Assistant for the Los Angeles Superior Court and has been with the courts for 30+ years. Lenora enjoys time with family and friends, loves gardening, outdoors, the wine country, reading and long walks around vineyards, open spaces, and water ways. Her passion is community service. She was a long-time member of PTA, Lions International, Downey H.S. Band booster President, volunteered for the Special Olympics, was a Spanish/ English translator for the Latin countries, and held various board positions at the district and club level both in the city of Norwalk and Downey to name a few. She also has a group called Angels Give flight who are her earth angels and assist her in fulfilling the gaps in Humanitarian/Community needs of families. She is on the library advisory board and a member of the Friends of the Downey Library. Lenora is one who does Gods will and takes on projects that come across her unexpected path. Two such projects were raising funds to pay for a prosthetic eye for a Downey resident and purchasing a mobility chair for another. She has volunteered and gathered volunteers to assist in the City of Downey’s One Day of Service, Library events, GOOD backpack program, and has sponsored/hosted the prize walk for the Parks and Recreation Programs at Golden Park. One of her dream projects is to create a children’s garden and reading/play area. |
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Bookstore Director | Ramie Johnson
Ramie Johnson is our incoming Bookstore Director. Ramie is a proud Downey native, having attended school at St. Raymond Catholic School, then Downey High School. After retiring from a career as a litigation legal secretary, Ramie decided to return to school due to her lifelong love of learning. Ramie attended Cerritos College, obtaining degrees in Mathematics and in Social and Behavioral Science. Thereafter, Ramie transferred to California State University, Long Beach as a math major before setting her sights on Religious Studies. Ramie has three adult daughters, and four grandchildren, ranging in age from 3 to 15 yrs. Ramie enjoys spending time with family, reading, cooking, and participating in book distribution programs at Cal State Long Beach, the Knights of Columbus, and Downey’s local women’s shelter. Since 2013, Ramie has been an active volunteer with the Friends of the Downey City Library, serving in various capacities such as Recording Secretary for the FODCL Board of Directors, assisting with the membership drives, processing book donations, and coordinating the annual Holiday Marketplace event fundraiser. Ramie embraces the opportunity to serve as Bookstore Director, and thoroughly enjoys working with our dedicated volunteers in providing our community with a source of low-cost quality reading and media items. |
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Publicity Director | Toni Stewart
Toni works as realtor with Century 21 Jervis in Downey. She also shares her love of the Polynesian dance/Hula by teaching at Barbara J. Riley and at Downey Memorial Christian church. Toni also volunteers at our bookstore twice a week. She has enjoyed helping in libraries since she was in high school. Past volunteer servoce includes serving as secretary in the PTA where her sons attended school. |
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Social Media Director | Jessica Castelo
Jessica began volunteering with the Friends in November of 2021 after attending our Marketplace of Ideas event. Since then, she has been elected into our new board position of Social Media Director. As the Social Media Director, she runs our Instagram and Facebook pages and hopes to launch a TikTok in the near future. Further, she is currently working on her Masters of Management in Library and Information Science at the University of Southern California and hopes to work at an academic library upon graduation. She looks forward to her first full year with the group and hopes to maintain her position with the group as she develops her career. |
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Newsletter Editor | Nancy Krusbe
Nancy taught middle school English and mathematics in LAUSD and also worked as a high school counselor. After retiring she worked part-time in the office of a state Assembly Member and then part-time helping to process books in our library. She enjoys reading and meeting with her book club, helps where she can at her church, and spends a lot of time with her grandson. She has served as our publicity director, our fundraising director, and now puts together our bi-monthly newsletter. |
Mascot | Dewey the Cat
Our Dewey is not related that famous cat of Spenser, Iowa.
A long time Friend, past board member and cat lover named our Dewey long ago.
Nowadays, you can see Dewey on Li'l Libraries around town, in our bookstore, or if you are a member, on the Friends' very own custom library card!
Our Dewey is not related that famous cat of Spenser, Iowa.
A long time Friend, past board member and cat lover named our Dewey long ago.
Nowadays, you can see Dewey on Li'l Libraries around town, in our bookstore, or if you are a member, on the Friends' very own custom library card!